Pontine Theatre Presents A NEW ENGLAND CHRISTMAS

9 - 11 December, Pontine Theatre presents A New England Christmas at the Seacoast Science Center in Rye NH. The program includes Christmas Everyday by William Dean Howells, Once on Christmas by Dorothy Thomas and Cap'n Eli's Best Ear, by Frank Stockton. Performances areFriday at 7pm, Saturday at 4pm and Sunday at 2pm. Tickets are $24 and may be purchased in advance at -- www.pontine.org. Tickets may also be purchased at the door a half-hour prior to each performance, based on availability.

This production is underwritten by Gillian Aguilar. Pontine's 2016-17 Season is supported by grants from the NH State Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts. Seacoast Science Center is located at 570 Ocean Blvd in Rye NH. For information, contact Pontine --info@pontine.org -- (603) 436-6660.

Pontine Theatre Co-Artistic Directors, Marguerite Mathews and Greg Gathers, share their original adaptations of three heart-warming Christmas stories. Christmas Everyday by William Dean Howells, tells the tale of a little girl who is granted a wish by the Christmas Fairy to have it Christmas everyday for a whole year. Once on Christmas, by Dorothy Thompson, is a memoir of a childhood Christmas circa 1900. Captain Eli's Best Ear by Frank Stockton, is a yarn about two salty, old sea captains who decide to keep Christmas together. These charming 19th century holiday stories-not to mention home-made Christmas cookies baked and donated by Pontine supporters -are sure to put you in the holiday spirit!

In William Dean Howells' story Christmas Every Day, a little girl is granted a wish by the Christmas Fairy. Her wish is to have Christmas everyday for a whole year. The first day of Christmas is perfect. The presents are opulent, the tree gorgeous, the dinner first-rate. The little girl eats too much candy in the morning and plum pudding and nuts and raisins and oranges in the afternoon, and gets a stomachache. In short, like all wonderful Christmases, it is so hectic that the little girl in the story is exhausted by day's end.

The following day it is Christmas again, and every subsequent day as well. It wreaks havoc with the economy: "After a while turkeys got to be awfully scarce, selling for about a thousand dollars apiece. All the woods were cut down for Christmas trees. People got so poor, buying presents for one another, that everybody had to go to the poorhouse!"

Finally, the little girl begs the Christmas Fairy to undo the spell. Eventually the perfect bargain is struck, and Christmas returns to its proper time and place -- the twenty-fifth of December, once a year. Author, William Dean Howells (1837-1920) was sixty-five years old in 1902 when he bought the house in Kittery Point which stands today as the William Dean Howells Memorial, He would return annually to his beloved seaside retreat until his death in 1920. By 1902, Howells had established himself as one of the nation's best known and highly regarded men of letters. He served as editor of the Atlantic Monthly and Harper's Magazine and he included in his circle of friends such notables as Longfellow, Holmes, James Russell Lowell, Edith Wharton, Sarah Orne Jewett, Teddy Roosevelt, Mark Twain and Henry James.

Once On Christmas, by Dorothy Thompson (1893-1961), is a poignant memoir of a childhood Christmas, circa 1900, written by the wife of Sinclair Lewis and dedicated to their son, Michael. The family lived in Barnard VT when the memoir was published in 1938. The narrative describes the rural village of her childhood, her family's holiday traditions including decorating their tree with apples and walnuts painted gold; Christmas Eve carol singing by candlelight, and all the presents on Christmas morning. The most cherished gift is a book, The Waterbabies, by Charles Kingsley. The author remembers, "It wasn't just a book, there was poetry in it. Lovely, lovely words of poetry that slipped like colored beads along a string." Dorothy Thompson was a noted journalist and radio broadcaster.

Cap'n Eli's Best Ear, by Frank Stockton, takes place in late December in a charming little seaside village. Cap'n Eli Bunker, a retired sea captain, is inspired, after many lonely years as a widower, to try his hand at celebrating Christmas once again. After much cogitation, he conspires with his friend and neighbor, Cap'n Cephas Dyer, to mount a fitting holiday event. An orphaned child and Mrs. Trimmer, whose husband "sailed away in a schooner and never returned," fill out the cast for this delightful tale. The characters are all played by beautifully crafted bunraku-style puppets, created by Pontine Co-Director, Greg Gathers.

Frank Stockton (1834-1902), is best known for his story, The Bee-Man of Orn. He was an American writer and humorist, celebrated for innovative children's tales that were widely popular during the last decades of the 19th century. He was assistant editor of Scribner's Monthly

Serving audiences since 1977, Pontine Theatre has developed a sterling reputation for high-quality performances and educational programs. With an impressive repertoire of innovative, original productions, the company serves audiences both in its home community on the New Hampshire Seacoast and throughout New England. Pontine Theatre is a resident company at Portsmouth's Strawbery Banke Museum.

Pontine Theatre performs Christmas Everyday, their original toy theatre adaptation of a story by Kittery, Maine's William Dean Howells

Marguerite Mathews & Greg Gathers, Pontine Theatre Co-Artistic Directors

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