Touchstone Theatre's CHRISTMAS CITY FOLLIES Returns Tonight

Touchstone Theatre presents a new year of Christmas City Follies, the high-spirited, homegrown, vaudevillian variety show that celebrates the Christmas season in the Christmas City. Christmas City Follies XV runs from tonight, December 4-21, 2014 in Touchstone's home theatre at 321 East Fourth Street, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Originally presented on alternating years dating back to 1995, residents of the Lehigh Valley have come to count Touchstone's seasonal offering of the Follies as a staple of their winter holidays, making an annual trip to the South Bethlehem firehouse-turned-theatre for an evening of sidesplitting hilarity, touching sentiment, quirky characters, sketches, songs, and more.

This year's Follies will include beloved recurring characters like Touchstone founder Bill George's gloomy, cantankerous "Old Guy"; Mary Wright's silent, innocent literalist "Little Red"; the doe-eyed musical Pajama Sisters; and the newly-minted Christmas Pirates, an audience favorite last year. The show also features charming carols (traditional and otherwise), personal stories, a featured spot for local community guests, a veritable toy box full of holiday creatures, and a brand new year of the eternally epic Shopping Cart Ballet.

"In all honesty, I don't care if Christmas comes earlier every year," confesses Touchstone Artistic Director Jp Jordan. "Maybe we should just celebrate Christmas all year round. Everyone acts a bit more forgiving, more patient with each other; as the song says, 'We need a little Christmas, right this very minute.'" This year marks Jordan's tenth year with Follies and his seventh time as director.

Christmas City Follies XV is supported locally by season sponsors First Generation, an integrated marketing communications company, and RCN. WDIY provides media sponsorship.

Christmas City Follies XV plays December 4-21, 2014, Thursdays through Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 2pm. On Saturday, December 20, there will be a special matinee show at 2pm in addition to the regularly scheduled 8pm show. Tickets are $25 / $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, allowing patrons to name their own ticket price. Advance tickets may be purchased at 610-867-1689 or online at www.touchstone.org