Columbia Children’s Theatre will present the world premier of an original musical based on Hans Christian Andersen’s The Snow Queen November 28 – December 7 at The Booker Washington Heights Cultural Arts Center.  Show times are Fridays at 7:00 PM, Saturdays at 10:30 AM & 2:00 PM and Sundays at 3:00 PM.  Tickets are $6.00.

With a book and lyrics by CCT’s Artistic Director Jerry Stevenson and music by Alex Moore and Dionne Hough this adaptation follows Gerda on her journey to save her best friend, Kai after he is stolen away by the Snow Queen.  The musical styles range from rap to power ballads amid a story that teaches that one’s real beauty comes from the inside.

Featuring such CCT favorites as Jessica Bright, Chris Riddle, Sam LaFrage, Jackie Rowe and English Weston, the cast also includes newcomers Joy Felder, Will Schuler and veteran Columbia actor/singer Toni Moore

Show times are Fridays at 7:00 PM, Saturdays at 10:30 AM and 2:00 PM and Sundays at 3:00 PM at the Booker Washington Heights Cultural Arts Center, 2611 Grant St. Tickets are $6.00 at the door beginning one half hour before show time payable by check or cash only.

On this the 25th anniversary of the movie A Christmas Story, Village Square Theatre is honored to present the Midlands première of the stage version. Humorist Jean Shepherd's memoir of growing up in the Midwest in the 1940s follows 9-year-old Ralphie Parker in his quest to get a genuine Red Ryder BB gun under the tree for Christmas. Ralphie pleads his case to all who will listen. "You'll shoot your eye out," is the consistent response. The play has been adapted for the stage by Philip Grecian and is based on the modern day classic movie "A Christmas Story."

Diana Price directs this hilarious holiday tale. The production features Debra Leopard, Steven Booth, Todd Watson, Kathryn Halferty, Brian Lee, Corey Lorence, Rachel Barber, Stephanie Langford, Joel Smith, Tanner Watson and Eric Berg as Ralphie. Bring the entire family and watch these famous characters come to life on the Village Square stage!

Performances run Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays: December 5 through December 14, 2008. Friday and Saturday performances are at 8PM and Sunday at 3PM.

Tickets go on sale November 24, 2008. Prices are $16.00 for adults, $14.00 for seniors (60 & older), students and military and $12.00 for youth (12 & under). Discounts are available for groups of 15 or more.  Box Office hours are Monday through Friday from 1PM to 5PM and 2 hours prior to each performance beginning September 15.  Tickets must be charged to a major credit card at the time of the reservation.  Call (803) 359-1436. 

Village Square Theatre is located just off Columbia Avenue (Highway #378) in Lexington. Turn onto Caughman Road between Mike Addy Dodge and Zesto. Take a left just behind Zesto into the theatre's parking area.

Trustus Theatre brings the first musical of its 24th season, “Evita,” to the Main Stage, December 5th.

Evita follows the real-life story of Eva Perón who was born into a lower class family. As she grew older she used her relationships to get her to the next level. Moving to Buenos Aires with a popular cantina singer, she soon found herself dating media types. She became a model, an actress, and then she landed a night with Juan Perón, the president of Argentina. As First Lady of Argentina, she became a heroine to the common people. Her early death at the age of 33 in 1952 devastated the entire nation. “Eva Perón is one of the most celebrated, and yet controversial figures of the 20^th century,” said Dewey Scott Wiley. “People have always been attracted to her story for that very reason.”  

Evita boasts a large cast full of Columbia theatre veterans as well as many new faces to the Trustus stage. “The cast is larger than any in recent Trustus history, yet it is less than 25, just like the original production,” said Director Dewey Scott Wiley. In the role of the legendary Argentinean first lady, Eva Perón, will be Trustus Company member, Robin Gottlieb, known for her recent work in Reefer Madness: The Musical, The Thing About Men, and Cabaret. Playing Evita’s Narrator, Che (that’s right, Che Guevara), will be Chris Cockrell (The Rocky Horror Show). Hunter Boyle (The Full Monty, Sweeny Todd, Tru) will be returning to the Trustus stage immediately after appearing in The Lieutenant of Inishmore, as the dictator of Argentina: Juan Perón. Jonathan Taylor (Reefer Madness: The Musical) and Sydney Mitchell (A Cabal of Hypocrites) will be playing Eva’s original cantina singer boyfriend and Juan Perón’s mistress respectively. An all-star ensemble, featuring Columbia veterans Gerald Floyd (Cabaret), Will Moreau (The Full Monty), Cindy Durrett, Diane Gilbert, Nancy Pope (Cabaret), Carin Bendas (Reefer Madness: The Musical),  and Ellen Rodillo-Fowler (High School Musical) along with many other exciting and fresh talents from the Columbia scene will be bringing life to one of the biggest characters in the show: The Argentine People.

