Stage Director: Cynthia duPont Tobias
Music Director: Helene Furlong
Asst. Music Director: Kristin Nelson

Directors: Henry Porreca and
Valerie Hutchinson

Dec. 9 - 10, 2011 in Arden
Dec. 11, 2012 in Smyrna, DE

Join in Arden’s very own Christmas revel, hosted by Mr. & Mrs. Fezziwig, and including appearances by Father Christmas, the Lord of Misrule, King John, two divas of the stage, many jolly wassailers, and even the Arden Young Actors performing a Mummers Play, “St. George and the Dragon”. We’ll sing Christmas favorites, both familiar and not, and even some selections from The Messiah. This is a show sure to fill the heart (even of Ebenezer Scrooge) with the spirit of Christmas!

Program Order -

Act 1

Act 2

Amy Karash

John Dennison
& "The Divas"

Cynthia duP. Tobias & Paula Gonzalez

Elizabeth Corson, Chris Galvin
& John Trexler

along with ... Polly Brown, Peggy Figun, Helene Furlong, Felicia Gaus-Woollen, Kristen Nelson, Veroncee Zevnik

Saint George and the Dragon

Copyright © 1973 by John Langstaff
Illustrations Copyright © 1973 by David Gentleman

Folk plays like this exist all over the world. They always contain some symbolic contest, as well as a “medicine man,” or clown figure, who restores the fallen hero to life. The hero, killed and then revived, symbolizes the triumph of life over death, light over darkness, spring over winter. The audience usually participated in some way at the conclusion of a performance by sharing food, giving contributions, or singing and dancing together. This was a way of bringing good luck to everyone, just as the Old Year turned and the New Year was about to begin.

Even though the original purpose of primitive ritual is obscured today, three vestiges of it remain. First, the folk plays are performed only at certain important times of the year; second, the form of presentation is usually in a ceremonial manner and, finally, the actors disguise themselves in some simple way. (Anonymity insures good luck.) These actors were known as mummers and traveled about with their play to farmyards, houses, kitchens or halls. In some of the oldest examples of the folk play, the traditional sword dance is a particularly important part of the action. With makeshift swords, often agricultural or fishermen’s implements, the intricate patterns of the dance culminate in a woven “star” of swords.

Phil Galvin