Photos: Inside MVAC & MTVarts' A CHRISTMAS STORY

The time is 1905, the place the Lower East Side. Sewing beautiful lingerie gives Esther, an African American seamstress, an intimate look at the love lives of her diverse clientele, but she yearns for a romance of her own. She finds herself in an epistolary courtship with a mysterious Caribbean man, though her heart secretly belongs to the Orthodox Jewish fabric merchant with whom she can never share a touch. Written by two-time Pulitzer Prize-winner and MacArthur “Genius Grant” Awardee Lynn Nottage (Sweat, Ruined), this moving portrait of love, resilience, and the triumph of the human spirit has become one of the most beloved plays of our time. By Lynn Nottage, Directed by Julie Whitney Scott Cast: Esther - Latifat Sulaimon, George - El-Ryck Kendrick, Mayme - Brooklyn Smith, Mr. Marks - Jacob Erney, Mrs. Dickson - Cathy Bean, Mrs. Van Buren - Ella Palardi, Piano Player - Kelton D Waller. Performances run Feb. 4 - 12, 2023. Gallery Players, 1125 College Ave., Columbus, Ohio 43209. Please visit https://columbusjcc.org/intimate-apparel/ to get specific showtimes and purchase tickets.

A picture is worth 1,000 words — what about a song? Can a picture inspire a song or fifteen? In 35mm, each photo creates a unique song, moments frozen in time; a glimmer of a life unfolding, a glimpse of something happening. A stunning new multimedia musical which explores a groundbreaking new concept in musical theatre... This intricately woven collection of stories told through song reimagines what the modern American musical can be.

An infamous tale, Sweeney Todd, an unjustly exiled barber, returns to nineteenth-century London, seeking vengeance against the lecherous judge who framed him and ravaged his young wife. The road to revenge leads Todd to Mrs. Lovett, a resourceful proprietress of a failing pie shop, above which he opens a new barber practice. Mrs. Lovett's luck sharply shifts when Todd's thirst for blood inspires the integration of an ingredient into her meat pies that has the people of London lining up... and the carnage has only just begun! This special School Edition has been masterfully adapted, working directly with Mr. Sondheim to retain the dark wit and grand scope of the original work, with a few lyric and key changes to facilitate high school productions. At the show's core is a challenging score of epic proportion with two tasty tour-de-force roles in Sweeney and his comic female accomplice, Mrs. Lovett. Sweeney Todd School Edition is sure to be the highlight of any theatre season. Performances are Feb. 3 - 5, 2023, at Lancaster Masonic Lodge, 224 South High Street, Lancaster, OH 43130. Purchase tickets: https://www.riseupartsalliance.org/

On January 27th, Vital Shift, LLC. presented Melissa Kelley's How Do We Get There from Here at Columbus Dance Theatre. Melissa Kelley explores who we are, who we want to be, and how we get there from here through an evening of song and story. Check out photos from the evening here! For more information about the show or to book a performance at your venue, contact Melissa at melissa@vitalshift.life