Cohoes, N.Y. (November 29, 2023) –On Friday, December 1, Playhouse Stage Company opens its 36th Season presenting professional and youth musical theatre in the Capital Region with a new production of the musical adaptation of Barbara Robinson’s children’s novel The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. The production will play at Cohoes Music Hall through December 23, with 7pm evening performances on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, as well as 2pm matinee performances on Saturdays and Sundays. Playhouse Stage has been producing free, outdoor summer musicals at Park Playhouse since 1989, and has been presenting musicals year-round at the historic Cohoes Music Hall since 2016.
Complimentary tickets are available throughout the run for members of the media and local theatre press who wish to cover the production. To request tickets, please email Owen Smith, Producing Artistic Director, at owen@playhousestage.org.
Back by popular demand following a nearly sold out 2017 run early in the company’s residency at Cohoes Music Hall, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever tells the story of the “horrible Herdmans,” a rowdy bunch of kids who force their way into their town’s annual Sunday School pageant. Thrust into the role of Director, Grace Bradley is tasked with the seemingly impossible duty of getting the kids to behave long enough to present a nativity play, while her fellow church ladies pass judgement on the less fortunate Herdman children. With a funny, touching story, and memorable songs that blend a modern Broadway sound with traditional holiday melodies, the show presents local families an opportunity for hilarious and heart-warming live entertainment this holiday season.
The production boasts a cast of local professional performers alongside Playhouse Stage Academy students. “We are delighted to be taking the next step in the evolution of our youth theatre training program,” said Playhouse Stage Producing Artistic Director Owen Smith. “Giving our talented student body the chance to work alongside seasoned professionals, and to experience performing a longer run of a show than usual presents them with a real opportunity for growth. Likewise, our professional cast members have been inspired by the energy, preparation and ability of our young students,” Smith continued. The cast of twenty features seven adult professionals, and thirteen Playhouse students between the ages of eight and twelve, in age appropriate roles.
The production is directed by Playhouse Stage Managing Director, Chuck Kraus, with choreography and musical staging by AshleySimone Kirchner, and musical direction by Brian Axford. The trio have helmed dozens of Playhouse productions amongst them. The adult cast members are known to audiences from performances at Cohoes Music Hall, Park Playhouse, Capital Repertory Theatre, Sand Lake Center for the Arts and many other venues. Leading the cast is veteran Playhouse leading lady Molly Rose McGrath (Bright Star, Ragtime, and others) as Grace Bradley, along with fellow cast members from last summer’s Something Rotten, including Lancelot Douglas, Nick Martiniano, Gabi Bazinet Douglas and Elizabeth Bazinet. Local actor and co-host of the Everything Theatre podcast, Ellen Cribbs, makes her Playhouse Stage debut as Helen Armstrong. The student cast features leading stand outs from this past summer’s Playhouse Stage Academy productions with Sophie Geis (The Secret Garden) and Jonah Wood (Joseph…Dreamcoat) as Imogene and Ralph Herdman respectively.
Tickets for The Best Christmas Pageant Ever are on sale through The Cohoes Music Hall Box Office, by phone at 518-434-0776, or online at www.playhousestage.org.