peace songs in wartime

The Music Hall in Portsmouth is presenting “All is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914,” a musical production featuring the male vocal ensemble Cantus and Theater Latté Da, with musical arrangements by Erick Lichte and Timothy C. Takach.

This New England premiere of an acclaimed new production reminds of the power of music to make peace even in wartime. Soldiers put down their rifles and climb over trenches to deliver the gift of song to the enemy.

Using professional actors and the Cantus choir, this true story uses letters, journals and songs from the Christmas Truce of 1914 to re-create a historic night.

The live performance will be broadcast on Christmas Day on over 400 public radio stations in the United States, and on the BBC in Canada, England, Australia and New Zealand.

Show times at The Music Hall are Saturday, Dec. 6 at 4 and 8 p.m. Tickets range from $39 to $15. The Music Hall is located at 28 Chestnut St., Portsmouth, 603-436-2400. 

here we come a-caroling

Showings of “A Christmas Carol,” based on the novel by Charles Dickens, are a holiday tradition kept alive by local theaters, including productions this year in Portsmouth, Rollinsford and Hampton.

This Victorian morality tale features the old and bitter miser, Ebenezer Scrooge, who undergoes a profound experience of redemption over the course of one winter night.

At the Players’ Ring in Portsmouth, Ed Hinton directs an all new staging of the classic tale as adapted by the theater’s founder, Gary Newton. It begins on Friday, Dec. 5, and runs through Dec. 23. Opening night will also feature a fundraiser party to benefit the Gary Newton Fund, including food, wine, Vienna Waltz dancing and mingling with the Fezziwig family and cast. Fundraiser attendees also will have the opportunity to see how the show effects are accomplished.

The production features new effects designed to make guests jump in their seats as the ghosts of Christmas Future, Past and Present deliver Scrooge through a remarkable transformation.

Tickets for the opening night fundraiser are $24 or $20 for members, and all other shows are $12 or $10 for members and students, or $6 for children under 12. For reservations, call 603-436-8123.

At Garrison Players Arts Center in Rollinsford, Michael Tobin directs “A Christmas Carol” by Dramedy Productions.

Shows begin on Friday, Dec. 5, and run through Dec. 21, with performances on Friday and Saturday nights at 8 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday afternoons at 3 p.m. There is no show on Friday, Dec. 19, but a show will take place on Thursday, Dec. 18 at 7 p.m. Tickets are $15 for adults or $10 for students under 18. Call 603-516-4919 or visit www.garrisonplayers.org.

The Leddy Center for the Performing Arts in Epping will also show “A Christmas Carol” on Friday and Saturday, Dec. 5 and 6 at 7:30 p.m. and on Sunday, Dec. 7 at 2 p.m. Directed by Elaine Gatchell, each show is $16. Call 603-679-2781.

For another alternative, the Old Salt Restaurant in Hampton is presenting “A Dickens of a Christmas.” The seasonal story is accompanied by live musicians and a three-course meal for $39.95. Show times are Wednesdays, Dec. 3 and 10, at 6:30 p.m. The restaurant is located at 490 Lafayette Road, Hampton, 603-926-0330.

Prescott Park Arts Festival conducts vote for 2009 musical

The Prescott Park Arts Festival is letting the public decide which musical it will present during its 35th season next summer. Members of the public are invited to vote at The Flower Kiosk at 61 Market St. until Christmas Day, Dec. 25.

Despite heavy rainfall throughout much of the summer, the festival experienced high turnout for this year’s Main Stage presentation of Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast.” The shortlist of options for next year includes “Annie,” “Anything Goes,” “Bye Bye Birdie,” “Grease,” “High School Musical,” “My Fair Lady,” “The King and I” and “42nd Street.” The final selection will be announced before winter’s end.
“Our organization and events are for the community, so inviting them to play a role in the selection process for the musical is an obvious effort for us to make,” said Ben Anderson, executive director of the festival, in a press release. 

The Prescott Park Arts Festival runs through the summer with performances of the Main Stage production occurring four nights per week. The festival also includes concerts, food festivals, art shows and other special events. For more information, call 603-436-2848 or visit www.prescottpark.org.