Reading Eagle: Two Berks theater groups announce upcoming shows [Spotlight]

May 29—Reading Civic Theatre will present the Berks County premiere of "Disney's Descendants: The Musical" from June 10-19 at its new venue, the former Fox East movie theater in Exeter Township.

Based on the popular Disney Channel original movies, the show is packed with comedy, adventure, Disney characters and hit songs from the films. Imprisoned on the Isle of the Lost — home of the most infamous villains who ever lived — the teenaged children of Maleficent, the Evil Queen, Jafar and Cruella De Vil have never ventured off the island ... until now. When the four troublemakers are sent to attend prep school alongside the children of beloved Disney heroes, they have a difficult choice to make: Should they follow in their parents' wicked footsteps or learn to be good?

Performances are scheduled for 8 p.m. June 10-11 and June 16-18, and 2 p.m. June 12 and June 19. To reserve, visit readingcivic.org.

This will be RCT's first show of its 2022 season. Still to come are "Guys and Dolls" and "The Full Monty."

----Reading Community Players will present William Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" in an outdoor setting at Conrad Weiser Homestead, Womelsdorf, on Saturday and Sunday at 5 p.m.

A comedic play that was likely first written and performed around 1600, "A Midsummer Night's Dream" is set in the Greek city-state of Athens and centers on an impending marriage of Duke Theseus and Amazon Queen Hippolyta. The characters find themselves in a forest where a group of fairies manipulates and tricks them. The play is one of Shakespeare's most popular and most performed plays. Sandi Trait is directing.

Tickets are $10 at the gate. Bring along chairs or blankets for lawn seating.

Art

Studio B Fine Art Gallery, Boyertown, presented cash awards and certificates to artists at the gallery's recent opening reception for its "Reflection" exhibition. The Boyertown Junior Women's Club sponsored the awards.

First place was awarded to Karen Burnette Garner, for a mixed media piece entitled "I Come to the Garden Alone." Second place was awarded to Rebecca Rohrbach for her watercolor "Favorite Place." Third place went to Daniella Yacono for her oil titled "Frozen Rainbows Falls." Fourth place award was given to Lauralynn White for her oil on P. Kaufman fabric titled "Floral Vanity."

Fifth place was awarded to Robert Seabourne for his oil painting entitled "The Solitude of Water." Sixth place award went to Barrie Maguire for his oil painting "Morning Cruise." Walt Hug took seventh place for his photograph "The Look of Contemplation." Eighth place was awarded to Jim Meehan for his work acrylic on Xerox entitled "Hudson River Views."

The exhibit challenged artists to present an aspect of the word "reflection" that the Oxford English dictionary devotes six columns to defining. Juror selecting exhibit awards was Scott Krenitsky, Hot Glass Studio Manager at Goggleworks Center for the Arts.

The exhibit is archived as a Studio B Art Gallery Facebook event and on YouTube. Amy Muzopappa of Muzo Media Productions hosts the art tour. The exhibit will run through June 19.

Music

Berks Opera Company will offer the final two presentations in its Unleashing Your Inner Opera Fan Series on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Highlands at Wyomissing and Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at Phoebe Berks, Wernersville. The series consists of multimedia presentations, about 60-80 minutes long, led by Berks Opera's Education and Outreach Director David Richie.

Titled "You Have to Break Some Hamlets to Make an Opera," the presentations will focus on the Met Opera's upcoming modern production of "Dean's Hamlet" and will include a discussion with Shakespeare expert Susan Wagner. Tuesday's presentation will also feature Maggie Riker, soprano, and the Thursday's will also feature Julie Kremm, soprano.

Admission is $20 for adults and seniors, $15 for students and people under 30. Payment can be made at the door by cash or check, or go to berksopera.org and click on the "Donate" button. Fox Berkshire will screen The Met in HD broadcast of "Dean's Hamlet" on Saturday at 12:55 p.m. To purchase tickets, visit foxshowtimes.com.