Photos: Farmington Players Return With A HUNTING SHACK CHRISTMAS

The Farmington Players return to the stage this holiday season, with the hilarious comedy, A Hunting Shack Christmas, written by Jessica Lind Peterson.

The show is loaded with some of the funniest actors on the Barn roster, and it runs November 19th through December 4th at the Farmington Players Theater in Farmington Hills, Michigan. Tickets are available now at farmingtonplayers.org or at the box office: (248) 553-2955. This year the Barn has implemented new COVID-19 rules to keep members and audiences safe: Masks are required for everyone, and audiences will be encouraged to enter the theater early rather than crowding in the lobby. Additionally, all cast and crew members are fully vaccinated.

A Hunting Shack Christmas starts with a suburban couple Charlie and Jennifer who are nearing their tenth anniversary. Charlie suddenly gets the urge (against his wife's wishes) to escape alone to the family's beloved hunting shack up north--just a few days before Christmas.

But when Charlie arrives at the cottage, he discovers a colorful cast of characters "squatting" on his prized property. Bring on a snowstorm that traps them all in close quarters, and you have the ingredients for a wonderful Christmastime comedy. "It's an ideal vehicle to escape the heaviness of the past 19 months for a couple hours and come back with a warm feeling and a smile," says Bob Hotchkiss of Bloomfield Hills who plays Charlie.

A Hunting Shack Christmas is directed by Jason Wilhoite of Farmington, who's delighted to helm the first live Barn production onstage since the pandemic began. "Having a script in hand, debating plot points, and developing the charming characters found in A Hunting Shack Christmas has provided a normalcy I've missed deeply," says Wilhoite. Rachel Biber of Huntington woods plays Jennifer, who follows her husband to the shack to rescue their marriage. "Words can't describe how it feels to be back in the theatre," says Biber. "It's pure magic. Being back in rehearsals and learning lines and being in the presence of other people physically has been such an amazing experience.

While the "up north" of this play takes place in Minnesota, the rustic setting will seem quite familiar to anyone who's ever visited Michigan's U.P. In fact, the story has been compared to Jeff Daniels' famous comedy "Escanaba In Da Moonlight." Much like Escanaba, A Hunting Shack Christmas certainly sports its share of quirky characters. Dave Reinke of Novi puts a funny spin on his character (Ham), Charlie's cousin who runs an illegal venison jerky business. Maureen Mansfield of Farmington Hills plays Ham's mother June who is not afraid to speak her mind. She repeatedly toots a "duck call" whenever she hears curse words uttered by Big Paul, played by Nick Szczerba of Trenton. "Just as the characters in the play gather at The Hunting Shack for recreational activities but come to realize it's the joy of being together that brings them true happiness, so too do we actors gather together at this theater again to do things we love with people we love," says Szczerba.

The bottom line is the idea that "Family is everything" - not only for the characters of A Hunting Shack Christmas, but also for the cast and crew. Assistant Director Amy Poirier of Farmington Hills says: "It doesn't matter how much time has passed or what has happened. We have a shared history that creates these strong bonds. We are most at home with our family, even if that home is a hunting shack in the middle of nowhere."

Tickets are available at www.farmingtonplayers.org by emailing: boxoffice@farmingtonplayers.org, or by calling the Barn at 248-553-2955.

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