Theater at Judson Presents Final Performance of CHRISTMAS RAPPINGS 12/19

The Judson Memorial Church presents the 2009 revival of its wildly popular holiday show, Christmas Rappings, marking the 40th anniversary revival of Al Carmine's musical extravaganza.

Christmas Rappings will deck the sanctuary halls of the acclaimed historic West Village church from Friday, December 4, through Saturday, December 19, 2009.

A high-spirited, often hilarious take on the traditional Christmas story, the beloved, family-friendly musical is based on the birth narratives in four gospels. An exuberant, 100-strong cast includes solo vocalists, a chorus, dancers, and a pianist, who perform a joyous oratorio that offers a colorful and contemporary look at these cherished texts.

Christmas meets camp in a jubilant score by the late Al Carmines, which serves up every imaginable musical genre, from country to classical to blues to gospel, and even a rousing tango. Directed by Russell Treyz, Christmas Rappings features the choreography of DJ Salisbury and Thom Fogarty, set design by Bob Phillips, costume design by Austin Sanderson and lighting design by Victor En Yu Tan.

Presented frequently though intermittently since its premiere in 1969, Christmas Rappings has become a Greenwich Village holiday tradition in and of itself, with packed houses of devoted audiences who eagerly await the show every season.

Performance Dates
Opening night: Friday, December 4 ,at 8:00pm
Performances: Friday, December 5, at 8:00pm
Monday, December 7, at 8:00pm
Wed-Sat, December 9-12, at 8:00pm
Sunday, December 13, at 2:30pm
Wed-Sat, December 16-19, at 8:00pm

Tickets
Tickets are available for a suggested minimum donation of $20, and can be reserved online at www.judson.org. Reservations will also be taken at the Judson Memorial Church office, 55 Washington Square South, 212 477 0351 extension 24.

Director Russell Treyz
Drama Desk Award-winning director Russell Treyz counts among his directorial credits: Whitsuntide at the Martinique Theater; Cotton Patch Gospel with composer/lyricist, Harry Chapin; and Romeo and Juliet for the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival. At the Cape Playhouse, he has directed: A Lion in Winter, The Cocktail Hour, The Best Man, The Tale of the Allergist's Wife, Da, Corpse, and Sleuth, among other productions. He has directed over ten productions for Arts Center of Coastal Carolina, Hilton Head, South Carolina, and seven productions for Utah Shakespearean Festival. He directed the 2007 revival of Christmas Rappings for Theater at Judson Memorial Church.

About Judson Memorial Church
Judson Memorial Church is a pioneering institution devoted to social justice located on the south side of Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village. Founded in 1890, the landmark Sanford White-designed church has, with each new decade, continued to break ground as a place of worship, vital community hub, civil rights sanctuary, and celebrated incubator of innovative arts.

From the 1950s, Judson Memorial Church has championed a radical arts ministry, providing gallery space to then emerging artists such as Claes Oldenburg, Jim Dine, and Robert Rauschenberg, and showing work by artists including Red Grooms and Yoko Ono. The Judson Dance Theater, founded in 1962, furthered this commitment to new art forms by providing a venue for groundbreaking dancers and choreographers including Trisha Brown, Lucinda Childs, Steve Paxton, Deborah Hay, and Yvonne Rainer. Experimental theater has also flourished at the church, from the work of the Judson Poets' Theatre in the 1960s, including plays by Sam Shepard, Lanford Wilson, and Tom O'Horgan to church-sponsored performances in the 1980s by political theater troupe Bread and Puppet, among others.

Today, Judson Memorial Church continues to support and present artists spanning all disciplines. In recent years, musical groups such as Aimee Mann, Steve Earle, and Arcade Fire have performed in the sanctuary, and Movement Research dance laboratory conducts its ambitious Artist-in Residence program.

Besides the arts, though, Judson also offers Sunday morning worship (with an active congregation of several hundred) and a Wednesday evening meditation service with a free community meal open followed by free movies on alternate weeks. Judson is a member of the New Sanctuary Movement that advocates for immigrants and immigration reform and runs a training program for future clergy on how to best and most progressively serve the public.

The Judson Memorial Church, as well as being the heart of Washington Square, is clearly a hub and a parish for all members of the community.

 

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