Press Release

 

TRIAD STAGE’S FAMILY-FRIENDLY HOLIDAY HIT
BEAUTIFUL STAR: AN APPALACHIAN NATIVITY
RETURNS FOR THE FOURTH AND FINAL YEAR,

NOVEMBER 27 – DECEMBER 23, 2009

After three seasons of sold out shows and recording-breaking runs, the seasonal celebration takes its final bow in the Triad.

(Greensboro, NC) —This November, Triad Stage proudly presents the return of Beautiful Star: An Appalachian Nativity. Come home for the holidays. The Triad’s newest holiday tradition proves that the best tales are the ones worth repeating. Returning for the fourth and final season of celebration, Reverend Ledbetter and the Open Heart Community Fellowship gather again for their rendition of the Christmas story, with down home laughter, toe-tapping music and a tug at the heartstrings. Experience the joy and wonder that have made Beautiful Star the biggest hit in Triad Stage’s history. Created by Triad Stage Artistic Director Preston Lane and Laurelyn Dossett of the band Polecat Creek, the creative team behind Brother Wolf, Bloody Blackbeard and the upcoming Providence Gap, the show is a musical and storytelling journey from the creation of the world to the birth of Jesus. In the tradition of the medieval mystery plays of Old England, Beautiful Star weaves music, humor and awe together, re-telling great stories from the Bible in a festive gathering of family, friends and faith.

Beautiful Star, a heartwarming and spiritual theatrical performance for the entire family, runs November 27 through December 23, 2009. Opening night is Friday, December 4. In order to make the two hour production more accessible to families with young children, Triad Stage has moved up the curtain time of Sunday and Thursday night performances to 7:00 p.m., and has added three 2:00 p.m. matinee performances on Saturdays.

Beautiful Star has seen great success since it was first mounted as a special event in December 2006; selling over 20,000 tickets in its first three years. In addition to being the highest-grossing and highest-attended production in Triad Stage’s nine seasons, it was produced by The WaterTower Theatre in Addison, Texas in 2008 and is to be published by Playscripts, Inc.

As Triad Stage prepares for its tenth anniversary season in 2010-2011, a brand new holiday offering will be unveiled, making 2009 the last season for the Appalachian nativity. “We’re so grateful that Triad audiences have embraced the show as their own. It brings new audiences to our theatre every season, and area families look forward to the holidays when they can share the performance with one another,” says Artistic Director Preston Lane. “It will be difficult to say good bye to these characters that we have come to love. We are pulling out all the stops to make this fourth and final year a memorable success.”

ABOUT THE PLAY AND PRODUCTION
Beautiful Star is set on a cold winter evening, high in the mountains of North Carolina, where the members of the small Open Heart Community Fellowship gather to tell the story of the first Christmas. But this is no ordinary Christmas pageant. As the fellowship brings these glorious stories to life, their simple mountain church is transformed by the power of music, the telling of tales and pure faith into a world of magic and wonder.

For 2009, playwright/director Lane has made some updates to the script and added a character, and composer/music director Dossett has revised the song list to match Lane’s script changes. This season’s production includes returning cast members: Carroll “Chip” Johnson as Rev. Roy Ledbetter, Cinny Strickland as Vestina Ledbetter, James Tunstall as Tidence Ledbetter, Michael Tourek as Franklin Duncan, Junious Leak as Vernon Sparks, Justin Emmanuel Harrington as Paul Sparks and Joshua Yoder as Eugene Stoneman; and new cast members: Terra Mackintosh as Ethel Green, Christina Beasley as Shelly Ledbetter, Elizabeth Beasley as Myrtle Ledbetter and Bailey Weikel-Feekes as Linda Green.

The Beautiful Star Band is comprised of returning member Andrew Eversol, and new members Griffith Martin and Faye Petree. Beautiful Star soundtrack CDs will be on sale in the lobby throughout the run of the production.

