December 6 – December 28, 2013
Book by Thomas Meehan and Bob Martin
Music by Matthew Sklar
Lyrics by Chad Beguelin
Based upon the New Line Cinema film written by David Berenbaum
"A bona fide treat." - The New York Post
The movie became an instant cult classic, and the musical adaptation took Broadway by storm! When Buddy discovers that he’s not really an elf—the fact that he’s 6’2” and towers over the other elves in Santa’s Workshop should have tipped him off—he travels to New York to find his real father.
Important Dates
Monday–Thursday 7:00 PM
Friday & Saturday 7:30 PM
Saturday 2:00 PM
ASL-interpreted performance: Saturday, October 7th @ 2 PM
Sponsors
Emma Eccles Jones Foundation
Overview
Cast
Creative Team
DAN KNECHTGES (Director) is a Tony-nominated choreographer and director working in theater, opera, concert dance, television, film and music videos. Broadway credits includeLysistrata Jones (Direction and Choreography), Xanadu (directed by Chris Ashley, Tony nomination, Drama Desk nomination), Sondheim on Sondheim (directed by James Lapine), 110 in The Shade (starring Audra McDonald) and The 25th Annual Putnum County Spelling Bee(directed by James Lapine). Dan also choreographed the off-Broadway incarnation of The 25thAnnual Putnum County Spelling Bee at Second Stage (Lucille Lortel Award nomination). Off-Broadway: Merrily We Roll Along for Encores! at City Center (directed by James Lapine),Vanities at Second Stage and directing and choreographing Lysistrata Jones for the Transport Group. Other selected credits include Der Schuh Das Manitu (Berlin, Germany), Vanities(Theatreworks Palo Alto), Give It Up! (Dallas Theatre Center), Girl In The Frame (Goodspeed),Boys From Syracuse (Centerstage Baltimore), Oklahoma!, The Wiz, Cats, My Fair Lady, Caucasian Chalk Circle, The Sound of Music, Joseph… (Hangar Theatre), Mame, Angel Street, …Forum (Surflight Theatre), Don Giovanni (Indianapolis Opera), Carousel, The Merry Widowand West Side Story (Opera Illinois). He also has had the pleasure of working on almost every Gilbert and Sullivan operetta including The Grand Duke, Iolanthe, Ruddigore, The Mikado, Patience, The Gondoliers, H.M.S. Pinafore and The Sorcerer all with the Blue Hill Troupe in NYC.
LIZA GENNARO (Choreographer) choreographed the critically acclaimed Broadway revival ofThe Most Happy Fella directed by Gerald Gutierrez and the Broadway revival of Once Upon a Mattress starring Sarah Jessica Parker. She has choreographed off-Broadway and in regional theaters including: Roundabout Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Hartford Stage, Guthrie Theater, The Goodspeed Opera House, Paper Mill Playhouse, Hangar Theater, The Old Globe and The St. Louis “Muny” Opera. She collaborated with Stephen Flaherty and Frank Galati on their chamber musical Loving, Repeating: A Musical of Gertrude Stein and choreographed the 30th Anniversary tour of Annie. Liza is an assistant professor at Indiana University and writes about musical theater dance.
TOM GRIFFIN (Musical Director, Conductor) is a nationally recognized musical director and conductor for professional musical theater. Recent productions: A Christmas Carol: The Musicalat Pioneer Theatre Company, 13, The Musical; the West Coast and Los Angeles premieres ofThe Last Five Years, Sweet Charity, Sweeney Todd and The Music Man; the West Coast premiere of Spitfire Grill; Annie, West Side Story, The Scarlet Pimpernel, Bye Bye Birdie; the national tour of My Fair Lady for Theatre Of The Stars; and the Alabama Shakespeare Festival’s productions of A Christmas Carol: The Musical, Peter Pan and A Christmas Memory. Awards: Broadway revival of You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown (Los Angeles premiere), Garland Award Best Musical Direction; and Side Show (Los Angeles premiere), Los Angeles Drama Critics Award Best Musical Direction. Tom was the musical conductor of Disney’s Beauty and the Beaston two national tours.
MICHAEL SCHWEIKARDT (Scenic Designer) returns to PTC after designing last season’s The Odd Couple. He designed the world premiere of the new Duncan Sheik/Kyle Jarrow musicalWhisper House at San Diego’s Old Globe Theatre. He has created sets for several musicals by Joe Iconis, including Bloodsong of Love at Ars Nova, ReWrite at Urban Stages, The Black Suitsat The Public Theater, The Plant That Ate Dirty Socks for TheatreworksUSA, and Things to Ruinat both The Zipper Factory and Second Stage Theatre. Recent credits include Jeffrey Hatcher’sElla, appearing in cities all across the country; the critically acclaimed productions of Annie Get Your Gun, 1776, Big River and Camelot for Goodspeed Musicals; Barnum for Asolo Repertory Theatre’s 50th anniversary season; Oklahoma! starring Kelli O’Hara and Will Chase celebrating the Oklahoma State Centennial; the American premieres of Frank McGuinness’ Gates of Goldand The Bird Sanctuary, and national and international tours of James Taylor’s One Man Band. Mr. Schweikardt’s online portfolio can be seen at www.msportfolio.com.
