Seasons Readings, a selection of holiday-themed performances, will be presented by Jib Productions on stages in Greenwich and Westport.
Comprised of whimsical, humorous and sentimental one-act plays and stories, read by professional entertainers, Seasons Readings will launch Dec. 5 at the Greenwich Arts Council and be repeated Dec. 12 at the Westport Woman’s Club.
Performances at each location take place 7:30 - 9 p.m. The audience is invited to join cast members for eggnog and dessert at the conclusion of each program.
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Actors who will appear in Seasons Readings include Broadway veteran Susan Terry (Westport) , Brian J. Carter (Westport) and Katie Sparer (Stratford.)
Jib Artistic Director Carole Schweid has selected plays that will amuse and stir those in attendance. Productions will include The Land of the Sweets, written by Frederick Stroppel. “Frederick Stroppel is one of our favorite playwrights and this show features one his most humorous and outlandish characters,” notes Schweid. “Audiences will be treated to a very funny play about Madame Irina, who intimidates her young charges into a production of The Nutcracker.”
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Also on the roster is Whistling Dick's Christmas Stocking, ashort story by O. Henry. “The audience will get to meet one of the author’s most endearing characters, a hobo from New Orleans, who is living life as free as a bird,” says Schweid. “Whistling Dick is a cross between Charles Dickens
and Damon Runyon. This story is perfect for a Christmas read. It shows how one, small act of kindness can lead to much greater things.”
Rather Late for Christmas by Mary Ellen Chase and a holiday musings by Pulitzer Prize-winner Anna Quindlan, also will be performed.
Seasons Readings ispresented by JIB Productions, creator of the long-running Play With Your Food lunchtime theater program.
"With Seasons Readings, we offer audiences fresh and provocative material like at Play With Your Food, but holiday-related and during the evening,” explains Producer Nancy Diamond.
"Seasons Readings has humor and heart," adds Diamond. "The selected plays and stories will elicit empathy. It's an entertaining and edgy addition to the mix of traditional holiday fare.”
Tickets for Seasons Readings are $30 per person. For information, visit www.playwithyourfood.org or call the box office at (203) 293-8831 between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. or email info@playwithyourfood.org
About JIB Productions
JIB Productions introduced the successful Play With Your Food (PWYF) in 2003. Since then, PWYF has provided audiences throughout Fairfield County with a dynamic midday theater experience that includes a gourmet buffet lunch, a selection of one-act play readings and discussions with actors and playwrights – all packed into a 90-minute program.
The PWYF concept, and caliber of performances, has been praised by the New York Times as well as local media, critics and audiences.
The flagship PWYF series, held from noon to 1:30 p.m., will begin its season in 2014.
Performances at Toquet Hall in Westport are set for Jan. 7-9, Feb. 4-6, March 4-6 and April 1-3.
At Fairfield Theatre Company, productions will be held Jan. 14, Feb. 11 , March 11 and April 8.
Greenwich Arts Council programs are offered Jan. 15-16,
March 26-27 and April 16-17.
Tickets, priced at $43 per show, include lunch.
A special evening performance will take place in Greenwich
on Feb. 7 at 7:30 p.m.
For tickets and information, visit www.jibproductions.org or
call the box office at (203) 293-8831 between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.