Stratton Players to perform ‘Every Christmas Story Ever Told’

FITCHBURG — For director and actor Chelsey Patriss, this winter’s production of “Every Christmas Story Ever Told (And Then Some!)” — by Michael Carleton, James FitzGerald, and John K. Alvarez — has been a labor of love and a production filled with more props than ever.

Tickets are now on sale for upcoming performances on Friday, Dec. 12 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, Dec. 13, at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. at Christ Church/Guild Hall, 569 Main St.

“The show was such a smash last season that we didn’t want to have our centennial winter show to be anything else,” said Stratton Players Chair Sally Cragin. “Plus Chelsey convinced the entire original cast to return this year for two full weekends with even more props, more tech, and more sugar-fueled nonsense.”

“The premise is one we can all relate to,” said John Williams of Leominster, who plays an actor named John. “A small theatre company is determined to put on a serious and quality rendition of Dickens’s ‘A Christmas Carol.’”

However, Sam (played by Samantha Sickorez of Ayer) has an ambitious (and highly comical) plan that the small company should perform “every Christmas story ever told.”

She drags John, Chelsey (played by Chelsey Patriss of Westminster) and a stage manager (played by Jen Knight of Leominster) on a wild ride.

Sam’s character drags the reluctant cast and the unsuspecting audience, on a madcap romp through the holiday season, and their performance includes global Christmas traditions, seasonal icons from ancient times to pop culture, (almost) every carol ever sung.

“There are so many props, we bet you can’t count them all,” Cragin said with a smile.

Stratton Players will be collecting donations of canned goods and boxed snacks for children which will be donated to Fitchburg Public Schools for school-based pantries for families.

“Whether you love the holiday season or love to hate it, Stratton Players promises you’ll love ‘Every Christmas Every Told,'” said Patriss.

General admission is $15; $10 for seniors and students. This show is appropriate for all ages.

Tickets are available online at Zeffy.com (search for “Stratton Players”) or by emailing [email protected].