Raleigh Winterfest Kicks off December 4th; A Christmas Story to open December 7th

Raleigh Winterfest 2010 kicks off on December 4th with A Christmas Story to open on December 7th at the Fletcher Theater in the Progress Energy Center.

Broadway Series South in association with Hot Summer Nights present the beloved holiday classic, A Christmas Story, December 7 – 24, 2010 in A.J. Fletcher Theater at the Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts; General Managed by North Carolina Theatre. Tickets are on sale now!! The presenting sponsor of this production is Barton College.

Written by Jean Shepherd and adapted by Philip Grecian, A Christmas Story 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 before his mother, his teacher and even Santa Claus himself, at Goldblatt’s Department Store. The consistent response: “You’ll shoot your eye out.” All the elements from the beloved motion picture are here, including the family’s temperamental exploding furnace; Scut Farkas, the school bully; the wet tongue on a cold lamppost experiment; the Little Orphan Annie decoder pin; Ralphie’s father winning a lamp shaped like a woman’s leg in a fishnet stocking and much, much more. This beloved holiday movie seen by millions is destined to become a theatrical holiday perennial here in the Triangle for years to come!

TICKET INFORMATION

A Christmas Story will play A.J. Fletcher Theater December 7 – 24. Show times are Tuesday – Friday, 7p.m.; Saturday & Sunday 2 & 7p.m. Tickets will range from $26 - $46 and are on sale at the Progress Energy Box Office and all Ticketmaster locations. Purchase by phone at 1-800-982-ARTS. Tickets for groups of 10 or more, please call (919) 857.4565 for group information.

For more information log on to www.broadwayseriessouth.com, www.nctheatre.com or www.hotsummernightatthekennedy.org.

BARTON COLLEGE

Barton College is located in Wilson, North Carolina, Barton College is an academic community of approximately 1,130 students and 200 faculty and staff. Nationally recognized for its programs in education, deaf education, nursing and social work, its championship men's athletics teams, and most recently, its outstanding contributions to theatre and the performing arts of the region, the school maintains a close-knit atmosphere and emphasizes individual attention and engaged learning. Their 65- acre campus is home to Barton Bulldogs varsity athletics and boasts five residence halls, the W.N.Hackney Library, the Kennedy Recreation & Intramural Center, the new Lauren Kennedy and Alan Campbell Theatre, and many other state-of-the-art facilities. President Norval Kneten expressed "Barton College is committed to supporting the performing arts in this region and we're proud to sponsor this outstanding production that will launch an exciting new holiday tradition for the community!"

“Play by Philip Grecian, based upon A Christmas Story, ©1983 Turner Entertainment Co., distributed by Warner Bros., written by Jean Shepherd, Leigh Brown and Bob Clark and In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash by Jean Shepherd.”

Lauren Kennedy to open [title of show] at George Street Playhouse on November 16!!!

Musical comedy [title of show] next at George Street Playhouse

Rick Busciglio

Northern New Jersey Theater Examiner

George Street Playhouse's David Saint, Artistic Director, is set to premiere the theatre's second production of its 2010-11 season, OBIE award-winning musical comedy, [title of show] Tuesday November 16, 2010.

Musical theatre maven, musical director (he recently collaborated with Betty Buckley in a series of concerts), author and host of “Seth’s Big, Fat Broadway” on Sirius/XM radio Seth Rudetsky, will play the role of Jeff. Joining him in the role of Hunter, is Tyler Maynard from Altar Boyz, Broadway’s The Little Mermaid and the new off-Broadway musical The Kid. Lauren Kennedy, from Broadway’s Spamalot, Sunset Boulevard and Side Show, and Susan Mosher seen on Broadway in Hairspray and on television in a recurring role on The L Word, play two friends of the collaborators. Matt Lenz , who recently directed the Paper Mill Playhouse production of Hairspray, and also served as the Broadway production’s Associate Director, will helm [title of show]. Jesse Vargas will music direct and play the role of Larry, the music director.

“I am so thrilled to welcome this extraordinary group of artists, including my old friend Seth Rudetsky. As this season has come together, a theme has emerged common to all five plays: the importance of discovering one’s true self and what one truly desires as opposed to what the world tells us we should want,” said Artistic David Saint. “The other prevalent theme in [title of show] is relationships and how they evolve as life happens. The truly remarkable thing about this musical is how these very profound ideas are conveyed, and the show is truly hilarious and touching. This is a perfect show for our audiences.”

Creating the world of [title of show] are scenic designer R. Michael Miller; costume designerMichael MacDonald; lighting designer Phillip Rosenberg; sound designer, Walter Trarbach and projection designer Michael Clarke.

[title of show] is a musical comedy for anyone who has followed a dream. When two struggling writers, Jeff and Hunter, make a commitment to write something new in three weeks, they quickly find that writing a comedy about the process of writing is more interesting than anything else they could write. A show about four friends taking risks, creating art, killing Vampires (the dream-destroying kind, not the Dracula kind) – and how relationships change when life happens.

Tickets beginning at $25 as well as various flexible subscription packages are available. Performances run from Tuesday, November 16 to Sunday, December 12 and Opening Night set for Friday, November 19. To purchase, or for further information, contact the George Street Playhouse Box Office, 732-246-7717 or shop online at www.GSPonline.org. Groups of 10 or more are entitled to a discount; for further information contact the GSP Group Sales Department at 732-846-2895, ext.134.

George Street Playhouse is located at 9 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick NJ, just steps away from public transportation and some of the area’s finest restaurants for every taste and budget. Ample parking is available, including on-street parking.

(left) Candid moment with cast members

during rehearsal.

(right) The fabulous Tyler Maynard

Photos : Lauren Kennedy