WSU Premieres Two Jim Christian Musicals for the Holidays
Who: Weber State University Department of Performing Arts
What: Five Carols for Christmas/JingleJacks, directed by Jim Christian
When: November 12, 13, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 at 7:30 • 2:00 matinee Nov 20
American Sign Language interpretation provided Saturday, Nov 13
Where: Allred Theater, Val A. Browning Center for the Performing Arts
Tickets: $10/$7, Dee Events Center tickets: 1-800-WSU-TIKS
Weber State University Department of Performing Arts premieres two one-act musicals “Five Carols for Christmas/JingleJacks” by Jim Christian and Kenneth Plain; directed by Jim Christian, November 12, 13, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 at 7:30 pm with a 2 pm matinee on Saturday, November 20. The November 13 performance will feature American Sign Language translations. Children eight years and older are welcome.
“Five Carols for Christmas” find five women (all named “Carol,” each with a different spelling) preparing for their holiday gala at the local community center - on the worst weather day of the year. The program includes songs about how the holiday is celebrated around the world. They start in a living room and end up on stage. The intervening mayhem (no murder) provides the fun.
“JingleJacks” begins with a variety of young lumberjacks returning from a day in the woods to prepare for their live, on-line, boy-band show. Their performances include a variety of styles. They also sell a variety of merchandise related to their boy-band songs and individual members: locks of hair, calendar, etc. Did we mention their program is a variety show?
When asked for the motivation for creating this set of musicals Jim says, “I think of this as filling a hole in the canon: a new holiday play, a play for all men and a play for all women. Also, I’m very fond of Christmas.
“Just as I wrote ‘Sleepy Hollow’ (original 2009 play premiered at WSU) to provide another opportunity for a Halloween show, I want this set of one-acts to do the same for the Christmas season. After all, as much as we like “The Christmas Carol” do we want to see it every year. Don’t theatre groups want another choice? Yes!
”With ‘JingleJacks” I wanted to explore the power of YouTube and the Web. It is a new venue for performers. More and more people are taking advantage of it. Imagine the excitement of having your millionth hit on YouTube.”
Scenic Designer Austin Hull, WSU theatre major, has the challenge of creating two complete sets for this performance: a stereotypical 1950s living room and a rustic Canadian cabin. An added bonus is decorating each set with appropriate Christmas decorations. Astute audience members will enjoy picking out the items as they watch the show.
Costume Designer Phillip Lowe also has double duty with complete sets of costumes for each show. He has done his research on the 50s dresses and hairdos for the women, individualizing each character while staying with the genre. His “lumberjack” costumes for each character are created with a gentle sense of humor as are the calendar theme costumes for the pin-up calendar. Pin-up lumberjacks? Wait and see!
For more information about this production, contact Jim Christian 801 626 7992 or jchristian@weber.edu.
photos available on request
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