A CIVIL WAR CHRISTMAS, Featuring Alice Ripley and Bob Stillman, Opens Tomorrow

New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW) Artistic Director James C. Nicola and Managing Director William Russo presents A Civil War Christmas, written by Paula Vogel and directed by Tina Landau. Performances of this holiday-themed work began Tuesday, November 13, 2012, at 7pm at NYTW, 79 East 4 Street, between Bowery and Second Avenue. Opening night is scheduled for Tuesday, December 4 at 7pm. A Civil War Christmas is scheduled to run through Sunday, December 30.

Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paula Vogel weaves a rich tapestry of a beleaguered and divided nation, war-weary and desperate for goodwill, on a blustery Christmas Eve in 1864. Through the personal stories and struggles of a wide range of historical figures and fictional characters – from the President’s wife to runaway slaves, Union and Confederate soldiers to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Walt Whitman – we learn that, for all their differences, one thing is clear: the yearning for peace cuts across religious and class divisions, color lines and, of course, the Mason-Dixon Line.

At once familiar and freshly re-imagined, the story of that winter night is alive with history, hope and humanity. Vividly staged by director Tina Landau and infused throughout with traditional carols and period music, A Civil War Christmas takes a sprawling new look at the seemingly intractable challenges we once faced to see how far we’ve come as a nation and how far we still have to go.

The cast of A Civil War Christmas includes De’adre Aziza, Sumaya Bouhbal, K. Todd Freeman, Chris Henry, Rachel Spencer Hewitt, Antwayn Hopper, Jonathan-David, Karen Kandel, Sean Allan Krill, Alice Ripley, and Bob Stillman.

The music supervision and arrangements for A Civil War Christmas are by Daryl Waters; the musical director is Andrew Resnick; scenic design is by James Schuette; costume design is by Toni Leslie James; lighting design is by Scott Zielinski; sound design is by Jill BC Du Boff; production stage manager is Lori Lundquist.