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CLEARFIELD – The Clearfield Arts Studio Theatre Inc. (CAST) is making final preparations for two sold out productions happening at the end of the month.
CAST will present Elf Jr., the Musical Dec. 7-9 and 14-16 at 7:30 p.m. and Dec. 10 at 2 p.m. More than 40 students will fill the stage bringing this well-known story to life.
Buddy, a young orphan, mistakenly crawls into Santa’s bag of gifts and is transported to the North Pole. The would-be elf is raised, unaware that he is actually a human, until his enormous size and poor toy-making abilities cause him to face the truth.
With Santa’s permission, Buddy embarks on a journey to New York City to find his birth father and discover his true identity.
Faced with the harsh reality that his father is on the naughty list and that his half-brother doesn’t even believe in Santa, Buddy is determined to win over his new family and help New York remember the true meaning of Christmas.
This production is directed under the skillful leadership of Jennifer Himes Bush, with Lisa Gormont and Dee Coudriet serving as assistant directors, and Chrissy Francis as musical director. Other members of the production team include CAST board members, volunteers and parent volunteers.
CAST will also host performances of The Nutcracker on Dec. 21-23 at 7 p.m. and Dec. 23 at 2 p.m. The students of Dana Timko at the Dance Company School of Performing Arts have been preparing for months to bring this production to Clearfield for the first time in many years.
The Nutcracker is a story written in 1816 by German author E.T.A. Hoffmann, in which young Marie Stahlbaum’s favorite Christmas toy, the Nutcracker, comes alive and, after defeating the evil Mouse King in battle, whisks her away to a magical kingdom populated by dolls.
In 1892, the Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and choreographers Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov turned Alexandre Dumas pere’s adaptation of the story in the ballet, The Nutcracker, which became one of Tchaikovsky’s most famous compositions, and perhaps the most popular ballet in the world.
Because of how quickly these shows sold out, and the demand from the public for tickets, CAST will not be offering ticket exchanges and will not be reselling unclaimed tickets at the box office prior to each show.
CAST encourages members of the public to get their season tickets for 2018 to guarantee seats for each production. Season tickets can be purchased at the CAST office Dec. 11-12 from 5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. or online at ClearfieldArts.org/tickets.
For more information, visit www.ClearfieldArts.org or call 814-765-4474. The Clearfield Arts Studio Theatre Inc. can also be found on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
CAST is a non-profit arts center located at 112 E Locust St., in the heart of downtown Clearfield.