By KATLAN THOMERSON
Glasgow News 1
Slip on your jacket, grab some popcorn, and make your way down the aisles of the Plaza Theatre towards your seat as you prepare to sit back and relax while watching the Far Off Broadway Players perform “Silent Night The (Mostly) True Story of the World’s Most Beloved Carol” written by Peter Manos.
The year is 1818 in poverty-stricken Austria. War, floods, and freezing winds from a blizzard are causing the members of a small village to have a rough winter. With Christmas quickly approaching, a poor school master and the Assistant Priest of the St. Nicohlas Church begin brain storming ideas to uplift the spirits of the members of the congregation.
An idea is sparked, then havoc arises.
Nicholas Gruber, the autistic son of the school master, has an unfortunate reaction when startled by the sound of his father playing the church organ. Notes ring. Nicholas swings. His mother gasps. His father tumbles over. The organ is broken, and the school master’s “extra special” Christmas Eve idea is ruined. What will Franz Gruber do now that the choir can’t use the organ to stay in tune?
There will be three days of performances. On Friday, Dec. 8 at 7 p.m.; Saturday, Dec. 9 at 2 and 7 p.m.; and Sunday, Dec. 10 at 2 p.m.
The show is comprised of seven actors and a choir who sings Christmas songs from 1818.
“It’s very fun and very fulfilling,” said Brian Pack, who is cast as Franz Gruber, when asked what prompts him to be involved in theater.
In 2024, the FOBP will perform five shows throughout the year. “The Hallelujah Girls” in March, “The Crazy Ladies in the House on The Corner” in July, “Murders on The Orient Express” in September, “Little Shop of Horrors” in October, and “A Christmas Story” in December.
“We pride ourselves on being a cut above what you would consider to be your normal community theater,” said director Charley Goodman while explaining the mission of the FOBP.
In addition to plays and dinner theater at the Cave City Convention Center, the FOBP are offering a theater workshop in April. Designed to teach members of the community how to act and to introduce them to other positions within the FOBP that happens off stage.
“We’re excited about getting members of the community here, involved in FOBP,” Goodman said.
For more information regarding sign-ups for the workshop, and auditions for upcoming plays, follow their Facebook page @TheFarOffBroadwayPlayers or visit their website The Far Off Broadway Players.
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