Not many young adults can say they have developed a musical production in their spare time.  Dominic and Anthony Carrola are not like most young adults. Debuting on April 7, the musical Yet Another Funeral is a collaboration  between the Carrola brothers that has been a long time in the making.  The two brothers have complementary skills that led to success in this venture. Dominic is the composer in the duo, and Anthony is the writer. Speaking of the creative process that led to this finished musical,  Dominic Carrola had this to say, “The theatre department and I toyed with the idea of writing and producing an original musical back in December of 2014. Before a concept was even decided upon, I started drafting songs with emotions and concepts I wanted to convey. At some point, I realized that I would have to get someone to write the book and my brother Anthony graciously agreed. There was an adjustment period where the vision that had been forming in my head, had to conform with the direction in which he was taking it. 21 songs and 22,000 words later, Yet Another Funeral was born. Then it was up to Dr. Michele Pagen and the artistic staff, cast and crew to breathe life into it. As they did, the refinement process began and it hasn’t stopped. Yet Another Funeral is still a work in progress. I don’t think it can be overemphasized what a huge undertaking this has been and it is a credit to everyone involved that they are willing to pour so much into something so new and young.”  Anthony Carrola was also able to comment on his experiences in writing this musical: “When my brother first came to me with the request to write a musical, I was very hesitant. I was never really a fan of musicals, but he soon persuaded me and thus began a long journey. Yet Another Funeral has developed significantly since the beginning, as the plot itself grew and changed. As Dom said, I think it will be developing for some time to come, but the plot itself has come to center squarely on not just funerals, but what funerals represent: The end of a journey, or perhaps just the end of one journey and the beginning of a new one.”

Funeral Family (Left to Right): Sidney Popielarcheck from Washington, PA; Katherine Hoffman from Derry, PA; Nicholas Franczak from Jefferson Hills, PA; Kayla Grimm from Masontown, PA; Saleem Carpenter from Media, PA; Amelia Wisinski from Erie, PA

Performances of Yet Another Funeral will be held at 8 p.m. April 7-8, and at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. April 9 in Steele Hall Mainstage Theatre, on the Cal U campus in California, Pa.