The new program provides over-55 performers the chance to step into full musical roles.
MANCHESTER, NH – For years, the Silver Stars of the Palace Theatre have been a familiar and beloved presence on the Hanover Street stage, delighting audiences with annual revue-style performances that showcase song, dance, and camaraderie among performers age 55 and older.
This season, they are doing something entirely new.
The Silver Stars are preparing for their first full musical production, Guys and Dolls SR., an abbreviated, senior-adapted version of the classic Broadway comedy, produced through the newly launched Broadway Senior™ program from Music Theatre International (MTI).
“It’s really the first time we’ve produced a musical for this group,” said Hunter Ulbin, who is production director for this performance in addition to his usual role as Youth Theatre Artistic Associate. “They’ve done cabarets and reviews for years, but this gives them the chance to step into characters and tell a full story — something many of them have never done before.”
Broadway Senior is a new national initiative from MTI designed specifically for performers age 55 and up. Modeled after MTI’s long-running Broadway Junior program for young performers, the senior adaptations condense well-known musicals into approximately 60-minute productions, with adjusted tempos, keys, and production resources that make participation accessible for a wide range of abilities.
Ulbin said the Palace moved quickly when the program became available.
“This had been rumored for a while,” he said. “As soon as it was released, I knew this group would love it.”
He chose Guys and Dolls intentionally, citing its humor, recognizable score, and broad appeal.
“It’s considered the quintessential feel-good Broadway musical,” Ulbin said. “People know more of the music than they think. Once they hear it, it all comes back.”
For Silver Stars cast members Regina Bilodeau and Angelo Gentile, the production represents both a milestone and an opportunity.
“This is [the Silver Stars] first musical,” Bilodeau said. “We’ve done cabarets, solos, and group numbers — but never a full musical.”
Bilodeau, who has a military background and sings in her church choir, was cast as General Cartwright — a role she said unexpectedly brought together many chapters of her own life.
“I didn’t really think I would get a role,” she said. “I figured I’d just be in the background. But this one fit — my military background, my choir experience — it all came together.”
Gentile, a veteran performer who has appeared in Guys and Dolls multiple times over the past three decades, said the senior adaptation gave him the chance to step into a role he had never played before. Cast as Sky Masterson, the gambler famously portrayed by Marlon Brando in the 1955 film adaptation, Gentile called the opportunity “a step up.”
“I’ve done the show three times over the last 30 years,” he said. “But this is my first time playing Sky Masterson.”
Gentile said the Silver Stars program stands apart because of the respect shown to its performers.
“Our age isn’t held against us,” he said. “They actually refer to us as the ‘older kids.’ It really does feel like being young again.”
That sense of respect, he said, extends across generations.
“One of the teenagers working the spotlight said to me, ‘When I grow up, I want to be like Angelo,’” Gentile said. “That was the biggest compliment I could ever get.”
For Anne Orio, Guys and Dolls SR. marks her first production with the Silver Stars — and a new chapter in her performing life.
“I’m getting older, and I’m aging out of an awful lot of parts that I would really love to do,” Orio said. “But this is a wonderful community to be part of. They’re very supportive.”
Introduced to the group through a friend, Orio said she expects to stay involved. Cast as Benny Southstreet, she said the role has been both unexpected and liberating.
“It’s the first time I’ve played a different sex,” she said. “But it’s a lot of fun — and a lot less makeup.”
Ulbin said the response to the musical has been enthusiastic, both within the Silver Stars group and from the broader community. Ticket sales help offset licensing costs and support the continuation of the program.
For Jill Pennington, who coaches youth performers in the Palace Youth Theatre program and also works with the Silver Stars, the transition from revue-style performances to a full musical came with questions — and unexpected rewards.
“We’ve always done cabaret-type shows with them,” Pennington said. “So there was a question of how a musical would go. Would they like it? Would it be stressful?”
Instead, she said, the group has risen to the challenge — and to one another.
“They’ve really been shining,” Pennington said. “They support each other in all the different roles they’re playing on stage. It’s been really heartwarming and life-affirming.”
Pennington said working with the Silver Stars is not an obligation, but a choice.
“I wear a lot of different hats at the Palace, but this is a group that really touches my heart,” she said. “Hunter and I love working with them together. No matter how tired or overworked I think I am, I come here and it refills everything. It gives me energy and joy.”
For Fiona McKenna, becoming a Silver Star began in the audience.
Her daughter gave her tickets to the Silver Stars’ annual review last spring as a Mother’s Day gift. McKenna and her husband attended — and by the end of the show, she knew she wanted to be part of it.
“I thought, ‘I want to do that,’” McKenna said. “So I asked Hunter when the next opportunity was, and he said September. And here I am.”
McKenna, who sang in folk and chamber groups in her younger years, said returning to performance has been both meaningful and challenging. Vocal cord nodules have changed her voice over time, she said, but the pull toward music never left.
In Guys and Dolls SR., McKenna appears with the mission band and in the Havana sequence — smaller roles, she said, but ones she embraces fully. Her family, friends, and fellow Garden Club members all plan to attend.
“I’ll probably have the most people here for the smallest part,” she said, laughing.
McKenna called the experience both nerve-wracking and exhilarating — and a personal milestone.
“It’s kind of on my bucket list,” she said. “At my age, this is a stretch — but I’m really enjoying it.”
After a week of long tech and dress rehearsals, the final production will be the proof of concept when the Silver Stars take the stage for two performances at The Rex, 7 p.m. on Feb. 6 and a noon matinee on Feb 7.
Ulbin smiles when asked if he thinks this will become a permanent part of the Silver Stars annual reperatoire.
“I really think this is the first of many,” Ulbin said. “Going forward, the Silver Stars will have two performance opportunities each year — a musical and a cabaret.”
For the Silver Stars, Guys and Dolls SR. is not about revisiting the past — it’s about showing up fully in the present. Whether stepping into a dream role, discovering musical theatre for the first time, or simply finding a place to belong, the performers are doing what theatre has always done best: bringing people together to tell a story. And for this cast, that story is still unfolding.
Tickets are available here for both performances of Guys and Dolls SR. at The Rex Theatre.