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A Portable Theatre's EVERY CHRISTMAS STORY EVER TOLD (AND THEN SOME!) Sets Dates
By: Robert Diamond Nov. 13, 2015
Humor rather than sentiment is the aim of A Portable Theatre's special family-friendly holiday show this December.
Every Christmas Story Ever Told (And Then Some!) by Michael Carleton, Jim FitzGerald and John K. Alvarez is a tour-de-farce for three actors who perform hilariously warped versions of holiday favorites such as Frosty the Snowman, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, A Christmas Carol, The Grinch and many more. "It's a cross between The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) and A Tuna Christmas," said director Geoffrey Nelson, "with lots of improvisation and physical comedy thrown in for good measure."
The play also satirizes Christmas traditions from around the world and pop culture Yuletide icons. The trio even perform a musical number entitled "Every Carol Ever Sung!"
Every Christmas Story! is suitable for children aged 10+. Student discount tickets are available for each performance.
Dedicated to Cheri Mitchell
APT dedicates Every Christmas Story! to the memory of Cheri Mitchell, APT's Board President and a founding board member. Cheri, who had recently retired as the Executive Director of BalletMet was also the Managing Director of CATCO for many years. She was a pillar of the arts community in central Ohio and will be sorely missed.
Cast and Crew
The cast of Every Christmas Story Ever Told (and Then Some!) includes three actors with many years of stage experience in central Ohio, all members or membership candidates of Actors Equity, the union of professional actors.
Tim Browning
A professional actor for more than twenty years, Tim has appeared in The Civil War at Houston's Alley Theatre, Twelfth Night at Chicago's Court Theatre, and in the off-Broadway production of Drift by Jeremy Schonfeld. In addition to his many national credits, he has been seen locally in leading roles in Albee's The Goat for Red Herring Productions, God of Carnage and The Taming of the Shrew for New Players Theatre, and in the title role of Shrek-the Musical for the Columbus Children's Theatre. His portrayal of Richard Roma in Glengarry Glen Ross earned him a 2010 Best Actor Award from The Other Paper and a runner-up for the Central Ohio Theater Critic's Circle award. Tim is also an experienced director and the Artistic Director of New Players Theatre, as well as an award-winning theatre educator who is currently the director of Fort Hayes Metropolitan High School's theatre program. He has been a member of Actor's Equity Association since 1999.
After a long sojourn in Los Angeles, Todd has been very active on local stages for the past few years. His many roles include Dwight Eisenhower in the world premiere of Herb Brown's The Final Table at CATCO, the title role in the comedy Scapin for New Players Theatre, and Max Bialystock in The Producers at Gallery Players. Todd has also worked with Red Herring Theatre Company, Actors Theatre, Weathervane Playhouse, the Oberlin Repertory Company (where he performed in The Tempest with Patrick Stewart), the Encino Players and the Court Theatre, the last two in Los Angeles. He has performed extensively in film/television, including the movies Addams Family Reunion and Chaplin and in such television programs as General Hospital and The Jesse Owens Story. Todd holds a B.F.A. in Acting from The Ohio State University and an M.F.A. in Acting from The University of Southern California; he is a membership candidate of Actors Equity Association.
A familiar face on the central Ohio stages, Ralph recently appeared as LBJ in the World Premiere of Herb Brown's The Final Table at CATCO and in Geoff Nelson's production of The Divine Sister at the Short North Stage. Locally, he has performed with Evolution Theatre, Red Herring, New Players Theatre, Gallery Players, and as a guest artist for the OSU Theatre Department. Past credits include Next Fall, Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, My Name Is Asher Lev, Evie's Waltz, The Foursome and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at CATCO. In addition to numerous regional and national commercials, Ralph is very active in independent movies throughout the Midwest. His film credits include Cornhole The Movie, Minus One, 41:9, Prism, Oracabessa, Recoil and God Don't Make The Laws with Paul Sorvino. He is a BFA Performance graduate from Otterbein University, a graduate of The Second City in Chicago and a member of Actors Equity Association.
Geoffrey Nelson (Director)
The director of such free-wheeling comedies as The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged), The Complete History of America (Abridged), Greater Tuna and The Anger in Ernest and Ernestine, Geoff has staged more than 100 productions of every style and sort. His most recent work includes Best of Friends (Denison University), The Divine Sister (Short North Stage) and Talking Heads (A Portable Theatre). During his tenure at CATCO, he directed three long-running Christmas shows: The Santaland Diaries by David Sedaris, A Tuna Christmas and Truman Capote's A Christmas Memory, which he also adapted. Geoff is the Artistic Director of APT and appears with Jonathan Putnam in APT's touring show The Duck Variations.
Diana Evans Vance (Design/Technical Direction)
After serving 38 years as Hilliard Davidson High School's technical director/theatre teacher and 16 years as Performing Arts Chair, Diana retired and has been serving as APT's Board President and technical director/designer. Diana has been the recipient of numerous awards including Ohio Educational Theatre Association's Hall of Fame, Ohio Theatre Alliance's Lifetime Achievement Award, The Educational Theatre Association's Hall of Fame, Ashland Oil's Golden Apple Achiever, Columbus Theatre Roundtable's People Who Make a Difference, and Ohio Teacher of the Year finalist while serving on numerous board of directors including Ohio Thespians and Ohio Alliance for the Arts and serving as a coordinator for the All-Ohio Thespian production for 13 years, designing/tech directing Hilliard Arts Council's summer musical for 23 years, and performing with her students four times at the Fringe. She also designed the sound for APT's Tales from the Grave.
Public Performances
APT will present Every Christmas Story Ever Told (and Then Some!) for a limited number of public performances in central Ohio this holiday season:
Sun., Dec. 6 @ 3 PM
St. Andrew Presbyterian Church
1450 E. Dublin-Granville Rd
Columbus OH 43229
Tues., Dec 8 @ 7:30 PM
The Clintonville Woman's Club
3951 North High Street
Columbus OH 43214
Fri.-Sat., Dec. 11-12 @ 7:30 pm
Sun., Dec. 13 @ 3:00 pm
Columbus Dance Theatre
592 E. Main St.
Columbus OH 43215
Fri. & Sat.,Dec. 18-19 @ 7:30 PM
Sun., Dec. 20 @ 3:00 PM
The Abbey Theater of Dublin
Dublin Community Recreation Center
5600 Post Road
Dublin OH 43017
Tickets
Tickets may be booked online at the theatre's website, www.aportabletheatre.com, or by calling the ShowTix box office toll-free at 1-866-967-8167. Tickets may also be purchased at the door, pending availability. Tickets are $20. Student tickets are $10. Group rates are available (contact APT at aportabletheatre@gmail.com).
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