The Update | Play about the tragic death of a Polish woman is delayed

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (AP) — The premiere of a play about a Polish woman who died of a fentanyl overdose has been postponed for a year.

The play is about Amanda McAuley, an aspiring actress who died in 2023 at the age of 27.

Her mother, Donna McAuley, founded AM Wakeup Call, a nonprofit organization aimed at raising awareness about fentanyl and preventing deaths. She had collaborated with Ohio playwright and producer Michael Forney to write and present a play at Powers Auditorium.

The premiere of the piece was scheduled for Friday, October 11th, but was postponed by exactly one year. The premiere will now take place on October 11, 2025.

McAuley postponed it to give her time to get the word out. She said she was also concerned that road construction downtown might keep people from seeing her.

“It’s going to be big, so we needed more time,” McAuley said.

She is also looking for the right actor to play her late daughter. “I’m picky about who will play Amanda,” she said. “I’m still trying to find the perfect Amanda.”

McAuley’s goal is to educate young people directly about the dangers of fentanyl. To that end, she has scheduled an event for Saturday, Oct. 12, at 10 a.m. at Dobbins Early Learning School in Poland.

McAuley will speak at the event, which will also include an awareness walk.

Registration begins at 9 a.m. and the walk begins at 10 a.m. The event includes food, music, a bouncy castle and raffles.

“I really want to change the way kids think [about drug use]” she said.

YSU musical theater students win competition

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Two Youngstown State University musical theater students took first place in the National Association of Teachers of Singing Tri-State Chapter Audition Competition.

Brooke May and Ryan Bedi won the women’s double bass and men’s tenor, baritone and bass categories at the Oct. 5 event at West Virginia University.

The chapter covers western Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio and West Virginia. Contestants must first pass a rigorous preliminary round before performing in front of singing teachers who act as judges.

Lit Youngstown prepares for Fall Festival

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The eighth annual Lit Youngstown Fall Literary Festival will take place October 17-19.

It begins with a Gathering-In event on October 17 at 7 p.m. at the McDonough Museum with a live musical performance by the Tongue-in-Groove Band. The band will also accompany open mic readers.

A keynote reading by Hanif Abdurraquib will be held at St. John’s Episcopal Church on Wick Avenue on October 18 at 7 p.m. Abdurraqib is a poet, essayist and cultural critic from Columbus. Youngstown Rayen Early College High School graduate Lyric Saulsberry, 2024 CityVerse winner, will open with her winning poems.

A reading with authors Ama Codjoe and Rachel Swearingen will be held at the Tyler History Center on West Federal Street on October 19 at 7 p.m.

Codjoe is the author of Bluest Nude (Milkweed Editions, 2022), winner of the Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize and a finalist for the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Poetry. Swearingen is the author of the story collection How to Walk on Water and Other Stories, which won the New American Press Fiction Prize and was named the 2021 Chicago Writers Association Book of the Year.

All events are free. For more information, visit LitYoungstown.org.

“Rocky Horror” film event in Penguin City

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The cult film “Rocky Horror Picture Show” will be screened with audience participation on Saturday, October 19, at 9 p.m. at Penguin City Brewing downtown.

A cocktail hour with DJ Spruce and a costume contest begins at 7 p.m

All proceeds from the show go to Rebel Rescue Ranch, which helps small pets and exotic animals in need.

Musical “Addams Family” at ACTS

SHARON, Pa. – The ACTS Performing Arts Center, 40 S. Irvine Ave., Downtown, will open its mainstage program this weekend with “The Addams Family: A Musical Comedy,” directed by Ron Sinesio.

In this comical tale, choreographed by Erin Morell and musically directed by Joe Spurio, the quirky and spooky Addams family prepares for their annual cemetery reunion with their ancestors, but things take a chaotic turn when Wednesday Addams Introducing her new child to a very “normal” friend.

The production marks the debut of the theater’s new 16-by-16-foot LED screen, which serves as a moving backdrop.

Performances will take place on October 11th and 12th and October 18th and 19th at 7:30 p.m. and on October 13th and 20th at 2:30 p.m.

Tickets are $25 ($20 for students). For more information click HERE.

Pictured above: Amanda McAuley is seen in this photo with her mother Donna.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.