First Posted: 3/11/2012

By day Kevin Holbert, Dane Bowers and Lori Nocito are respectivelty a therapist, a teacher and an agency executive. By night they are a director, an actor and a dancer.

Holbert, from Exeter, and Bowers, from West Wyoming, are the director and lead actor and Nocito, from Exeter, is an ensemble dancer for the Little Theater of Wilkes-Barre’s production of the musical “Chicago.”

Show dates are March 24, 30, 31 at 8 p.m. and March 25 and April 1 at 3 p.m. at the Little Theatre of Wilkes-Barre, 537 N. Main St. Wilkes-Barre.

Tickets are $18. Seats can be reserved by calling 570-823-1875.

Nocito is well known as the Executive Director of Leadership Wilkes-Barre and the chair of the Pittston Tomato Festival, but what may be lesser known is she’s always loved singing and dancing. She hasn’t performed in, as she put it, “a long, long time.”

So why is she back on a stage now?

“Because it’s Chicago,” she said. “I’ve seen it several times in New York. I love the Fosse style of dancing. I even named my dog Roxie.”

The late Bob Fosse was the choreographer for the Broadway production of “Chicago.” Roxie Hart is one of the lead characters in the musical which is set in Prohibition-era Chicago.

Nocito said personally she’s always had a soft spot for community theater. “I love and respect what they do,” she said. “It was neat to see the whole process from audition to call back and the role. I’m having a blast at rehearsals. I’m in the ensemble we have four songs we sing and dance,” she said, adding with a laugh, “and I have two lines of dialogue.”

Nocito said Leadership Wilkes-Barre has always had an interest in the Wilkes-Barre Little Theater, too. “We helped them with projects like renovating the lobby and the sound system.”

Holbert was a theater major at Wilkes. He got involved with Little Theater four years ago and “Chicago” is the fourth show he’s directed. “It’s fun,” he said. “It’s a completely different environment. It’s a creative outlet. There are people who have been doing it for years and stay involved. There are younger people who enjoy singing and dancing and it’s an outlet for that and then they enjoy it and they want to stay involved. It’s a huge commitment of time, but nobody complains.”

Bower plays Atty. Billy Flynn, the lead male role. Bower is a theater teacher at Lackawanna Trail high school and between rehearsals for “Chicago” and getting ready for the high school spring production he’s busy.

“The past couple weeks have been crazy between ‘Chicago’ and getting the set ready at the high school,” Bower said. “It’s theater from the time I wake up until I go to bed and that’s the way I want it. For me it’s something I fell in love with at 12. It becomes a major part of life. It keeps me out of trouble. There are athletes and artists and if you know what you are just run with it.”

Joining Nocito in the ensemble are Jill Sherinsky from Pittston and Janelle Nemetz from Wyoming.