Brian Copeland's Holiday Show THE JEWELRY BOX Comes To Altarena Playhouse

The family-friendly Bay Area holiday favorite The Jewelry Box comes to the Altarena Playhouse. Performed by Brian Copeland, who has been hailed by the San Francisco Chronicle as "among the Bay Area's most honest, thoughtful and eloquent storytellers," and directed by David Ford, this hilariously heartwarming story follows a young Brian as he heads to the "mean streets" of Oakland to buy his mom a Christmas present.

When he finds the perfect gift - a jewelry box in the White Front Department store - six-year-old Brian sets out to earn the required $11.97 by Christmas. Rife with references to 1970s Oakland, The Jewelry Box recounts Brian's adventures as he scours the "help wanted" ads, applies for jobs, and collects bottles, inching his way toward the perfect Christmas gift. The Jewelry Box will be presented Sunday, December 1, 2019 at the Altarena Playhouse. 1409 High Street, Alameda, CA 94501. For tickets you can visit www.altarena.org or call the Altarena Playhouse Box Office at 510-523-1553.

The Jewelry Box was declared "destined to be a holiday classic" by The San Francisco Examiner, and the San Francisco Chronicle wrote that the show "glitters with bright comedy."

Brian Copeland (Writer/Performer) has been in show business since he first stepped on the comedy stage at age 18. Soon, he was headlining clubs and concerts across the country and opening for such artists as Smokey Robinson, The Temptations, Ringo Starr, and Aretha Franklin, in venues from The Universal Amphitheater to Constitution Hall in Washington DC. Copeland then branched off into television, appearing on comedy programs on NBC, A&E and MTV. He spent five years as co-host of San Francisco FOX affiliate KTVU breakfast program Mornings on 2 and two years hosting San Francisco ABC affiliate KGO's Emmy Award winning afternoon talk show 7Live. His first network special, Now Brian Copeland, premiered on NBC after Saturday Night Live for West Coast audiences in January 2015. In 1995, KGO Radio premiered The Brian Copeland Show. With his unique blend of humor and riveting talk, the program was the most listened to program in its time slot, reaching more than 100,000 listeners.

Copeland's other theatrical work includes Not a Genuine Black Man, the longest-running one-man show in San Francisco history, The Scion, a tale of privilege, murder, and sausage, which received its World Premiere at The Marsh in January 2014, and the critically acclaimed Christmas classic, The Jewelry Box. His next play, Grandma & Me: An Ode to Single Parents will debut in October 2019 at the San Leandro Main Library as part of the Solo Series and again at The Marin Center in March 2010. In addition, Copeland joins forces with Charlie Varon to present The Great American Sh*t Show, new monologues on the life in the Age of Trump. If you like Trump, you'll hate this show! Shows at The Marsh Berkeley, Altarena Playhouse, Tabard Theatre in San Jose, Castro Valley Center for the Arts, and The Marin Center Showcase Theatre.

David Ford (Director) has been collaborating on new and unusual theater for three decades and has been associated with The Marsh for most of that time. The San Francisco press has variously called him "the solo performer maven," "the monologue maestro," "the dean of solo performance," and "the solo performer's best friend." Collaborators include Geoff Hoyle, Echo Brown, Brian Copeland, Charlie Varon, Marilyn Pittman, Rebecca Fisher, Wayne Harris, and Marga Gomez. As a director, Ford has directed both solo and ensemble work regionally at The Public Theater, Second Stage, Theatre for the New City (NY), Highways (LA) and Woolly Mammoth (Washington, DC) as well as at theaters around the Bay Area including Magic Theatre and Marin Theatre Company. He is also a published playwright.

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