RYAN & FRIENDS: A COMIC CHRISTMAS is Coming to Bird-in-Hand Stage

This holiday season, the Bird-in-Hand Stage will present a new family-friendly variety show, Ryan & Friends: A Comic Christmas. Starring Ryan Bomgardner, a popular comedian, musician and ventriloquist from Ephrata, the show introduces Ryan's daughter Madeline in a first-ever performance and brings back many fan-favorite characters.

This is a limited-engagement with 1 p.m. matinees on Thursday, November 14; Friday, December 13; and Saturday, December 28, and a 7 p.m. evening show on Friday, November 22. All performances will be held on Bird-in-Hand's temporary stage in the former Revere Tavern at 3063 Old Lincoln Highway East in Paradise.

"We are always happy to host Ryan & Friends on our Bird-in-Hand Stage. Audiences of all ages really enjoy his high-energy shows," said Melissa Brown, Bird-in-Hand's Theatre Manager. "He makes people laugh, and he has a great message."

"I am so excited to include my talented daughter in the show's songs and silliness and to welcome the holidays with humor, music and the real meaning of the season," Bomgardner said.

In addition to Ryan and his daughter, the 90-minute show will include characters like Harold and Irene, the opinionated grandparents; and 8-year-old Jeffrey, who lives in a suitcase and has a witty outlook. It includes even more music than most Ryan & Friends shows, including new songs, parody Christmas songs with hilarious original lyrics, traditional carols, comedy poetry recitations and more.

A graduate of the Maher School of Ventriloquism and a member of the North American Association of Ventriloquists, Bomgardner has performed on six continents. He has appeared at Creation Fest, the Youth in Christ conference and countless pastors, youth and senior conferences, and he has shared the stage with comedian Jeff Foxworthy, Christian comedian and songwriter Tim Hawkins, and former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee. He and his comic cast of friends appear regularly on the Bird-in-Hand Stage.

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