K.L. ALBERTS (Costume Designer) Previous designs at PTC include: the world premieres ofDumas’ Camille and Laughing Stock, as well as Of Mice and Men, Annie, White Christmas, 42ndStreet, Miss Saigon, The Producers, Les Misérables (2007 and 2013), Metamorphoses, WestSide Story, Ragtime, Proof, Phantom, Communicating Doors, A Raisin in the Sun, Death of aSalesman, The Dining Room, Inherit the Wind, Little Shop of Horrors, Private Lives, Uncle Vanya, Scapino!, Born Yesterday, Rough Crossing and The Cripple of Inishmaan. Designs for the University of Utah’s Babcock Theatre include: On the Verge, Summer and Smoke, The Cherry Orchard, School for Scandal, I Do! I Do!, The Seagull, Table Manners and Edward II. For Salt Lake Acting Company, K.L. has designed Venus in Fur, Red, boom, Angels in America, Go, Dog. Go!, I Am My Own Wife, Rabbit Hole, Sexsting, Gross Indecency, The Beauty Queen of Leenane and The Beard of Avon among others. K.L. recently designed Infantry Monologues andShadows of the Bakemono for Meat & Potato Theatre Company, and has designed Ah! Wilderness, Hay Fever, The Matchmaker, Fiddler on the Roof, Great Expectations: A New Musical, Les Misérables and Anything Goes for the Utah Shakespeare Festival.
JOHN LASITER (Lighting Designer) has designed lighting on Broadway, off-Broadway, internationally and in such regional theatres across America as Actors Theatre of Louisville, Arena Stage, Arizona Repertory Theatre, Asolo Repertory Theatre, Center Stage (Baltimore), Cincinnati Playhouse, The Cleveland Play House, Dallas Theater Center, Florida Stage, George Street Playhouse, Geva Theatre Center, Goodspeed Musicals, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, New Mexico Repertory Theatre, The Muny, Northlight Theatre, Pittsburgh Public Theater, South Coast Repertory, Syracuse Stage, Virginia Stage Company and The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis. Mr. Lasiter’s opera design credits include Eos Orchestra, the Curtis Institute of Music, Glimmerglass Opera, Manhattan School of Music, Opera Delaware, Opera Carolina and Skylight Opera Theatre. Dance credits include Ballet Memphis, Danzantes Unidos de California, Son Danzantes Dance Studio, Irene Hultman Dance, Nora Reynolds Dance and Randy James Dance Works. For more information, visit www.johnlasiter.com.
DAVID CRAWFORD (Sound Designer) has previously presided as DOMA’s resident sound designer; notable productions include Jekyll & Hyde, Avenue Q and Dreamgirls. You can also hear his work every summer at the Sun Valley Symphony Series. David has served as the Production Mixer for Reprise! Theatre Company, Lythgoe Family Productions and Tyler Perry Productions. Recent works include Smokey Joe’s Café at the Pasadena Playhouse, Lonesome Traveler at the Rubicon Theater Company, and CinemaCon at the Colosseum at Caesar’s Palace. www.dcasound.com
AMANDA FRENCH (Hair and Makeup Designer) has been a Makeup and Hair Designer for over 20 years. She has worked for Montana Shakespeare in the Parks, the Utah Shakespeare Festival, the Utah Opera, Egyptian Theatre Company and the University of Texas as Austin. She is a contributing writer in the tenth edition of Stage Makeup by Corson, Glavan and Norcross, and her work can be seen in The Costume Technician’s Handbook by Ingham and Covey, andWig Making and Styling: A Complete Guide for Theatre and Film by Ruskai and Lowery. She attended the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati where she studied with Hair and Makeup Designer Lenna Kaleva. She is a member of the United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT) and a current University of Utah adjunct professor of wigs and makeup.
Media
Publicity
Preview Coverage
BroadwayWorld
A CHRISTMAS STORY, THE MUSICAL to be Presented at Pioneer Theatre Company in December
Gephardt Daily
A Christmas Story, The Musical’ to bring festive cheer to Pioneer
Salt Lake City Weekly
The Essential A&E Picks for Dec 8-14
ABC-4
Family-friendly Christmas events in Utah
Reviews
BroadwayWorld
A CHRISTMAS STORY at Pioneer Theatre Company is Warm-Hearted”
Front Row Reviewers
Oh Fudge! Pioneer Theatre Company Brings A Christmas Story, the Musical to Utah and If You Miss it–Well, You Know What You’ll Say
Gephardt Daily
PTC’s ‘A Christmas Story, The Musical’ adds comedy, depth to nostalgic film story
Good Things Utah
A Christmas Story, The Musical hits the Pioneer Theatre stage
Utah Arts Review
PTC’s high-energy cast serves up enjoyable, family-friendly ‘Christmas Story
The Utah Review
Pioneer Theatre Company’s A Christmas Story: The Musical is spiffy, enjoyable homage to holiday film classic
Utah Theatre Bloggers
PIONEER’S A CHRISTMAS STORY IS A BULLSEYE
Study Guide
Content Advisory
Hello Dolly!
SYNOPSIS: Jerry Herman’s energetic Hello, Dolly! is a musical filled with charisma and heart. Matchmaker Dolly Levi is a widow, a matchmaker, and also a professional meddler –but everything changes when she decides that the next match she needs to make is to find someone for herself. Set in New York City at the turn of the century, Hello Dolly! is boisterous and charming from start to finish. Dolly Levi is one of the strongest and richest starring roles for a woman ever written for musical theatre.
LANGUAGE: A few mild uses of “damn.”
SMOKING AND DRINKING: The characters sing of smoking although none is depicted, and wine and champagne are consumed during dinners.
SEX: None.
VIOLENCE: None.
FOR WHICH AUDIENCES? Hello, Dolly! is suitable for all ages.