The Alliance Theatre and Dad's Garage Present Holiday Improv on the Hertz Stage, 11/28-12/20

The Alliance is pleased to partner with Dad's Garage to present the holiday themed production, It's a Wonderful Laugh. The award-winning Dad's Garage Ensemble will parody the quintessential Christmas story It's a Wonderful Life with a fun rotating cast of familiar and not-so-familiar characters. It's a Wonderful Laugh runs on the Hertz Stage from November 28 - December 20, 2014. Opening Night is Friday, December 5, 8:00 p.m.

Written and directed by Kevin Gillese, It's a Wonderful Laugh invites audiences to choose a new "invader" (who is a complete surprise to the cast) to infiltrate the world of George Bailey and Bedford Falls each night. Dad's Garage improvisers then create a whole new holiday experience right before your eyes incorporating each night's chosen guest. Using the same concept as its highly successful show, Invasion Christmas Carol, It's a Wonderful Laugh provides brand new holiday inspired laughs for audiences night after night.

The cast for this production includes Dad's Garage regulars Jackie Cassady, Karen Cassady, Perry Frost, Matt Horgan, Ed Morgan, and Dan Triandiflou.

Performances are Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays at 8:00 p.m. and 10:30 p.m., and Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. and 10:30 p.m., November 28 - December 20, 2014. Opening Night for It's a Wonderful Laugh is Friday, December 5, 8:00 p.m.

Tickets start at $25 and are available at The Woodruff Arts Center Box Office by calling 404.733.5000 or visiting www.alliancetheatre.org/wonderfullaugh. Discounted rates for groups of 10 or more are available by calling 404.733.4690. Discounted rates are also available for members of the military, seniors and students. The Alliance Theatre is located at The Woodruff Arts Center, 1280 Peachtree Street NE, Atlanta, GA 30309 - at the corner of Peachtree and 15th Street, in Midtown Atlanta.

It's a Wonderful Laugh is part of the Turner Series on the Hertz Stage.

Additional Sponsors: It's a Wonderful Laugh is sponsored by Delta Air Lines - Official Airline of the Alliance Theatre; Marriott Residence Inn - Official Hotel of the Alliance Theatre; and The Home Depot - Set Construction Sponsor of the Alliance Theatre.

Dad's Garage engages, cultivates and inspires artists and audiences alike by producing innovative, scripted and improvised works that are recognized locally, nationally and internationally for being undeniably awesome. Founded in 1995, Dad's Garage Theatre has grown from a small volunteer led organization to a thriving mid-size theatre led by professional artistic and administrative staff. The family at Dad's has continued to grow along with us including over 300 volunteers and performers. Despite losing our home to a new development in 2013, we still entertain roughly 30,000 people each year at our temporary home (7 Stages Theatre) in Atlanta, at public events across the continent, and at festivals across the globe. Dad's gives a new definition to the phrase "original work" with innovative world premiere plays created by the Dad's Garage family. In addition to our outrageous original scripted productions, Dad's Garage produces improv shows year-round. You can always be sure we've got something awesome running every single weekend. http://www.dadsgarage.com/

Founded in 1968, the Alliance Theatre has become the leading producing theatre in the Southeast, creating the powerful experience of shared theatre for diverse people. The Alliance values excellence, pursued with integrity and creativity, and achieved through collaboration. Reaching more than 200,000 patrons annually, the Alliance delivers powerful programming that challenges adult and youth audiences to think critically and care deeply. Under the leadership of Susan V. Booth, Jennings Hertz Artistic Director, the Alliance Theatre received the Regional Theatre Tony Award in recognition of sustained excellence in programming, education and community engagement.

Known for its high artistic standards and national role in creating significant theatrical works, the Alliance has premiered more than 80 original productions including Tony Award winners The Color Purple, by Alice Walker, Aida, by Elton John and Tim Rice, and Alfred Uhry's The Last Night of Ballyhoo. The Alliance has a reputation for developing important American musicals with a strong track record of Broadway, touring, and subsequent productions, including the world premieres of Sister Act: The Musical, Come Fly Away, Bring It On: The Musical, Stephen King and John Mellencamp's Ghost Brothers of Darkland County, the American premiere of Zorro, with music by the Gipsy Kings, and most recently, Harmony - A New Musical by Barry Manilow and Bruce Sussman. The Alliance also creates and nurtures the careers of playwrights through the Alliance/Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Competition, producing a premiere for the competition winner as part of the regular season, and the Reiser Atlanta Artists Lab, providing developmental support and production resources for three performing arts projects each year. The work produced by the Alliance allows locally based artists the chance to create on a nationally watched stage, building and sustaining Atlanta's artistic community.

Each year the Alliance Theatre Acting Program and Education Department reaches close to 50,000 students through performances, acting classes, drama camps, and in-school initiatives. The Alliance creates and produces plays for young audiences at every age level: from the Collision Project, where high school artists create and perform new work based on a classic text, to the ground breaking Theatre for the Very Young, creating interactive shows for infants and toddlers. The Alliance also offers community education classes for all ages and abilities of theatre interest; and adult student productions of unproduced plays in development, working with local and national playwrights. An active participant in Georgia classrooms, the Alliance has developed programs using theatrical techniques to aid in student learning through storytelling and problem solving. The Alliance's Institute for Educators and Teaching Artists equips teachers with theatrical techniques that link directly to school curriculum, align with the Common Core Georgia Performance Standards, and increase student learning. These programs include Georgia Wolf Trap Early Learning Through the Arts, which focuses on literacy skills for children in Pre-K - 2nd Grade, and Dramaturgy K-12, in which students create research material that informs Alliance productions and prepares peer audiences. Twice recognized by the U.S. Education Department as leaders in arts education, these programs reflect the Alliance's commitment to city wide arts access.

The Alliance delivers the finest talent, art and educational opportunities for Atlanta audiences-proving once again that the Alliance is where great theatre lives.

www.alliancetheatre.org or 404.733.4650

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