Celebrate the Holidays at Ivoryton Playhouse with CONEY ISLAND CHRISTMAS

The Ivoryton Playhouse Holiday show opens on December 13th and runs until December 23rd. Coney Island Christmas by Donald Margulies is a heartwarming story with a lot to say about how life could be better through understanding and tolerance for one another. An instant holiday classic and a new family tradition.

Shirley Abramowitz, now a grandmother visiting her family in California, tells her granddaughter the story of when she was a little girl in Coney Island and was cast as Jesus in the school pageant. Suddenly we are transported back to Coney Island in 1940s with all the nostalgia of post war America. The story is a familiar tale of immigrant parents worried that they will lose their identity if they give up their traditions and immigrant children embracing the idea of being American and part of the new world.

Coney Island Christmas captures the message of Christmas in a different way yet it feels so familiar and nostalgic at the same time. Coney Island Christmas is about community and about what makes Christmas in this country so special. It is about accepting and embracing our differences and coming together to find joy in our shared human experience.

Commissioned by the late Gilbert Cates, Coney Island Christmas premiered at The Geffen Playhouse in 2012. This community production in Ivoryton is directed by Sasha Bratt, who also directed Biloxi Blues last season. Musical direction is by Frank Natter. Set design is by Dan Nischan, lighting design by Marcus Abbott, costume design by Lisa Bebey and sound design by Tate Burmeister.

Bursting with feel good holiday spirit, Coney Island Christmas is traditional, family friendly entertainment for all ages: an antidote to cynicism and a love letter to good old fashioned holiday fun. The cast includes actors young and old - many Playhouse favorites and some new faces - Amy Buckley, Cory Candelet, Mark Gilchrist, Jordan Godburn, Avital Goldberg Curran, Lenore Grunko, Nia Marchese, Gaby Onorati, M.E.Rich, Norm Rutty, Moira O'Sullivan, Ben Stone Zelman.

Make the Playhouse part of your family holiday tradition this year. Come and visit the village of Ivoryton, decorated with over 500,000 Christmas lights - have dinner and take in a great show at the Playhouse.

Coney Island Christmas opens on Thursday, December 13th and runs thru December 23rd for 2 weeks. Performance times are Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2pm, Evening performances are Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7:30pm.There is also a Wednesday matinee on December 19th. Tickets are $35 for adults, $32 for seniors, $20 for students and $15 for children and are available by calling the Playhouse box office at 860-767-7318 or by visiting our website at www.ivorytonplayhouse.org (Group rates are available by calling the box office for information.) The Playhouse is located at 103 Main Street in Ivoryton.

Photo Credit: Anne Hudson

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