WESTERLY — “A Celebration of Twelfth Night” — that much-loved theatrical extravaganza that was presented each year for 40 years thanks to the creative efforts of the Chorus of Westerly but took a 10-year hiatus starting in 2015 — returns to the George Kent Performance Hall next weekend.
The 2025 post-Christmas production will be similar to performances of yore, said Chorus Executive Director Ryan Saunders Monday night in a phone interview following one of the many rehearsals that have been in full swing since the day after Christmas.
“Everything is kicked up a notch,” said Saunders with a hearty laugh before pausing to describe the one-time revival set to run for six performances between Jan. 10 and 12. “We decided to go big.”
Going big meant even casting a few local luminaries in the production, which will see two noted actors join this year’s team. Cabaret performer and singer Eden Casteel has taken the role of the Ice Queen, while actor Christie Max Williams will be this year’s Father Christmas.
Jesters Shane and Collin Miclon — regulars in shows of yore — will return to the chorus stage to share their humorous physical comedy with audiences.
As with past shows, this year’s “Twelfth Night” includes an enormous cast and crew of both amateur and professional musicians, actors, dancers, puppeteers, jesters, choreographers and designers as well as an army of community volunteers.
Roughly 200 performers will bring the “Twelfth Night” world to life, according to a statement from the chorus, “and take the audience on dramatic journey through a mythical land that brings light and goodness to all as we emerge from the darkest period of the year.”
“When that journey is complete, a celebration emerges on stage filled with merriment, music, laughter, and joy,” said Chorus Advancement Associate Isobel McCullough in an email.
The show’s “driving heart” is a newly-created dramatic script by playwright Harvey Blanchette, paired alongside a soaring musical score by composer John Tafone, McCullough said.
“Tafone’s new score incorporates both original music written specifically for the 2025 show, featuring lyrics by Elena Tafone, alongside new arrangements of ‘Twelfth Night’ favorites such as ‘Candlemas Eve’ and ‘The Boar’s Head Carol.'”
Chorus of Westerly music director Andrew Howell will conduct the performance, working alongside John Tafone, who has overseen all musical arrangements.
Nicole DiMattei, artistic director of the Granite Theatre of Westerly, and Anthony Caporale, an award-winning theater director and Off-Broadway producer, are stage-directing and choreographing the show as a team.
Starring alongside a cast of 80 actors (ranging in ages from 3 to 70) will be Chorus of Westerly singers and Westerly High School students Dylan Tallardy and Sadie Howell in the lead roles of Jan and Gerda.
The 2025 show was inspired by an early production of “Christmas Revels,” a “theatrical weaving of traditional song, folk dance, and drama,” which was originally created by the late John Meredith Langstaff, a famed early music revivalist.
“To those who have never experienced it as a production, ‘A Celebration of Twelfth Night’ can be difficult to describe as it is much more than just a play, musical, or pageant,” McCullough said. “With the Chorus of Westerly and Twelfth Night Orchestra as its sonic core, on the stage a musical and theatrical extravaganza is created.”
Saunders said there are still some tickets left, but they are selling fast.
“It’s tight,” Saunders warned. “Exceedingly tight.”
