CHRISTMAS AT THE OLD BULL AND BUSH Returns To MetroStage

Producing Artistic Director Carolyn Griffin is pleased to announce that Christmas at the Old Bull and Bush 2018 will be returning to MetroStage (Nov 29-Dec 30). The play, written and directed by Catherine Flye, had an acclaimed six year run at the Old Vat Room at Arena Stage (1997-2003) before debuting at MetroStage last season. Two members of the original Bull and Bush cast will be joined by some new members of a very eccentric British troupe to entertain audiences for the holidays.

Christmas at the Old Bull and Bush is a British variety music hall entertainment from the Edwardian era that was typically a variety show for the working classes filled with jokes, songs, skits and dances. This production takes place during the Christmas season 1918, and The Old Bull and Bush Public House, Hampstead, London, is alive with British music hall songs and Christmas carols. Audiences will enjoy a pint or two, eat mince pies and sausage rolls, laugh at corny jokes and funny sketches, toe-tap to tuneful melodies and join in sing-a-longs. This season MetroStage welcomes acclaimed DC actor Sherri L. Edelen to play Miss Florrie Forde, the most famous music hall star of the era, and her troupe of British performers as we celebrate the holidays with family and friends.

Writer, director, actor Catherine Flye has been called a "theatrical sensation," running her own theatre company Interact Theatre Company for twenty years. Her acting credits include principal roles at Arena Stage, The Shakespeare Theatre, Folger Theatre, Ford's Theatre, Round House, Studio Theatre, The Kennedy Center and MetroStage where she was seen in Rapture (Helen Hayes Nomination), Sea Marks, Crummles' Christmas Carol, The Real Inspector Hound, For the Pleasure of Seeing Her Again, and George Don't Do That!. She appeared as Mrs. Medlock in the critically acclaimed production of The Secret Garden at the Shakespeare Theatre which she reprised in Houston at the Theatre Under the Stars (TUTS). Currently she is playing Grandma in Billy Elliot at Signature Theatre, and next year she will play Nancy in Nell Gwyn at the Folger. She has been nominated thirteen times for Helen Hayes Awards and her production of The Pirates of Penzance won the Award for Outstanding Musical.

Music Director Joseph Walsh (Maestro Peabody) is an adjunct professor of opera at George Mason University and is the General and Artistic Director of Lyric Opera Virginia with two decades of experience in presenting and conducting opera and orchestras in operatic performances in Virginia, across the country and internationally. He returns to MetroStage as Maestro Peabody and has also been seen on our stage in Master Class.

Performances for Christmas at the Old Bull and Bush will be Thursdays and Fridays at 8, Saturdays at 3 and 8, Sundays at 3 and 7, Nov 29-Dec 30 Tickets are $55 (4+ tickets are $50, with student, active military and group discounts available). Press night is Sunday Dec 2 at 7 pm. For ticket reservations or information about group sales call the theatre at 703-548-9044 or go to www.metrostage.org

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