Ken Ludwig's 'TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS to Open at Adventure Theatre MTC in December

Adventure Theatre MTC, the longest-running children’s theatre in the Washington, D.C. area, will continue its 2024-2025 Season with Ken Ludwig’s first-ever children’s play, ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas. Directed by Patrick Flynn and based on the poem by Clemente Clark Moore, Ken Ludwig’s ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas brings to the stage a fresh perspective on this comedy by the award-winning playwright of Broadway’s Lend Me a Tenor, Crazy For You and Moon Over Buffalo, and runs December 6, 2024 through January 5, 2025.  The press performance will be Friday, December 6, 2024 at 7pm. Recommened for ages 4 and up.
 
“'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse." But wait! A mouse is stirring - because Santa missed his house last year. Before you can say ‘Merry Christmas!’, we're off on the wild adventures of a mouse, an elf and a spunky little girl who just won't take ‘no’ for an answer. Don't miss this joyful tribute to the holiday season from three-time Tony nominee and Olivier Award-winning playwright Ken Ludwig. 

Says Kurt Boehm, Artistic Director at Adventure Theatre MTC, “I’m so proud of Adventure’s history of new work, and in recognition of that, we’re bringing back one of those world premiere plays. On the heels of the critically acclaimed, She Persisted, we couldn’t be happier to continue the momentum with an exciting holiday romp from a Tony-Award and Olivier Award recipient, Ken Ludwig, that will joy to D.C. area families this holiday season.”   

Director Patrick Flynn who received a Helen Hayes award nomination for Outstanding Original Play or Musical Adaptation his 2019 adaptation of The Velveteen Rabbit, created specifically for Adventure Theatre MTC, was chosen to bring to life Ken Ludwig’s words for the world premiere.  

He leads a cast that includes Helen Hayes Award Recipient, Mary Myers, and long-time Adventure actress, Julia Klavans, and newcomers to Adventure Theatre MTC, Jordan Brown, Tobi Baisburd, and Helen Hayes Award Nominee, Gary DuBreuil.  

Says director, Patrick Flynn, “As a writer, it's always exciting to read something that shares your influences and sense of humor, and that is Ken Ludwig's script in a nutshell, Ken is a DC-area theatre comedy legend and I'm so happy to bring his silly & joyful script. to life with this amazing cast. The kids are going to love it.” 

Adventure Theatre MTC’s community engagement program is continuing with a new bedding drive to benefit the family shelter, Stepping Stones Shelter, in Rockville, MD. Donations of new twin or full sheets, blankets, or comforters may be dropped off in Adventure Theatre MTC’s lobby during the run of Ken Ludwig’s ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas. Recipients of patrons generosity will be “nestled all snug in their beds,” indeed! 

For more information on Adventure Theatre MTC’s 2024-2025 Season, visit our website or call 301-634-2270. 

ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT 

Ken Ludwig may well be the most performed playwright of his generation. He has had six productions on Broadway and eight in London’s West End. His 34 plays and musicals are staged throughout the United States and around the world every night of the year. They have been produced in over 20 languages in more than 30 countries, and many have become standards of the American repertoire.   

His first play, Lend Me a Tenor, was produced on Broadway and in London by Andrew Lloyd Webber. It won two Tony Awards and was called “one of the classic comedies of the 20th century” by The Washington Post. Crazy For You was on Broadway for five years, on the West End for three, and won the Tony and Olivier Awards for Best Musical. It has been revived twice in the West End and is currently touring Japan. Since its European premiere at Chichester Festival Theatre in 2022, Ludwig’s adaptation of Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express has had hundreds of international productions. 

In addition, he has won the Edwin Forrest Award for Contributions to the American Theatre, two Laurence Olivier Awards, two Helen Hayes Awards, the Charles MacArthur Award, and the Edgar Award for Best Mystery of the Year. He was also nominated for an Emmy Award for writing the Kennedy Center Honors. His other plays include Moon Over Buffalo; Leading Ladies; Baskerville; Sherwood; Twentieth Century; Dear Jack, Dear Louise; A Fox on the Fairway; A Comedy of Tenors; The Game’s Afoot; Shakespeare in Hollywood; and Moriarty. They have starred, among others, Alec Baldwin, Carol Burnett, Tony Shaloub, Joan Collins, and Kristin Bell.   

His book How to Teach Your Children Shakespeare, published by Penguin Random House, has been a bestseller and is out this year in a new, expanded edition. It won the Falstaff Award for Best Shakespeare Book of the Year. His essays on theatre are published in the Yale Review, and he gives the Annual Ken Ludwig Playwriting Scholarship at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival.   

His first opera, Tenor Overboard, opened at the Glimmerglass Festival in July 2022. His most recent world premieres were Lend Me A Soprano and Moriarty, and his newest plays and musicals include Pride and Prejudice Part 2: Napoleon at Pemberley, Lady Molly of Scotland Yard, Beginner’s Luck, and Easter Parade. 

He has been commissioned to write plays by Agatha Christie Limited, the Royal Shakespeare Company, The Old Globe Theatre, and the Bristol Old Vic.  

ABOUT ADVENTURE THEATRE MTC 

ATMTC cultivates new generations of artists and audiences by creating memorable theatrical productions and by providing young people the highest quality musical theater training.  ATMTC serves students at all skill levels and families from diverse communities, approximately 75,000 people annually. 

CAST 

Sir Guy Of Gisbourne / Uncle Brierly is Mary Myers, Amos/Amos of Kansas is Jordan Brown, Emily is Tobi Baisburd, Calliope/ Britannia Sneed is Julia Klavans, Santa Claus / Mulch / Wendell Sneed is Gary DuBreuil. Swings are Ingrid Bork and Drew Sharpe. 

PRODUCTION CREW 

The Production Team includes Director Patrick Flynn, Playwright Ken Ludwig, Set Designer Josh Sticklin, Costume Designer Paris Francesca, Lighting Designer Lynn Joslin, Resident Properties Designer Andrea "Dre" Moore, Sound Designer Kenny Neal, Fight Choreographer Ryan Sellers, Stage Manager Shannon Saulnier, Asst. Stage Manager Mary Doebel, Director of Production Michael Burgtorf, Production Manager Dom Ocampo, and Technical Director Jacob Pendland.

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