Ensemble Theatre Company Of Santa Barbara Offers Two Streaming Family Holiday Events

This December, Ensemble Theatre Company will offer two holiday events the entire family can enjoy. First, ETC welcomes back Porgy and Bess cast members Elijah Rock and Frank Lawson for a rockin' musical Christmas variety show LIVE from Las Vegas.

For those looking for something more traditional, the cast of ETC's 2019 hit production of It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play return to conjure up some holiday spirit with a special reading of Charles Dickens' Classic Novel, A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story of Christmas. Tickets for these events can be reserved online at https://etcsb.org/whats-on/streaming-events/.

On Sunday December 20th at 6pm PST, ETC is partnering with Las Vegas-based actor/singer/tap dancer extraordinaire Elijah Rock, who wowed audiences in the title role of ETC's 2017 production of Porgy and Bess. Elijah and ETC present this thrilling new concert, "The Elijah Rock Variety Show Christmas Special," which will stream live from Las Vegas.

Reminiscent of the classic variety shows of yesteryear, Rock reimagines the entertainment experience for a digital only audience with a show which offers family entertainment, song, dance, jazz, comedy and Broadway Christmas cheer streaming directly into your home! A percentage of the proceeds will be donated to ETC to support the performing arts.

This concert, broadcasting from the Renkus-Heinz Theatre at Notoriety, will feature exciting acts such as songstress Tymara Walker, jazz singer Jonathan Karrant, Broadway/Vegas stars Ruby Lewis and Frank Lawson, who played Sportin' Life in ETC's production of Porgy and Bess. Also performing are Travis Cloer (the longest running lead as Frankie Valli in Jersey Boys), tap dancing twins Sean & John Scott, a cappella group The Doo Wop Kings, contortionist Jazmin LeFae, as well as impersonator John Di Domenico. Rock will also sing and dance. His soulful all-star band includes musical director Angelo Stokes (drums), David Siegel (piano), David Ostrem (bass) and Michael Spicer (saxophone).

"This has been a challenging year, but we are thrilled to close 2020 with the extraordinarily talented Elijah Rock," said ETC's Artistic Director Jonathan Fox. Rock added: "Performers need to perform and now, more than ever, people need family entertainment. My goal is to do my part to celebrate talent and spread joy."

Tickets for the event are $25 per device and are available for purchase online at https://etcsb.org/whats-on/streaming-events/. Once the live stream performance has completed, viewers will have the ability to watch the concert on-demand for 48 hours.

The cast and artistic team from the 2019 production of It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play reunite for a free special presentation of the Dickens' classic "A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story of Christmas." The performance will feature live original music by Santa Barbara musician, Douglas Clegg as well as live foley sound effects. Directed by Brian McDonald, audiences will hear Dickens words come to life with the cast of 5 playing all the beloved characters.

The event will also feature a free pre-show lecture about Charles Dickens and the history of "A Christmas Carol" with retired UCSB professor and ETC board member, Simon Williams. This performance will be available to stream on demand from December 24, 2020 at 5PM PST through Monday, December 28 at 12PM PST. Tickets for this event are free but to receive access registration is required by visiting https://etcsb.org/whats-on/streaming-events/.

The cast includes Teri Bibb (Broadway's Phantom of the Opera), Louis Lotorto (The Royal National Theatre's American Tour of An Enemy of the People), Matthew Floyd Miller (ETC's productions of 39 Steps and Measure for Measure), Hannah Tamminen (Richard II and The Merry Wives of Windsor at Kingsmen Shakespeare Festival), and Peter Van Norden (ETC's production of Crime and Punishment) as Scrooge. The production is directed by Brian McDonald with live sound effects by Jeff Gardner and music by Santa Barbara's Douglas Clegg.