Stage Door News
Stage Door News
Don't mess with success.
After scoring a hit with last year's production of A Wind in the Willows Christmas, the cast and crew are back this holiday season to reprise the popular tale of Mole, Ratty, Badger, Toad and Field Mouse.
“When we premiered the show last year, it was an instant hit and so many people, young and old, asked if we would do it again," said Peggy Coffey, of Alternative Theatre Works.
"The entire cast, creative team and crew are returning to make Willows a family tradition for the holidays."
Alternative Theatre Works has partnered again with Off the Wall to stage the family-friendly show at the Stratford Masonic Concert Hall from Dec. 17-30, with matinees and evening shows offered throughout the run.
Cast of the show includes some of the most talented and best known actors in Stratford, including Robert King, Stephen Russell, Jessica Seguin and director Brad Rudy.
Special guest star is the acclaimed Graham Greene, as Toad. Greene recently received the Dreamcatcher Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award for his significant contributions to aboriginal peoples and community.
Musical director for the original score is Paul Shilton, with lighting by Stephen Degenstein, costumes and masks by Deb Erb, design by John Pennoyer, and stage adaptation by Coffey and Rudy.
“We are also continuing the tradition we started last year, of making this show a community effort, by inviting children from Stratford and the surrounding area to join the cast as the Village Mice," Coffey added.
"This is not only a family show, it is a story of community, and we are thrilled to have so many wonderful children join the on-stage antics and celebration."
In keeping with that theme of community, proceeds from the production's final show on Dec. 30 will go to the Stratford-Perth Humane Society's Capital Campaign for a new animal welfare centre.
A press release from Alternative Theatre Works said the show and the fundraising campaign offered a "perfect fit".
"The story of Ratty helping his dear friend Mole get home to Mole End for Christmas connects in such a wonderful way with the idea that everyone deserves a home, which is at the heart of the Humane Society campaign for the new shelter."
For a full list of showtimes and to purchase tickets, visit http://alternativetheatreworks.com.
Tickets are also available at www.visitstratford.ca/events.php, in person at Stratford Tourism Alliance at 47 Downie St., and at the door before each performance.
By Scott Wishart for www.stratfordbeaconherald.com.
Photo: Graham Greene as Toad. ©2014 Scott Wishart.
2014-12-17
Stratford: "A Wind in the Willows Christmas" opens tonight and runs to December 30