Neil Simon's The Star-Spangled Girl is a comedy set in San Francisco in the 1960s. It's a hilarious love triangle among two men and a woman, with a good dose of politics.

 The cast of The Star-Spangled Girl: Melissa Austin, Scott Schmittel

  and Stosh Snyder

Melissa Austin (Sophie)

Melissa is thrilled to be part of such a wonderfully funny play. This is Melissa’s third Hershey Area Playhouse production. She has previously appeared in Our Town as Emily Webb and A Midsummer Night’s Dream as Hermia. Melissa would like to thanks Beth and Jennifer for their hard work and making this such a fun production to work on. She also thanks her husband for his continued love and support.

Scott Schmittel (Norman)

Scott loves comedy and is thrilled at the opportunity to perform in The Star-Spangled Girl in the beautiful new Hershey Area Playhouse at Country Meadows. Most recently, Scott helped out behind the scenes for the Playhouse’s Into the Woods Junior, was an extra for Our Town, and sang at the Hershey Area Playhouse Cabaret Night. Previously, Scott appeared in the Hershey Area Playhouse production of A Christmas Story where he portrayed Ralphie’s dad, the curmudgeonly “Old Man.” Scott regularly participates in adult and children’s musicals at Hershey Free Church, where he also sings in the Sanctuary Choir. Scott is a Sales Account Executive for Johnson Controls and lives in the Middletown area with his wife, Deb, and two children, Tyler and Lia. Scott keeps himself busy year round with waterskiing, gardening, snow skiing and sports cars.

Stosh Snyder (Andy)

Stosh is making his second appearance at Hershey Area Playhouse; his first role at the Playhouse was George Gibbs in Our Town. As a native of Harrisburg, you may have seen him portray roles in other productions around the area such as Sister Robert Anne in Nunsense: A-Men at the Whitaker Center. Other credits include Jesus Christ Superstar (as Simon), The Pirates of Penzance (as the Sergeant of Police), Bat Boy (as Mrs. Taylor) and Inherit the Wind (as Mr. Goodfellow), all performed with Theatre Harrisburg. In addition, he has appeared in The Miracle on 34th Street (as Abercrombie) at the Wayside Theatre in Middletown, Virginia. Other favorite shows and roles include Music Man (as Professor Harold Hill), The Sound of Music (as Captain Von Trapp) and Singin’ in the Rain (as Cosmo Brown). Stosh also has some television and film experience as you may have seen him in a commercial or two around the area and has worked on two independent films this past year. He is a graduate of Shenandoah University and Conservatory in Winchester, VA with a B.A. in Music Education and a concentration in voice. He currently works for Benchmark Group Media, publisher of Harrisburg Magazine, as a Sr. Acct. Executive and is a model and actor for the Harman Agency.

Beth Dunham (Director) 

An avid theatre fan, Beth is thrilled to be making her Hershey Area Playhouse directorial debut on The Star-Spangled Girl. She has been involved both on and off-stage with the Playhouse, having served as Assistant Director on Our Town and portraying “The Mother” in last year's production of A Christmas Story. When not volunteering for the Playhouse, she is an Adjunct Professor at Penn State Harrisburg, York College, HACC and the University of Phoenix where she teaches Humanities, Writing and Communications. Beth would like to thank her uber-talented cast and crew, especially the show's producer, who happens to be her husband. They are the proud parents of their son Campbell, who is a third grader at Hershey Elementary. Thanks to everyone in attendance and enjoy the show!