Maryland Ensemble Theatre to Stage A REVOLUTIONARY CHRISTMAS

Maryland Ensemble Theatre (MET) will present the third play in its seventeenth Mainstage season, the World Premiere of "A Revolutionary Christmas". Written by Reiner Prochaska and directed by Suzanne Beal, the play tells the story of a family living on a German farm in Frederick during the Revolutionary War. When they end up taking an escaped Hessian soldier captive, the soldier helps them rediscover love, hope, forgiveness, and the meaning of Christmas. A show for the whole family and an excellent way to celebrate the holidays, it will run at MET this December for fourteen performances over four weeks.

The playwright, Reiner Prochaska, is a long-time MET Ensemble member, an actor, filmmaker, and playwright. His adaptations of Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales" and "Sophocles' Antigone" were previously produced on the MET Mainstage and he is currently in pre-production for "The Tears of Valour", his new film set in the German POW camp in Frederick in 1944, which he will produce in the fall of 2015. "My original inspiration for writing this play was an article about German Christmas traditions in last December's issue of Frederick Magazine. I thought it would be interesting to tell a Christmas story set in Frederick County during the Revolutionary War," said Prochaska. "I hope the play will appeal to the whole family because it centers not only on the adults in the story but also on the unique perspective of the children. It is meant to illuminate a chapter of German-American history in Frederick County while dramatizing the challenges of celebrating a holiday on the western frontier of a war-torn budding nation. But, as all Christmas stories should, it ends on a hopeful and uplifting note."

The director, Suzanne Beal, is Co-Producing Artistic Director of Rep Stage and has directed numerous productions in the Baltimore-Washington area over a period of twenty years including the MET productions of "Independence, The Women of Lockerbie", "How I Learned to Drive", "Finally Heard: Feminine Heroes of an Uncivil War" and the two productions of "The Santaland Diaries". "I am very excited to be directing Reiner's terrific new play. What I love about this piece is that it tells a very moving story about a family struggling to come together - overcoming grief and enduring the hardships of colonial life during war - at the same time finding ways to celebrate Christmas."

The talented cast will feature Daniel Puckett, Caitlyn Joy, Chloe Johnson, Cassidy Hillman, Todd Mazzie, Steve Custer, and Wilson Seltzer. "We have a terrific cast of both adults and children. And the tech crew is doing an amazing job of recreating the 18th century milieu," said Beal. Beal and her cast will be ably assisted by set designer Allison Duvall, lighting designer Doug Grove, costume designer Julie Herber, and sound designer Ken Poisson.

"A Revolutionary Christmas" will run every Thursday through Sunday (except December 25) from December 5 through 28 at MET, located in the historic FSK Hotel at 31 W Patrick Street. Thursday, December 4 there will be preview performance at 8pm and tickets to that show are $10 (cash only at door/no reservations). The first Sunday performance will be preceded by a reception hosted by MET Board Members Joann Lee and Rona Mensah and sponsored by Giant Eagle.

Tickets to "A Revolutionary Christmas" are $16.50 (Thursdays) through $25.50 and can be purchased at 301.694.4744, marylandensemble.org or in person at the Maryland Ensemble Theatre box office. This show is made possible in part through the support of MET's season sponsors including Comcast, The Frederick Gorilla, Key 103, Eagle 106.9, Ausherman Family Trust, Mark A Pitts Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, The Frederick News Post and both the Frederick and Maryland Arts Councils.

For more information on the MET's production of "A Revolutionary Christmas" or any of the MET's other programs including The Ensemble School, The Fun Company or The Comedy Pigs you can visit marylandensemble.org.

Photo Credit: Spence Photographics

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