Westminster Music Theater will present the delightful musical Smile on Friday, March 3 and Saturday, March 4 at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday, March 5 at 3:00 p.m. in The Playhouse on the campus of Westminster Choir College of Rider University in Princeton. 

Smile, a light-hearted musical by the creators of Little Shop of Horrors, A Chorus Line, and They’re Playing Our Song, revolves around the shenanigans of the California finalists in a beauty competition.  Based loosely on the 1975 movie of the same name, Smile chronicles the fictional 1985 California Young American Miss beauty pageant held in Santa Rosa, Ca., and the week preceding it.  The book and lyrics are by Howard Ashman and the music by Marvin Hamlisch.

The creative team behind this production includes directors Michael Pantone and Laurie Gamache, who also serves as choreographer, and music director Cris Frisco.  The cast is composed of Westminster students.

Michael Pantone is a theater professional whose career has involved performing in film, television and on the stage.  He has worked as an actor, teacher and director and is on faculty at Usdan, a performing arts facility on Long Island, N.Y.  He received his theater training from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. 

Laurie Gamache, with her friend Michael Pantone, has been directing and choreographing for Theatre West 97th in Manhattan since 2002. They also direct the Richie Byrne Show at Caroline’s in New York.  Gamache is most well known for her performance as Cassie in the Broadway production of A Chorus Line. She also appeared on Broadway in The Red Shoes and off Broadway in If Love Were All, and The Cocoanuts.

Music Director Cristopher Frisco has worked on three recent Broadway productions and in many of the East Coast’s finest regional theaters.  Most recently, he conducted the Philadelphia premiere of Bat Boy for 1812 Productions.  He has also been music director and accompanist for productions at Westminster Choir College of Rider University, The Theatre Outlet, Lehigh University, Muhlenberg College, Muhlenberg Summer Music Theater, and the Bucks County and Pocono Playhouses.  Frisco is a frequent concert partner for classical singers and instrumentalists around the world.  In recent seasons he has performed in New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, San Diego, Taipei, Hong Kong, Helsinki, St. Petersburg, and Bangkok.  He is currently on the faculty of the Doylestown School of Music and the Arts and is a community outreach instructor in opera and classical music for Bucks County Community College.  Cris Frisco is also the founder and artistic director of The New Voice Project, a fledgling non-profit arts organization that commissions and produces new music.

Tickets for these performances are $15 for adults and $10 for senior citizens and students.  To order, call the Westminster box office weekdays between 11:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. at 609-921-2663.  Westminster Choir College is located on the corner of Hamilton Avenue and Walnut Lane in Princeton.