This Saturday Offshoot Productions will begin celebrating St. Patrick’s Day early with their Stars on the Southern Crescent coffee house.

This year’s slate of performers include Barney’s Goat, the Lost Boys, and Susan Hickey performing with partner Gregg Csikos as The Starboard Watch. In addition, there will be a sneak preview of Offshoot’s upcoming, company-created show.

Barney’s Goat has performed at Stars on the Southern Crescent since the coffee house’s very first event. The group, which borrows its eccentric name from an Irish folk tune, values a healthy dose of blarney within an evening of music. Whether performing Irish and Scottish songs or their unusual repertoire of American material, these spirited entertainers love nothing more than to spin a good yarn through song, sprinkling in wry humor and running commentary to keep their audience on an emotional roller coaster.

The Lost Boys’ unique brand of “Elizabethan Rock and Roll” features original songs, traditional folk tunes done with a rock ‘n’ roll flair, and parodies of modern rock songs, performed as they might have been in the year 1599.

Both successful soloists in their own right, Gregg Csikos and songbird Susan Hickey performed for over a decade individually. Now with a repertoire of hundreds of songs, and harmonies that please the ear and lift the spirit, The Starboard Watch promises to provide an exhilarating experience for the audience. 

Hickey is a New Yorker who wet her feet in Celtic music performance 15 years ago. She has entertained audiences up and down the East Coast at Renaissance fairs and festivals for over ten years, entertaining at The Fox Theatre, the 1996 Olympics and with the Chieftains. Hickey spent five years sailing wooden schooners in Maine, entertaining on deck at night, and won the Camden Schooner Days annual performance contest four times. Her performances are marked by a wide vocal and emotional range that can credibly deliver anything from powerful ballads to tender love songs, with a whimsical side that delights in the Celtic love of alliteration.

Csikos started his Renaissance festival career by forming the piratical a cappella sextet The Corsairs, singing lead for eight years and recording six albums before launching a solo career. His commanding vocals and driving rhythms gained him a loyal following, and four years and two more albums later he has quickly become a popular figure on the Renaissance festival circuit, both with audiences and performers. Also a juggler and trained dancer, Csikos has performed at more than 19 festivals from New York to Arizona. 

For more information on this talented pair, visit  www.thestarboardwatch.com.

Produced by Fayette County-based Offshoot Productions, the coffee house will take place at the Roger Spencer Community Center, 145 Commerce Drive, Tyrone. Doors open at 7:45 p.m., and the entertainment begins at 8:15. 

Patrons who bring their own mugs from home get discounts on hot drinks and are eligible for the “most unusual mug” award.

“We began this practice as a way to cut down on washing cups or using Styrofoam,“ said Susan M. Steadman, Ph.D., artistic director of Offshoot Productions, the company that presents the 13-year-old coffee house. “Audiences seem to enjoy this practice, especially since bringing their own mugs affords them a discount on hot beverages as well as a chance to win a prize.”

“Our patrons tend to view the events as theatre, and are totally engaged watching the talent,” noted Steadman. “We don’t serve beverages or desserts during a set.”

Tickets, $10 each, are on sale now at the Peachtree City Library, 201 Willowbend Road Road, 770-631-2520, and the Roger Spencer Community Center, 770-487-4694. Online sales will be available at www.offshoot.org. Tickets may also be purchased at the door.

For additional information, contact Offshoot at 770-631-2362 or offshootpr@aol.com.

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