Centenary Stage Company to Present A CHRISTMAS CAROL: THE MUSICAL & More this December

This December, Centenary Stage Company will fill the stage with family favorite musicals and special guests performing the ever-popular Nutcracker ballet. From the reinvented holiday classic, A Christmas Carol, to a variety of shows presented by the dedicated Young Performers Workshop, CSC has holiday fun for everyone to enjoy.

Spilling over from November, 2011's smash hit returns to the CSC stage in this season's Family Holiday Spectacular A Christmas Carol: The Musical, running through December 15 in the Sitnik Theatre. Charles Dickens' classic gets the full Broadway treatment by the Broadway team of Alan Menken (Beauty and the Beast, Little Mermaid,), Lynn Ahrens (Ragtime, Seussical) and Mike Ockrent (Crazy For You, Me and My Girl). A Christmas Carol retains its emotional power and pure joy, thanks to the marvelously-told story filled with beautiful melodies and emotional lyrics that ran for ten years in Madison Square Garden. The Star Ledger says, "Centenary Stage Company grandly picks up where Madison Square Garden left off."

Wrapping up 2013, Centenary Stage Company's Young Performer's Workshop presents the Winter Festival of Shows December 15th-22nd in the Little Theater on the Campus of Centenary College. This season's musical theatre extravaganza will feature Grease, The Wiz, and Christmas is Comin' Uptown. YPW has been called "The most professional kids troupe around!" by the Star Ledger. The workshop has been led by Broadway, film and television veteran, Michael Blevins, for 20 years. The Young Performers Workshop is dedicated to the enrichment of young lives through experience in the theatre arts, and serves as a venue for cultivating young performers between the ages of 8 and 18. The program is one of only a handful in the nation that offers both formal training and production experience for young people.

The NJ Civic Youth Ballet returns to present its seasonal classic, The Nutcracker December 20th-22nd at the Sitnik Theater in the David and Carol Lackland Center. The NJ Civic Youth Ballet has delighted audiences for over 10 years, and features a cast of 60 talented dancers from Morris, Sussex, and Warren Counties. The NJCYB's Nutcracker is unique thanks to the narration by Janine Byrnes who tells the story from the perspective of young Clara Stahlbaum.

Tickets for A Christmas Carol are $27.50 for adults on Matinees and Fridays and $29.50 on Saturdays with discounts for seniors, students and children under 12. Thursday evening tickets are $27.50 with a two-for-one Family Night discount when purchased at the door.

Tickets for the Young Performers Workshop Winter Festival of Shows are $12.50 for adults and $10 for children under 12. Performance times vary from December 13th-22nd at The Little Theater on the campus of Centenary College. For a detailed schedule of times and shows visit centenarystageco.org.

Tickets for The Nutcracker are $25.00 for Orchestra seating, $22.50 in the Balcony and $15 for children under 10 seated anywhere in the theatre. Performance times are Friday, Dec. 20 at 7pm, Saturday, Dec. 21 at 2pm and 7pm and Sunday, Dec. 22 at 3pm in the Sitnik Theater in the Lackland Center.

Tickets may be purchased online at www.centenarystageco.org, at the CSC Box Office in The Lackland Center at 715 Grand Ave in Hackettstown, or by calling 908-979-0900. The Box Office is open Monday through Friday 1-5 p.m., and 2 hours prior to performance times. CSC also operates a second Box Office during the season at 217 Main Street in Hackettstown open Monday through Friday 3-6 p.m.

December events are sponsored in part by Heath Village, Hackettstown Regional Medical Center, and Andrea's Dining Room in Long Valley.

The 2013-14 season of performing arts events at the Centenary Stage Company is made possible through the generous support of the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, the NJ State Council on the Arts, and CSC sponsors, including Premier Sponsor Heath Village Retirement Community, Silver Sponsors Hackettstown Regional Medical Center, The Holiday Inn in Budd Lake, and Fulton Bank, Bronze Sponsors The Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation and Wells Fargo Bank, and Centenary Stage Company members and supporters.

Photo Credit: Bob Eberle

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