Family is at the center of things this season – both on stage and off – at the Oswego Players’ for their Holiday production, “Yes Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus.”
The production will run weekends, December 6th to 15th onstage at the Frances Marion Brown Theater at Fort Ontario, Oswego, NY. Friday and Saturday night performances are at 7:30PM, while curtain time for the two Sunday matinees is at 2PM.
Tickets are $17 for adults, $13 for seniors and $12 for students. They may be reserved online by going to oswegoplayers.org, or by calling the Players’ Box Office at (315) 343-5138.
Written by Andrew J. Fernady, the play is inspired by the true, simple, poignant letter written in 1897 by 8-year-old Virginia O’Hanlon to the editor of the New York Sun, “Dear Editor, I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says if you see it in the Sun, it’s so. Please tell me the truth. Is there a Santa Claus?”
Among the 20-plus member cast and crew are several family pairings. This begins with Kevin Colvin and his nephew Richard Carpenter who plays Virginia’s father James O’Hanlon and his neighbor Dominic Donnelli. Also included in the ensemble cast are father and daughter Craig and Charlotte Gilkey, and uncle and niece Charlie Thompson and Averyanna Wilson.
“The theater brings families together in a fun way – so bring your family and join us opening weekend,” director Jennifer Hitchcock said. She is also joined in this family-themed production backstage by her father Kenneth Snow, the Players’ master carpenter leading the building of the show’s set.
“Yes, Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus” is presented by special arrangement with the Dramatic Publishing Company of Woodstock, Illinois.
Family members featured among the cast of the Oswego Players’ production “Yes, Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus” Front row, from left: Charlotte Gilkey, Charlie Thompson, and Averyanna Wilson. Back row, from left: Craig Gilkey, Richard Carpenter, and Kevin Colvin. The production will run weekends, December 6th to 15th onstage at the Frances Marion Brown Theater at Fort Ontario, Oswego, NY.