Bethlehem, PA - Touchstone Theatre presents the big twentieth year of their Christmas City Follies series, the theatre's annual holiday-themed vaudeville show, filled with jolly mischief, merry melodies, and holiday cheer. Christmas City Follies XX runs December 5-22, 2019 at Touchstone's home theatre at 321 East Fourth Street in Southside Bethlehem.
A favorite of Lehigh Valley residents past and present, many locals and tourists alike have come to count Christmas City Follies as part of their holiday tradition, coming out to Touchstone's cozy black box theatre for an evening of original sketches, characters, songs, and more.
The show traditionally ranges from the sublime to the ridiculous, with subject matter that has included family stories, dancing hippos, snow camels, holiday yoga, and kazoo-playing Christmas trees.
Although the show features recurring characters, Follies is built new every year.
Rehearsals for the show began in late October, with the cast creating original songs, re-imaginings of the Wisemen's journey to Bethlehem, an HR-mandated therapy session at Santa's workshop, and the return of seasonal favorites, like Bill George's "The Old Guy," Mary Wright's "Little Red," and the annual favorite Shopping Cart Ballet.
"It's been a busy season already this year with Festival Unbound, and I worried we'd be running low on energy," says Touchstone Artistic Director Jp Jordan.
"But sure enough, as soon as Follies rehearsals began, it felt like a welcome and much needed homecoming. Gathering the actors back in the studio to do what they do best: create original work, filled the building with an endless supply of new ideas."
On display in the Touchstone Gallery is an exhibit by local photographer Ron Yoshida, entitled "Rocks." Originally featured as a gallery display for the theatre's recent Festival UnBound, it features unique portraits of local arts and culture personalities, those that Yoshida considers to be the artistic bedrock of the community.
"We have our rocks in the arts in the Lehigh Valley," says Yoshida. "They are the part of the foundation upon which we build our vision of the future, remind ourselves of our history, nurture our spirits through good and bad times, and promote the beauty of our community."
Christmas City Follies is sponsored by Peoples Security Bank and Trust and by First Generation, an integrated marketing communications company; the show receives additional support from the County of Northampton. Touchstone's season is supported locally by season sponsor RCN. WDIY provides media sponsorship, and Working Dog Press provides print sponsorship.
Christmas City Follies XX plays December 5-22, 2019, Thursdays through Saturdays at 8pm and Sunday at 2pm; in addition to these regularly scheduled performances, there will also be a matinee on Saturday, December 21 at 2pm, and an evening performance Sunday, December 22 at 7pm.
Tickets are $25 for adults / $15 for students and seniors, with group rates available on request. On Thursdays, Touchstone offers a pay-what-you-will ticket option at the door, as available, allowing walkup patrons to name their own ticket price.
Advance tickets may be purchased at 610.867.1689 or online at www.touchstone.org