The performance, directed by Eric Van Druff, will be held from 5 to 9 p.m. on the lawn of the Cuba-Rushford Elementary School on Elm Street and is open to the public. Visitors are asked to provide a $5 donation which will benefit the Palmer Opera House in Cuba. A 50/50 drawing will also be held and concessions will be available.

Van Druff, who has directed a number of shows for local theater groups, said the event will adhere to pandemic protocols which require participants to wear masks and maintain social distancing.

“Palmer has been doing Concerts on the Lawn for about a month and a half (to benefit the Opera House) and we follow all the state guidelines in terms of social distancing,” Van Druff said of lawn performances that have been coordinated by Michele Conklin, director of the Opera House.

“We actually paint circles on the lawn that are six feet apart and people are asked to stay in their circles,” Van Druff added. He said the performance will give the theater group an opportunity to “give something back” to the community.

“My theater friends have been missing being on stage and this is the way to kill two birds with one stone,” he observed.

Van Druff said theater groups’ live performances in Cuba have a long history in the community.

“From the early ‘70s until the ‘90s Cuba used to have an annual show called ‘Showtime’ and it was a benefit for the hospital auxiliary,” he recalled. “We would do lots of the big shows of the time …”

Van Druff said he and Paul Nelson, who are on the Opera House board, want to bring a theater program back to the community. The upcoming event is an initial fundraiser for the performers, many of whom are veterans of local stages.

“This is to help the Palmer stay open during the crisis, but more importantly to get people used to the fact that we want to do regular theatrical events, whether it’s concerts or shows, and have a true season,” he explained. “Similar to the OCT or (Olean) Theatre Workshop or Bradford Little Theatre.”

He said Saturday’s show will consist of 22 singers and five musicians who will perform a number of songs from “tried and true Broadway songs that people will know,” such as the Sound of Music, Guys and Dolls and South Pacific. Songs from newer shows, such as Les Mis and Chorus Line, will also be in the round-up.

Van Druff said seasoned performers in the production will include Marcia Wymer, Paul Nelson, Al Bernstein, Kathy Malick, Jake Riggs, Rodney Stebbins and Jim Hunter.

Conklin said the help and fundraisers provided by local performers have helped the Opera House remain viable through the pandemic.

“I think we’ve had to be a lot more creative this year because of Covid and not being able to do things in a traditional way,” she remarked. “We’ve had many area artists who have completely given their time for virtual performances that we’ve done” as well as live musical events.

“We’ve had outpourings of love and financial support — and I don’t know if we would have been able to keep on without it,” she admitted.

In providing a final bit of advice, Van Druff said attendees should bring blankets and sweaters as the air could turn cool during the early evening performance.