A group of local actors, along with Roanoke playwright, composer, and middle school teacher Alex D. Lucas are GIVEing this year. They will premier Lucas’s new musical play entitled “GIVE, A Christmas Musical” at the Dumas Center in downtown Roanoke beginning December 10.
To go along with the play’s themes, any profits generated by ticket sales for GIVE will be divided among three local charities chosen by the troupe.
“It’s a win-win for everyone involved. We’re all very excited about the possibility to contribute to our community doing what we love,” said Lucas. “The more theatre-goers we can attract, the more money we can generate to offset our costs and hopefully raise money for others. If the play does well, we can give more.”
GIVE is Lucas’s second musical play. The first, “Bull: A Puppet Musical,” premiered in Roanoke in 2008 as a part of the Roanoke Arts Festival. Bull was then produced by UK entertainment agents TEDUK, and has been running in Greece for the past two summers with more potential productions in the works for various venues in Europe.
GIVE, A Christmas Musical is a story of a family struggling with an overabundance of stuff and a lack of happiness at Christmastime. Bobby, the seven-year-old boy in the family, has high hopes for Christmas as a season of giving, but his sister and his family seem completely hypnotized by their avarice for Christmas packages, lights, tinsel, and … well … things. Fortunately, right outside his window live an Alley Cat and Allie Mouse, both pure-hearted (if not well-fed) animals who are also searching for that Christmas feeling that one can only get by giving.
GIVE, is for all audiences and is family-friendly, and runs about 90-minutes in length.
Performances are scheduled for December 10, 11, 17, and 18 at 8 p.m. at the Dumas Center. Tickets are $12 and are available now through the play’s website. The musical play will feature all-new, all-original material and will include puppets provided by local puppet studio, Thistledown Puppets.
For more information, please visit the play’s website at www.givemusical.com.
