It’s an exciting week for Theatre Huntsville.

Friday, November 12th, marks Theatre Huntsville’s return to the Von Braun Center Playhouse for the first time since March of 2020 when Silent Sky had to be cancelled mid-run due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

It’s been a rough road since, and a period of difficulty for those who live for live performance.

While Theatre Huntsville first started back on stage in August with Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll, the rollout involved careful consideration and baby steps. The August show had been selected for its monologue format and presented at the smaller Studio Theatre venue at Lowe Mill ARTS & Entertainment. The box office sold tickets at limited capacity to allow the organization to experiment with live performance before a smaller audience, first.

Winter Wonderettes in contrast is a full-scale production presented at the Von Braun Center Playhouse, with ticket availability at full capacity. This show too, however, required careful, baby-step planning.

The cast of the show is a reunion of the cast from Theatre Huntsville’s 2018 production of The Marvelous Wonderettes, a well-received show by Roger Bean that prompted many patrons to request bringing some of the sequels to Huntsville; in particular, the Christmas Show of the series, Winter Wonderettes.

”We thought…. the Wonderettes would be great, because we knew the girls wanted to come back, and we liked that sense of continuity,” explains Executive Director, Leslie Gates. “With the uncertainty of the season, we’d be able to cast this season opener show without worrying about how soon we could safely host public auditions. We were able to start right away with things like learning the music to tracks, and remotely learn choreography with video. And since the girls already had worked together, they just slid right into it.”

”We’re so lucky to have all of them back again,” says show Director, Jacinda Swinehart. “We’ve got Sonja Eames… a performer that’s been doing this for a long time. We’ve got Elisabeth Sikes and actually, this was her very first role… and we’ve just been blessed to get her. We’ve got Amy Lawson, who is just so quietly, hysterically funny. And then we have Miss Megan Phelps, who is very out-loud funny. They are just brilliant together.”

See some glimpses of our sitzprobe rehearsal on YouTube, and join Director Jacinda Swinehart and Theatre Huntsville Executive Director Leslie Gates for a discussion about what makes this play special. November marks not only a return to stage for Theatre Huntsville, but for the Wonderettes themselves!

‘Winter Wonderettes' will be presented November 12-14, and 18-20, at the Von Braun Center Playhouse. The show is a seasonal celebration that finds the Wonderettes entertaining at the annual Hardware Store Holiday Party. When Santa turns up missing, the girls use their talent and creative ingenuity to save the holiday party! Featuring great ’60s versions of holiday classics such as “Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town,” “Jingle Bell Rock,” “Run, Rudolph, Run,” and “Winter Wonderland,” the result is, of course, marvelous! This energetic and glittering holiday package is guaranteed to delight audiences of all ages.

Tickets are available at THtix.com, or at our box office at Lowe Mill ARTS & Entertainment, 12-6 pm Wednesdays-Saturdays, or by calling 256-536-0807. Tickets are $22 for Adults and $20 for Students/Seniors/Active Duty Military. Group rates are available and questions may be emailed to tickets@theatrehsv.org.

Masks are still required for audience members, staff, and crew, for this show. The cast is unmasked but fully vaccinated. Theatre Huntsville’s policy is based on an ongoing evaluation of the recommendations by local and national public health professionals.

’Winter Wonderettes’ is presented by special arrangement with Stage Rights (www.stagerights.com)