Director Dewey Scott Wiley promises a night at the theatre that will use this iconic musical to reflect on the trials and tribulations of our country’s current hardships. “The current social and political reverberations are much louder and more recognizable than any period in [Evita’s] history,” said Wiley. This production pledges to bring an exciting and unforgettable night at the theatre without the bells and whistles of popular musicals in today’s theatrical landscape. “This show premiered before the norm of helicopters, chandeliers, tires and barricades descending from unknown places,” said Wiley. “This is not spectacle.  This is spectacular storytelling,” she assured. “[Evita] will be the type of relevant social, political, inspiring, and musical escapist storytelling we all yearn for.” With Wiley’s inspired direction, Jeanine Cully Marsh’s musical direction, Cindy Flach’s choreography, David Swicegood’s costumes, and the devotion of its talented cast, Evita will undoubtedly be a first-class evening of musical theatre in Columbia.

When choosing which musical would find a home on the Trustus Main Stage in December, Artistic Director Jim Thigpen decided upon Andrew Lloyd Webber (Cats, Phantom of the Opera) and Tim Rice’s (The Lion King, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat) iconic musical Evita. Popular Columbia director Dewey Scott Wiley (Reefer Madness: The Musical, The Thing About Men) knew she wanted to direct the show when Thigpen was considering producing it because it was one of her inspirations for becoming a director. “The first time I saw Evita, I decided that I wanted to make a career out of stage story telling,” said Wiley. “It had a direct impact on my career path!”

Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s Evita opens Friday, December 5^th at 8:00pm. It runs through December 14^th, and then returns in 2009 from January 7^th through January 17^th. All Evita tickets are $25.

Trustus Theatre is located on Lady Street, behind the Gervais St. Publix. Parking is available on Lady St., and in the Publix parking lot. The main stage entrance is located on the Publix side of the building, and the Trustus Black Box is on the Huger St. side of the building where the glass doors reside.

Evita is the third main stage show of Trustus’ 24^th season. For more information call Joe in the box office Tuesdays through Saturdays 1-6 p.m. at 803-254-9732. Also visit the newly designed www.trustus.org for show information and other season info.

Take an exam break to see new short works done by Midlands Technical College students. Enjoy a wonderful evening of theatre in a comfortable cozy theatre in the Landau Technology Building on the Beltline campus (LET 110). No reservations taken, doors will open at 7:30pm for seating. Admission is $5.00 dollars for four new plays.

Trustus Youth Theatre re-opens its popular version of “A Christmas Carol” in the Trustus Black Box, December 6th.

“A Christmas Carol,” the classic Charles Dickens story, follows the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge through a night of hauntings by the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future to show that charity and goodwill are the true message of the holidays and that the holidays are not a “Humbug” as Scrooge would always exclaim. While this tale is a classic holiday story, Henderson and playwright George Pate have used modern humor and modern music to bring an exciting new edge to the production. “This production entertains audiences of all ages,” said Henderson, “Audiences really enjoy the up-to-date jokes as well as the use of rock music to tell the story. One patron last year told us they ‘loved the new energy’ of our Christmas Carol.”

Larry McMullen (Proof, Copy Man) will be returning as the classic curmudgeon, Ebenezer Scrooge. He will be leading an ensemble of seven other actors who will bring the story to the Trustus Black Box, including Columbia stage regulars Gene Aimone (The Lieutenant of Inishmore, My Name Is Bess) and Joe Morales (The Meaning of “I”, The Lieutenant of Inishmore).

Chad Henderson (Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead), director of A Christmas Carol and Artistic Director of the Trustus Youth Theatre, knew that he wanted another chance to bring the classic Dickens story back to life in the Black Box. “It was such a success last year,” said Henderson, “We knew we wanted to give all of the people who were turned away last year another chance to see it.”

“A Christmas Carol” opens December 6th in the Trustus Black Box at 11:00am. It runs December 7-9 at 7:00pm every night. TrustusYouth Theatre tickets are $5 for students, $7 for adults, $20 for families of four or more, and $4 each for groups of 10 or more.  

