Submitted by Footlighters Theatre Society
Storybook characters come to life to guarantee Christmas cheer in Footlighters Theatre Society’s production of An Enchanted Bookshop Christmas.
Running from Dec. 1 to 3 at Kootenay River Auditorium at 7:30 p.m., the play is one that the whole family will enjoy.
“Last year’s holiday play, Sorry, Wrong Chimney, was a hilarious and somewhat adult comedy, and we wanted to offer something more heartwarming this year,” says director Brian Lawrence.
An Enchanted Bookshop Christmas follows Ellen (played by Jacqui Vezina) and her son Anderson (Mason Reid) as they visit Ellen’s sister Margie (Makaria Ewing), who owns the bookshop A
Likely Story, also the home of Bombalurina the cat — an oversized cat puppet created by Becca Musso and operated by Kailynn Gill). Billionaire Phillip Brantley (Brian Lawrence) wants to offer the recently unemployed Ellen a job, but the impulsiveness of Ebeneezer Scrooge (assistant director Jason Smith) may make that impossible.
“Of course, the rest of the characters want to create a happy ending for Ellen,” says Lawrence. “So the rest of the storybook characters jump into action.”
The other characters include the Nutcracker Prince (Logan Thompson), Tom Sawyer (Ryan Neufeld), Dorothy Gale (Jade Smith), Pollyanna (Julia Huscroft), Doctor Dolittle (Gary Atha), Little Match Girl (Frances Collison), Velveteen Rabbit (Treena Johnson), Amy March (Annmarie Medicine Crane) and Jim and Della Young (Dave Kraft, Ame Thompson). They call in the Book Fairy (Suzanne Chubb) to help with their plan.
“This play offers a glimpse into how the characters act outside of their books,” says Lawrence. “Their personalities are pretty much what you’d expect, but seeing them interact with the characters from other books is a lot of fun.”
This is the second production of Footlighters’ 28th season, following the highly successful Complaint Department and Lemonade, produced in just 24 hours in August.
Tickets are $15 for adults, $12 for students/seniors and $10 for children under 12, or $40 for families (two adults and two under 12). Available at Sunshine N’ Gelato and Fly in the Fibre, this is the first time Footlighters has offered the family rate.
“For many families, it has been quite a long time since they’ve been able to go out and enjoy a show together,” says Lawrence. “This is definitely one to enjoy together — the storybook characters are a blast, and the Bombalurina puppet alone is worth the price of admission.”
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