CHRISTMAS REVELS Explores the Depression in Appalachia, Now thru 12/21 at the Scottish Rite
By: BWW News Desk Dec. 12, 2014
Performance days and times are Fridays at 8:00 PM, Saturdays and Sundays at 1:00 PM and 5:00 PM. Tickets are priced at $60, $45, $35 and $20. All patrons under 25 and groups of 10+ are priced at $45, $30, $20, and $10. For more information visit californiarevels.org or call 510-452-9334.
Since 1986 California Revels has presented The Christmas Revels: A Theatrical Celebration of the Winter Solstice at the Scottish Rite Theater on Lake Merritt in Oakland. As the Solstice approaches, every culture has rituals marking the birth of another year - traditions which celebrate the conquest of the cold, dark winter and call for the revival of the warm, bright spring. It's been more than two decades since The Christmas Revels took on an American theme, and the Depression aspect of this year's show is both timely and relevant, as the Great Recession slowly recedes into the recent past. The 2014 Revels opens in 1930's Appalachia with stops in Louisiana and westward. It's a crazy quilt of many colors creating the fabric of the holiday traditions still shared by the community. Filled with Cajun music, Appalachian clogging, folk tales and holiday rituals that some will remember being passed down from parents or grandparents, the 2014 Christmas Revels will see a return to familiar American carols and folksongs, toe-tapping music and plenty of laughter.
The Revels adult and children's choruses and their town band will add to the warmth, along with storytelling, and performances by accomplished guest artists -- tradition-bearers of the culture. Revels is a family-friendly production designed to please all age groups. Celebrate the long-ago winter traditions that bring the audience together in humanity and community by welcoming the Yuletide.
The 2014 Christmas Revels opens in December 1934, during the depths of the Great Depression, and Johnny Jackson (Rene Collins) finds himself wandering aimlessly, wondering what life holds in store for him, and where he should go to find his destiny. He encounters a Strange Man, (Kevin Carr), playing a fiddle at a country crossroads who instructs Johnny to explore all four directions of the country in order to understand where he belongs. And so his journey along the American Roads begins. Along the way he meets the Mysterious Cajun Woman (Tristan Cunningham), a Shaker family, Appalachian cloggers and other rail riders and road campers each with their own take on holiday traditions.
Also featured in the cast are Revels Artistic Associates Shira Kammen and James Galileo, the musical group Euphonia making their Revels premiere and a chorus of over sixty adults, teens and children from the community. It's two hours of song, dance, stories, ritual and laughter as Revels once again Welcome Yule!
Order tickets at www.californiarevels.org or by calling the box office at 510-452-9334. Parking for all 10 performances will be available at ALCO Park Garage, 1220 Jackson Street, Oakland (three blocks from the Scottish Rite Center) at a flat rate of $5.
About The Revels - Since 1986, California Revels has brought their unique theatrical, participatory arts form to audiences in the Bay Area. Founded by singer, author and music educator John Langstaff in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1971, The Christmas Revels crosses religious and ethnic boundaries and appeals to young and old alike. The Christmas Revels blends traditional music, dance, ritual and folk plays from many different cultures, presented by a large volunteer chorus of children and adults drawn from the community, accompanied by highly talented professional actors, musicians, artists, directors, and "bearers of tradition."
Pictured: Tristan Cunningham, Liam von Holder, James Galileo, and Rene Collins. Photo by Gabriel Hurley.
Videos
