“T’was the night before Christmas and all through the house, the stage was alive – from your very own
couch.”
That’s how Black Box Theatre of Las Cruces is touting No Strings Theatre Company’s “Light in Winter’s Darkness,” directed by veteran Las Cruces actor/director Nikka Ziemer.
The two-hour show is streaming 7 p.m.-midnight every night through Sunday, Dec. 31.
It features local actors performing classic readings and songs, including “T’was the Night Before Christmas” and “Silent Night,” with some unexpected twists and turns, like Genno Tafoya’s reading of a Mexican version of a very famous holiday poem: “It was the night before Christmas and all through the casa…” with Santa “in a big, red sombrero,” with a sleigh and eight little burros with names like Pancho and Pepe) and Nancy Clein Tafoya’s Hawaiian version of “The 12 Days of Christmas,” including five big fat pig, four flower lei, three dried squid, two coconut and one mynah bird in one papaya tree.”
The cast also includes Ziemer, Doug Abbott, Erin Wendorf, Karen Buerdsel, Debbie Jo Felix, Stuart Kelter, Amalia Kelter Zeitlin, Jacob Zeitlin Kelter, Leora Zeitlin, Autumn Gieb and Bobby Senecal. Music for the production is by Ziemer, Gieb and Senecal.
You will also hear “How the Fir Tree Became the Christmas Tree” (Abbott’s reading); “The Gift of Magi” (Wendorf’s reading); “The Christmas Present” (Buerdsel’s reading); “The Little Match Girl” (Felix’s reading); “In the Bleak Midwinter” (Zimmer’s reading, and sung by Gieb); Gieb performing “Silent Night” on the flute and singing “Suo Gan”(Welch for “Lullaby”); “Celebrating Chanukah” with the Zeitlins and Kelters and “End of Year Bells” with Senecal on the piano.
The performances are wonderful – joyous and heartfelt. The sound quality is outstanding and so are the graphics. You will enjoy this show very much. Five stars (of Bethlehem?) to director Ziemer, producer Ceil Herman, technical director Peter Herman and the entire cast.
"Light in Winter's Darkness," the final production of Black Box Theatre’s interrupted 2019-20 season, has professional closed captioning, if needed.
If you currently have Black Box Theatre PPP season tickets, pre-purchased coupon, or comp tickets, e-mail nstcbbt@zianet.com for a link to the show. You can also purchase tickets for $10 each online at www.no-strings.org.
