Tickets on sale for ‘Merry Christmas Show’

By Kevin Jenkins | November 6, 2019 |

Don’t miss out on your chance to celebrate the holidays with the beloved production, “A Merry Christmas Show.” It’s one of the fastest and most favorite ways to get into the holiday spirit.

Tickets for this spectacular holiday program, which showcases exceptional local talent, went on sale to the public Monday at the Farmington Community Civic Center.

Performances will be held at the Centene Center on Dec. 13 at 7 p.m. and Dec. 14 at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. Reserved seating ticket prices range from $13-15. Group tickets are $10 for registered organizations of 10 or more people. Small children who sit on an adult’s lap will not require a ticket.

This is the fourth production of “A Merry Christmas Show,” which alternates with “The Nutcracker” every other year.

This two-hour production is put on by the Young People’s Performing Arts Theatre, a non-profit formed in 1981 to enable local dancers from all over Southeast Missouri to participate in a large-scale semi-professional production. Since its creation, hundreds of performers have had the opportunity to be part of “A Merry Christmas Show” or Tchachovsky’s “The Nutcracker.”

Auditions for this show were held in August at Ballet Arts Center in Farmington. Since then, cast members have had practices since September.

Preparing for this large of a production is no small task as 130 adults and children have been practicing for this show by attending weekly Sunday and some Saturday and weekday practices.

This grand holiday show is the collaboration of many different talents – dancers, singers, seamstresses, set designers and more. Many people fill the varied roles from behind-the-scenes duties to those performing on stage.

The show is under the direction of Artistic Director Kimberly Gavin Anderson, Assistant Director Maggie Jeude Haupt and Vocal Director Allyn Rizo, who is the choir director at North County High School. These ladies have filled these roles for each of the four shows since 2013, which was the first year of “A Merry Christmas Show.”

“A Merry Christmas Show” is a community-wide production which includes favorite holiday songs ranging from Christmas past through Christmas present as well as a variety of dance numbers and selections from the Nutcracker ballet.