A VERY KALAMAZOO CHRISTMAS at Farmers Alley Theatre
Fresh off the heels of their box-office smashing hit production of Come From Away, Farmers Alley Theatre rings in the holiday season with a satirical love letter to holiday rom-coms in A Very Kalamazoo Christmas by Robert Hawlmark, opening November 20th and the show has already been so popular Farmers Alley Theatre has added six additional performances to the original run:
Sat. 11/22, Sat. 12/6 at 7:30pm, Thurs. 12/11 and Fri. 12/12 all at 7:30pm as well as Sat. 12/13 and Sun. 12/14 at 2pm.
This hysterical comedy is written by a Michigan playwright and allows the actors the ability to fill the whip-smart script with fun local references and jokes about the Wolverine State and Kalamazoo. In much the same way where the musical, Working (performed at Farmers Alley Theatre in 2023) was tailored dramatically to the community, A Very Kalamazoo Christmas brings local humor to the stage.
Now, this may sound familiar to you – but it’s anything but! Career-focused Felice must travel from her big city corporate world back to her charming hometown on an important business deal that has to get done by Christmas! While there under the overbearing eye of her nagging mother, she runs into high school acquaintance and frequenter of endless flannels shirts, the handsome George. But Felice has no time for love – she’s on a business trip! But widowed dad George, along with his adorable son Danny, are determined to melt Felice’s heart (and save the local business) by Christmas Eve!
Filled with snappy one-liners, quick costume changes, cheesy montages and a dash of Christmas spirit (plus a surprise cameo or two), this rollicking 90-minute comedy is like Love Actually and The Holiday morphed with the craziest episode of Saturday Night Live – performed on stage!
Directing our production of A Very Kalamazoo Christmas is Kevin Theis, known to Farmers Alley Theatre audiences from his role as Chuck (dust-mop guy) in last spring’s hit production of A Jukebox for the Algonquin. A gifted director as well as actor, Kevin has assembled a fantastic cast to fill out this fun & festive show. University of Michigan alum Kait Auburn stars as Felice alongside Chicago actor Steve Peebles as George. Filling out every other role in the show are just two actors – former member of The Second City National Touring Company Joe Dempsey, and native Michigander Emma Brock, seen in our 2016 production of A Man of No Importance.
Managing Artistic Director Jeremy Koch says “what a treat this festive play will be for our audiences. Our dynamite team of designers, stage managers, directors, crew members and actors are already working hard to create a delicious Holiday feast for the eyes, ears and funny bones. We’ve got our usual mix of phenomenal local and out of town talent and our audiences will have a chance to leave their troubles at the door, get swept up in a corny, cheesy romantic story and laugh so hard they won’t need to do stomach crunches at the gym for a while. We all need a laugh right now and this is the perfect way to forget your troubles, get some high-quality entertainment and leave with a huge smile on your face.”
A Very Kalamazoo Christmas is generously supported by our Season Sponsors The Tyler Little Family Foundation and the Schupan Family and by our show sponsors: Peregrine-Huff Foundation, Nancy Richardson, Dement & Marquardt PLC, Rose Street Advisors, Kalamazoo Community Foundation, Ed & Doreen Thomas, Milestone Senior Service, and Heritage Community.