Nothing beats opening week(end)!

DPRCAs latest live performance, "I'm Just Wild About Harry" opens this Friday, and four new cast members have come from across the country to take part.

The first few performances of the show are always exciting, filled with that special energy. And this time, the cast and crew have big plans for the three opening weekend shows.

Are you ready for this? All ticket holders of the March 18, 19 and 20 shows are invited to a fun After Party at OCT. This isn't just your typical Meet and Greet, folks. There will be unique photo opportunities with the cast, refreshments, a cash bar and more.

Book those seats, readers, for your chance to get to know these newcomers a bit more. In the meantime, here's a little look into their lives you can use as an icebreaker.

Raymond Cronley, a young actor from Cincinnati, Ohio, is playing the part of Harry Whitman, who Cronley described as a young and innocent teenager head over heels for a particular girl.

"He's just young and so positive and really embodies a young love and sort of innocent joy in a lot of ways," said Cronley.

Acting alongside Cronley is Holden Davenport, a native of Fort Wayne, Ind., who plays the role of Jack Chesney, an equally young but somewhat more assertive teenager who masterminds a plot that comically unravels throughout the play.

In real life, Cronley and Davenport are recent graduates of Ohio Northern University, where they became best friends. Coincidentally, the characters they play are also best friends in the show.

The two are only in the early stages of their acting careers, and both expressed how much they've enjoyed getting to know New Rockford and the local community.

"I really love it," said Davenport about New Rockford. "We're both no strangers to small towns ... and all the locals that we've met are super involved with the theater and they've been very welcoming."

Playing the respective love interests of Whitman and Chesney, are Hannah Bullock, a native of Indianapolis, Ind., and Jessica Patrick, a native of Chicago, Ill.

Like their fellow cast members, Bullock and Patrick are best friends from college, who also play best friends in the show.

Patrick plays Margie Verdun, a "cutesy" and "romantic" character that has fallen in love with Jack Chesney, while Bullock plays the part of Katy Spettigue, a young "giggly" lady who's in love with Harry Whitman.

"She's very simple in the sense that she's easily pleased and just giggly and is just in love," Bullock said of her character, Katy. "I love her naivety and her overall happiness. A lot of the scenes we do she's just giggling."

"Margie is the more assertive one," added Patrick. "Her and Katy are kind of a dynamic duo. We never really leave each other's side and we're always giggling and we're always having fun."

Patrick and Bullock, both graduates of Western Illinois University, were connected to DPRCA through their mutual friend, Kelly Brown, who had great things to say about New Rockford and DPRCA after performing in "Life Could Be a Dream" last summer.

Both began acting at young ages, and are now just beginning their acting careers. This is also Patrick and Bullock's second professional contract together. As real life best friends, acting like friends on stage comes naturally, and the same can be said for Cronley and Davenport.

As the four of them kick start their acting careers, they each wanted to express thanks to the patrons who plan to support the local theater and their careers by attending "I'm Just Wild About Harry."

"Thank you for supporting the theater," said Bullock. "... It's just a small little theater so It means a lot and it's supporting our careers too."

Cronley added, "I hope you have fun! The show is a rollicking good time, and you're sure to enjoy if you decide to come."