The Christmas Revels 20th Anniversary Gala Production

Fri, Dec 9 - Sun, Dec 18
Friday at 7:30 pm; Sat & Sun at 1 & 5 pm
$15-42

The Christmas Revels 20th Anniversary Gala Production
A Theatrical Celebration of the Winter Solstice
With the Stories, Songs & Dances of Medieval England!


Fridays, Dec. 9 and 16 @ 7:30 pm
Saturdays, Dec. 10 and 17 @ 1 pm and 5 pm
Sundays, Dec. 11 and 18 @ 1 pm and 5 pm

The Scottish Rite Theater on Lake Merritt (1547 Lakeside Drive, Oakland)


BOX OFFICE: Telesails ticket service (415) 773-1181 or online
www.calrevels.org
Group sales (10 or more) or special-needs patrons call (510) 452-9334

TICKETS: $15-$42 (discounts for children under 12, seniors 65+ and
groups of 10+)

MORE INFO: www.calrevels.org

DESCRIPTION:

Welcome Yule! Celebrate the arrival of the Winter Solstice and find
your antidote to the hectic holiday season at The Christmas Revels!
This Bay Area mainstay has entertained thousands of families and
revelers for twenty years, and this year is going to be one of the
best yet! For two triumphant decades, The Christmas Revels has
transported its large audience to different times and places in human
history through the power of a critically acclaimed theatrical
production. Time-honored rituals, traditional dances, folk plays,
high-spirited music, and holiday songs performed by a talented cast
of adults and children have earned The Christmas Revels the
distinction of being called a Beloved Bay Area Event by the San
Francisco Chronicle.

The San Jose Mercury News affirmed that The Christmas Revels is:
delightful, colorful, [and] jubilant; the audience is so involved,
you're barely aware it's a performance!

Filled with joyous and heartwarming magic, the 20th Anniversary
Christmas Revels is an unforgettable experience for the whole family!

To mark the milestone 20th Anniversary, the California Revels are
returning to the theme of their first production at Mills College
(1986) whereupon the company made merry in the medieval style. The
Christmas Revels will herald back to Derbyshire's Haddon Hall in 15th
and 16th century England. The 20th Anniversary gala production of
The Christmas Revels shall hail the passing of the shortest day with
fantastic stories, glorious songs and dancing in the aisles as the
Revels once more welcome Yule!

This year brings the outstanding talents of special guest Ensemble
Alcatraz to the production. Susan Rode Morris (soprano), Cheryl Ann
Fulton (medieval harps), Kit Higginson (recorders and psaltery),
Shira Kammen (vielle and rebec) and Peter Maund (percussion) have
been featured individually and together over the years. However this
year the entire group will join the merry Revels on this landmark
year. Several key artists who have been in every Revels production
since its inaugural year will also be performing.

The Christmas Revels will be performed for ten shows December 9-18 at
the Scottish Rite Theater on beautiful Lake Merritt in Oakland.

The 20th Anniversary marks an extraordinary time in the Revels
history. At the twenty-year anniversary, The Christmas Revels is
transitioning into a new era after the passing last year of their
beloved leader, Artistic Director Dr. Elizabeth Lloyd Mayer
(1947-2005). Dr. Mayer's dedication and leadership built The
Christmas Revels into a major holiday event for Bay Area families.
Dr. Mayer wrote in her, About Revels:

People need celebration. We need those wild and holy expressions of
who we are which lift us out of isolation and into connection with
each other. We need moments that inject the ordinary with awe and
engage our capacities for the extraordinary. Celebration does that.
And Revels does that.

The 20th Anniversary gala production of The Christmas Revels is
dedicated to the memory of Dr. Mayer.

David Parr, a director of many past Christmas Revels stepped into the
role of Artistic Director and he's maintained all of the wonderful
elements that have made The Christmas Revels such a unique and
powerful theatrical event.

From the annual recitation of the hopeful The Shortest Day to the
sheer delight of joining hand and hearts for the Lord of the Dance
and filling the hall with everyone's voices for the Sussex Mummer's
Carol, the California Revels invite you to join them in ushering in
this new era along with the Winter Solstice and the New Year.

Venue:

The Scottish Rite Theater
1547 Lakeside Drive
Oakland
415-773-1181
http://www.scottish-rite.org/

Additional Info:
-assoc.com
510-452-9334
http://www.calrevels.org