Cast Set for CHRISTMAS EVE IN DIKANKA: A Musical In-Concert at The Duplex

The cast for CHRISTMAS EVE IN DIKANKA: A Musical In-Concert has been revealed as part of Double Bill: Witches and Aliens, a comedic, entertaining and otherworldly evening of two hysterical theatrical works. Presented by Judith Manocherian LLC and Space Weather Girl, in association with Theatre Now New York, Jen Wineman directs and choreographs three performances of Zena Wood's ENCOUNTER: A Space Cabaret, and Kit Goldstein Grant's CHRISTMAS EVE IN DIKANKA: A Musical In-Concert. The evening will be staged June 12, 13 and 14, 2025, at 7:00 p.m. at The Duplex Cabaret Theatre.

The cast for CHRISTMAS EVE IN DIKANKA: A Musical In-Concert includes Juan Calix (Intl. Tour: Sister Act), RJ Christian (Dungeons and Dragons: The Twenty-Sided Tavern), Rebecca Larkin (Bway: South Pacific), Madeline Kunkowski (Nat. Tour: Dog Man: The Musical) and Brian Charles Rooney (Bway: The Threepenny Opera).

The previously announced cast for ENCOUNTER: A Space Cabaret includes Zena Wood (a.k.a. Space Weather Girl) and Brandon M. Weber.

About Encounter: A Space Cabaret

They come in peace…and for the eggs. A comedy-driven space cabaret that lands somewhere between a late-night weather show and a cosmic fever dream where nothing is linear. Live from New York, it's Space Weather Girl! What if an alien encounter was more human condition and less lasers? Add some old-time Hollywood charm, a historical “mating program,” and you've got yourself a show! As a studio audience, you will witness the mysterious broadcast sparking an interplanetary moment. You'll wonder at a spectacular alien dance performance and you'll do all of this in a fraction of a second (60 minutes). It's a science thing. Come for the facts, the songs and the comedy, and find yourself unexpectedly heart-warmed. Featuring Brandon Weber as Greg.

Encounter is an original comedy musical featuring all-new songs - including the soon-to-be intergalactic hit “Five Ways to Die on Mars,” written by collaborator and New York native Kit Goldstein Grant. Encounter is previewing in New York ahead of its full run at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe at Just the Tonic from July 31 to August 24, 2025.

"What I found absolutely fascinating during our development is how people light up about space. They're living on a rock hurtling through the cosmos and yet people are surprised by their own curiosity! Ask someone why time travel isn't possible (kind of) and watch their eyes widen with wonder,” shared Wood. “Encounter creates this beautiful, uh, space, where audience members become part of our wacky TV studio universe. After all, when aliens visit, everyone has something to say about it, don't they?" The show mimics the immensity and simplicity of what can happen in a fraction of a second, with the weather being a continuous backdrop to humanity. 

Loosely based on a pilot episode script of a similar theme written by Zena Wood for screen, Encounter also borrows inspiration from various projects Zena has created since 2018 as the fictional character Space Weather Girl, including on YouTube, two music videos filmed and recorded: Space Christmas, and All I Want for ChristMars is Mars, a Christmas solo show performed at the Drama Factory in South Africa - Space Weather Girl Christmas Extravaganza, and multiple comedy open mics and videos performed as the character.

About Christmas Eve in Dikanka: A Musical In-Concert

A new musical based on the story by Ukrainian novelist Nikolai Gogol. It's Christmas Eve in Dikanka, and a blacksmith must find fancy shoes like those worn by the Czarina in the next few hours or lose the heart of his lady love. But when the Devil comes to town, will he give up his soul for a sole? And what will he do about his mother, who is a promiscuous witch? No really, an actual witch. This loosely adapted take on Nikolai Gogol's story sets the show in a meta-theatrical universe which combines a Ukrainian 19th-century absurdist tone and a modern sensibility, plus a lotta slapstick.

Playwright Kit Goldstein Grant shares, “I first read CHRISTMAS EVE by Nikolai Gogol when doing research for another musical based on a Gogol story. That show went on to productions in NYC and South Africa, but I couldn't shake my memory of CHRISTMAS EVE, and the sheer exuberant fun of the piece. Yes, there was a love story, but most intriguing to me was the relationship between the blacksmith and his mother, a promiscuous witch. Now, this, THIS was interesting! Not to mention, funny. Is it relevant that I was mom to a fairly-new son myself when I started writing this piece? Possibly. Relevant that I was approaching the 40-year mark when women suddenly become irrelevant, and I had something to say about that? Possibly. But probably not. Probably I just wanted to write a fun show."

“I love how Christmas Eve in Dikanka celebrates the complexities and joys of being human without preaching, and in fact does so with great humor,” said Associate Producer Alexa Powell. “There simply aren't enough songs about women over forty with sex drives! Kit also beautifully balances her jokes with tender connections, exploring a mother-son relationship in which both people retain their identities in ADDITION to their bond.”