Holiday...

...spirit is in the air as we move into the second week of rehearsals for Holiday Follies! We've managed to start blocking after several rewrites of the script. And after a productive Saturday rehearsal in which we learned most of Steve Goers' new arrangements of holiday medleys, songs and interludes, I'd say we're in pretty decent shape, one week in.

This is going to be a stunning musical spectacle, for sure. With beautiful music underscoring a charming story--about a cast and crew wrapping up their holiday tour of a show coincidentally called Holiday Follies, when suddenly a mysterious flying sleigh gets their bus stuck in a snowdrift, leaving them stranded in the snow a full hour away from their destination, the Queen City itself--we are excited to make this a glorious, glowing tribute to the winter holidays.

There are obstacles, however. A lingering sickness--not the notorious flu, thank goodness--is making its way through the entire cast, and so everyone is pumping the hand sanitizer and plugging the antibodies. And because frequent rewrites at the beginning of the process made it difficult to hit the ground running, we are doing our best to go with the changes and make them work, without losing what we have gained already. Not that the rewrites have been total rewrites, or even terribly extensive ones; it's just that any show, no matter the season or the content, requires of its actors and creators just a little bit more than the last one. It's always a complicated process, putting on a show, but we're going to get through it, to the best of our ability. Again, we are fortunate to have an industrious staff and a strong team of inspired (and inspiring) directors and designers.

And, of course, a sensational cast.

So here it is: Monday, with more blocking and choreography coming up tonight. I believe that by the end of this week, we will all at least know where we are going, and when, and why. It's going to be a wonderful holiday spectacular!

I'm going to mention ticket sales again, only because we want to make sure everyone gets a chance to see the show. And while I do, please also consider that on Saturday, Dec. 12 at 11:30am is our Breakfast with Santa event, which is priced at $40/person for the breakfast and a ticket to Holiday Follies immediately following, or just $25/person for the breakfast only.

You can order tickets to Breakfast with Santa under Step 4 on our Public Order Form. Or, of course, by calling The Children's Theatre of Cincinnati offices at 513.569.8080, and speaking to Pam Young (ext. 13).