The Hershey Area Playhouse, 830 Cherry Drive, will present the musicals "Cinderella Youth Edition" and "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" in the coming weeks.

"Cinderella Youth Edition" will be presented on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, Oct. 12, 13 and 14, at 7 p.m.; Saturday, Oct. 15, at 2 and 7 p.m.; and Sunday, Oct. 16, at 2 p.m. This adaptation of the show by Rodgers and Hammerstein is specially designed for young performers. Due to an extraordinary turnout for auditions, the Playhouse double cast the show and add performances to the lineup. As a result, more than 50 area youths ages 7 to 17 will have an opportunity to perform.

Jennifer Feldser, Playhouse board chair, directs the production. Feldser is joined by Stacy Erdman as music director and Jenn Owsley as choreographer, both of whom have been previously involved at the Playhouse but in different capacities.

Tickets may be purchased at http://www.hersheyareaplayhouse.com. The show is funded in part by a grant from the Hershey Company and 2022 season sponsor Country Meadows.

"Sweeney Todd" will be presented from Thursday, Oct. 27, to Sunday, Nov. 6, on Thursdays to Saturdays at 7 p.m. and on Sundays at 2 p.m. Featuring music by Stephen Sondheim, "Sweeney Todd" is the tale of an unjustly exiled barber who returns to 19th-century London to seek vengeance against the judge who wronged him.

Director Rosemary Bucher, a board member and longtime friend of the Playhouse, is a Palmyra native based in New York City. She has put together a cast with deep roots in the Playhouse history and with each other, notably Eric Mansilla, who plays Sweeney Todd, and Amy Jo Brixius, who plays Mrs. Lovett.

Brixius started working with the Playhouse after meeting Mansilla while teaching at the same school. He was directing "The Music Man" and convinced her to audition. They later starred as Winnifred and Dauntless in "Once Upon a Mattress" in the summer of 2018 at the Playhouse.

Members of the cast also include Tom Blaisse as Judge Turpin, Bernadette Bratina as Johanna, Sean Reynolds as Anthony, Jasmine Ammons Bucher as Beggar Woman and Pirelli, Joshua L. Schwartz as Beadle, Weston Buchkovich as Tobias and Brye Joseph Balla as Jonas Fogg.

In addition to Bucher, the production team includes music director Jonathan Walker-VanKuren, producer Rachel Smith, stage manager Mohit Patel and technical director Miguel Santiago.

Separate ticket fees have been set for adults and for students. To purchase tickets, visit the aforementioned website. The show is sponsored by Members 1st and 2022 season sponsor Country Meadows.