The musical by librettist Ed Simpson is based on his radio play of the same title, which was performed in March 2005 as part of "Lackawanna Rails: 100 Years of Life in the Anthracite Valley." It now features original music and lyrics by composer Elizabeth Feller.

According to Northeast Theatre, "A boy on the brink of losing his childhood meets Horace Goldin, the magician famous for sawing a woman in half. Set at the Poli Theatre [in Scranton] in 1921, it is a funny, sweet story about how this unlikely pair develop a friendship — one that readies the boy for manhood and the man for life."

Mary Ethel Schmidt directs. The cast includes Bob Ader, Jenny Lee Mitchell, Lauren Stanford, James Langan, Will Moore and Nicholas Spenser.

The creative team includes lighting designer James M. Langan and set and costume designer Jerry Allen.

Feller is a resident of Clarks Summit and a recipient of the 2007 F. Lammot Belin Scholarship. She has worked as an administrator for The Northeast Theatre for nine seasons, and has composed incidental music and songs for many of its shows since 2001. Ed Simpson is a nationally produced and published playwright, screenwriter and writer for television. He is professor emeritus at Indiana University of Pennsylvania where he taught from 1980 to 2006. He is currently playwright in residence at High Point University, and teaches playwriting and directing at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro.

Performances play Performance Space at the Hotel Jermyn, 326 Spruce St., second floor, downtown Scranton.

For more information call (570) 558-1515 or visit www.thenortheasttheatre.us.