Trustus Theatre is located on Lady Street, behind the Gervais St. Publix. Parking is available on Lady St., and in the Publix parking lot. The main stage entrance is located on the Publix side of the building, and the Trustus Black Box is on the Huger St. side of the building where the glass doors reside.

Town Theatre continues the celebration of this historic 90^th season with the hilarious sequel to Greater Tuna. A playful spin is put on the holidays as OKKK radio news personalities Thurston Wheelis and Arles Struvie report on various Yuletide activities in Tuna, the third smallest town in Texas. 

The annual yard display contest is in a heated battle as Socialite Vera Carp hopes to win another consecutive victory, facing stiff competition from the crusty proprietor of Didi’s Used Weapons and from a pair of cowboy-loving Tastee Crème waitresses. Joe Bob Lipsey’s production of A Christmas Carol is jeopardized by unpaid electric bills and then there’s the “mysterious Christmas phantom” adding a flavor of intrigue! Many other colorful Tuna citizens join in the holiday fun.

The most amazing aspect is that the entire cast of over twenty characters of both genders and varying ages is comprised of two men: Bill DeWitt and Kevin Roberts. Town Theatre audiences will remember Bill as Ray-Bud in Dearly Departed and as the lecherous boss in There Goes the Bride. Kevin is a newcomer to Town Theatre and recently to our town of Columbia from his hometown of Nashville, Tennessee. 

December 11-21, 2008
Wednesdays – Saturdays at 8 pm
Sunday matinees (Dec. 14 and 21) at 3 pm

Ticket Prices
Adults $16
Senior over 65/Active Military/College $13
Youth (under 18) $11

For Tickets or Information
Box Office:  803-799-2510
www.towntheatre.com
1012 Sumter Street
Columbia, SC 29201

Starring that jolly old elf himself (played by Workshop favorite Bobby Craft), S. Claus & Company will delight audiences December 11-14 with Christmas, Chanukah and other seasonal tunes that capture the warmth and humor of this special time of year.

A company of 31 youth and adults will perform a wide variety of material that runs the musical gamut, from carols to country, novelty numbers to the Nutcracker.  In addition to the multi-talented young people who have appeared in such WT shows as The Secret Garden, Rock Nativity and Fiddler on the Roof – as well as Broadway Bound, Workshop’s resident musical theatre company – the cast includes adults Lisa Akly (DOGS: The Musical), Becca Rietz (The Secret Garden), B. Scott Vaughan (Thoroughly Modern Millie) and Lanny Spires (a veteran of regional and national tours who is making his Workshop debut).

This multi-talented company will perform such seasonal tunes as “Silver Bells,” “Christmas in Dixie,” “Haneriot Halula,” “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” “Celebrating Kwanzaa,” “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?,” “Jolly Old St. Nicholas,” “Sleigh Ride,” “Carol of the Bells” and many more!

(As an added bonus, a performance by the Dutch Fork High School Chamber Choir will precede the Dec. 12 performance.)

Driving the S. Claus sleigh is director and choreographer Dedra Daniels Mount, with the sounds of the season brought to life by musical director Lou Warth.  Randy Strange is “decking our stage” with his usual flair, and Barry Sparks is stringing up the Christmas lights!  Costumer Renée Wright is helping the cast members wear their holiday best, producer Jimmy Mount is keeping his eye on the shopping list, and Pam Johnson is handling graphic design that would be the envy of Hallmark.

The concept for S. Claus & Company was first developed almost 20 years ago by the late Bette Herring, former director of the children’s theatre program at Workshop.  That original production, choreographed by Dedra Mount, featured some of Columbia’s most talented young people, including D.B. Bonds, who went on to the Broadway casts of Les Miserables and Phantom of the Opera, and is currently starring in the national tour of Legally Blonde; McCree O’Kelly, recently returned to Columbia after touring the nation as Mr. Mistoffelees in CATS; and Amanda Rose, now playing the role of Nessarose in Broadway’s Wicked.

So make plans now to join us for S. Claus & Company, to celebrate the holiday season – and perhaps see a few stars of tomorrow!

DATES: December 11-14, 2008

CURTAIN TIME: Curtain at 8:00 p.m. December 11-12, 3:00 and 8:00 p.m. December 13, and 3:00 p.m. on December 14

TICKETS: $10

BOX OFFICE: Tickets go on sale at noon on December 3. For additional information, call the Box Office at 799-6551. Hours are noon - 5:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. (Online orders occur in real time 24 hours a day after the initial start time.) To learn more about online reservations, click here.

SEATING: To view a seating chart, click here.