The design team for Beautiful Star includes Scenic Designer Branden Tucker, Costume Designer Kelsey Hunt, Lighting Designer John Wolf and Sound Designer David E. Smith. The dramaturg is Drew Barker, the assistant director is Ruthie Tutterow and the assistant musical director is Molly McGinn. The stage manager is Eric Tysinger.

Biographies for the cast and creative team, videos, song samples and more information on the production can be found online at www.triadstage.org.

Performance and special event information
Tickets for preview performances of Beautiful Star, on November 27, 28 and 29 and December 3 are all $16 each. From Opening Night, December 4, single ticket prices range from $10 to $42. Prices vary depending on the day of the week and seat location desired. There are also a limited number of general admission gallery seats available for each performance, priced at $10 each. Beautiful Star is presented as a special event and is not included in Triad Stage’s 2009-2010 Season Pass packages.

All performances are at Triad Stage at The Pyrle Theater, located at 232 South Elm Street in downtown Greensboro, North Carolina (between Market and Washington Streets).

Families can save with the “2 for 1” Thursday Ticket Special. When parents buy one ticket at regular price, they can receive one child’s ticket for free. The offer is good for Thursday 7:00 p.m. performances on December 10 and 17. There is a limit of two tickets per order and must be purchased by calling the Triad Stage Box Office. Some restrictions apply.

Discount rates are available for groups of 10 or more. Group tickets can be purchased by calling Sherry Barr, Director of Audience Services at 336.274.0067 ext. 221 or emailing groupsales@triadstage.org.

Show times for Beautiful Star are 7:00 p.m. on Thursday and Sunday evenings, and on Monday, December 21, Tuesday, December 22 and Wednesday, December 23. Performances on Friday and Saturday evenings are at 8:00 p.m. Saturday and Sunday matinees are at 2:00 p.m. There are no matinee performances during previews.

There is a Pay-What-You-Can performance on Sunday, December 6 at 7:00 p.m. 88.5 WFDD’s Wine Tasting Friday is December 11, prior to the evening’s 8:00 pm performance, with wines provided by Stonefield Cellars Winery. A Sign-Interpreted performance is on Thursday, December 17 at 7:00 p.m., with services provided by the Greensboro Communication Services for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.  

About Triad Stage
Triad Stage is a professional not-for-profit regional theater company based in Greensboro’s downtown historic district. All Triad Stage productions are created in Greensboro using the best of local and national talent. Triad Stage gratefully acknowledges the support of its Season Sponsors: Mitre Agency, the North Carolina Arts Council and the United Arts Council of Greater Greensboro. The Production Sponsor of Beautiful Star is Fairway Outdoor Advertising.

Triad Stage’s 2009-2010 Season – “A Season Together” – continues with Around the World in 80 Days, a comic adventure by Mark Brown, based on the novel by Jules Verne (February 7 – 28, 2010), Ethel Waters: His Eye Is on the Sparrow, a life in music by Larry Parr (April 11 – May 2, 2010) and the world premiere of Providence Gap, an Appalachian saga by Preston Lane, with original music by Laurelyn Dossett (June 6 – July 4, 2010). The holiday season also sees the return of David Sedaris’ hilarious The Santaland Diaries (November 19 – December 19, 2009) in The UpStage Cabaret. 2009-2010 3-Play Season Passes and single tickets for all productions are on sale now.

All Triad Stage productions feature the bold acting and breathtaking design that have been nationally recognized by The Wall Street Journal and haveearned the theatre accolades including “One of the Best Regional Theatres in America,” New York’s Drama League; “Best Live Theater,” Go Triad/News & Record and The Rhinoceros Times; and “Professional Theater of the Year,” North Carolina Theatre Conference. 

To purchase tickets or for performance information on Beautiful Star, call the Triad Stage Box Office at 336.272.0160 or toll-free at 866.579.TIXX (8499), or visit www.triadstage.org.