December 25th is right around the corner! Complete your holiday shopping with tickets to see A Christmas Story live on stage at Mill Mountain Theatre. This faithful adaptation is fun for the whole family and runs December 6th-23rd. The cast of 16 is full of Roanoke favorites, local talent, and professional actors: brought all the way from New York City. Tickets are going fast for this classic story, be sure to reserve your spot today.
Broadway meets Roanoke talent in our cast of 12 local children and 4 professional actors, bringing A Christmas Story to life on the Trinkle Main Stage. MMT Director of Education, Travis Kendrick leads the company, having previously directed Willy Wonka JR this past summer. Three of the four adult actors are returning to Roanoke, having performed with MMT before!
Broadway Alum, Timothy Booth* plays Ralph, the narrator of A Christmas Story. Having performed in the Broadway and Touring Company of Mamma Mia!, Booth is a Virginia native, and delighted to return to Mill Mountain Theatre after having performed in Jesus Christ Superstar, My Fair Lady, and more 26 years ago. Since his Roanoke days credits include Broadway: Mamma Mia!, Tours: Mamma Mia!, She Loves Me, Disney On Classic with Tokyo Philharmonic, Regional: To Kill A Mockingbird, I Love A Piano, 9to5, Game Show, The Music Man, Noises Off, A Wonderful Life and Camelot, Disney Cruise Lines: Broadway guest artist in Aladdin, Disney’s Believe!, and Villains Tonight!. Television: The TONY Awards, Law & Order SVU, The Guiding Light, As The World Turns, and many commercials.
Julia VanderVeen* plays Mother and is thrilled to be joining the cast of A Christmas Story! A NC native, she now lives in NYC with her brand new husband and their two cats. Favorite roles include: Katherine: In the Next Room (NC Stage Company), Honey: Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Immediate Theatre Project), Annelle: Steel Magnolias (Flat Rock Playhouse), Weird sister: MacBeth (Shakespeare Dallas). TV: A Crime to Remember (Mrs. Nelson), various commercials.
Scott Watson, The Old Man, is thrilled to be returning to Mill Mountain Theatre having previously been in this year’s The 25th Putnam County Spelling Bee and 2016’s The Odd Couple. He has been in Off-Broadway productions of Taming of the Shrew & Henry V (New York Classical Theatre), Drunk Shakespeare (The Lounge), Going Once, Laughing Twice (St Luke’s Theatre) Regional: Hamlet & Two Gentlemen of Verona (Shakespeare on the Sound) Othello & Much Ado About Nothing (Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival), Taming of the Shrew (Roxy Regional) Hamlet & The Winters Tale (Adirondack Shakespeare) Film: Neighbors, When the Moon was Twice as Big, Zombie Apocalypse TV: A Crime to Remember, The Perfect Murder, Shadow of Doubt, Redrum. BA Grand Valley State University in Michigan. www.scottymwatson.com. @scottymwatson.
Jorie Janeway, Miss Shields, is thrilled to be in Roanoke for the holidays again this year! She was last seen on the Mill Mountain stage as Martha Watson in White Christmas. She hails from the west coast and is a proud company member of the Actors Co-op Theatre in Hollywood, CA. Jorie has had the opportunity to tour nationally and internationally with Hairspray and The Merry Wives of Windsor. Other favorite regional roles include the Chaperone in The Drowsy Chaperone, Maggie Jones in 42nd Street, and Sister Robert Anne in Nunsense. Check her out at www.joriejaneway.com.
Sawyer Mullins plays Ralphie, and is a 7th grader at Read Mountain Middle School. Sawyer is thrilled to be back on MMT’s Trinkle Stage in A Christmas Story. He has previously been seen at MMT in Aesop’s Fables, Into The Woods, Jr., and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. He enjoys playing guitar, piano, saxophone and ukulele.
Beckett Socha, Ralphie’s kid brother Randy, is a 5th grader at Blacksburg New School in Blacksburg, VA. Beckett is excited to be back on the Mill Mountain Stage after previously performing in Beauty and the Beast and Willy Wonka Jr. This is actually Beckett’s second time appearing in A Christmas Story, but his first time in the role of Randy (the first time he channeled his inner bully as Grover Dill). In his free time Beckett enjoys playing video games and soccer. He holds a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and strums a pretty mean ukulele!
Jacob Snead, the tongue stuck Flick, makes his debut at Mill Mountain Theatre. Previously performing in Showtimer’s Cheaper by the Dozen in 2016. He enjoys playing piano, lives with his family, their two Shih Tzus and a very special rescue Chihuahua.
Griffin Shaver plays Schwartz, is in 4th grade at Oak Grove Elementary in Roanoke and this is his second show with MMT. In the spring he played the role of The Boy in The Velveteen Rabbit after taking conservatory classes for several semesters. In addition to acting, Griffin enjoys singing and recently performed as a treble at Raleigh Court Presbyterian Church, where he sang Pie Jesu from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Requiem.
Helen Weathers is played by, Caroline Moledor, a 7th grade homeschool student who is so excited to be in A Christmas Story! She has most recently been seen in MMT’s production of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (Katie/Mrs. Van Tassle.) Other MMT credits include Willy Wonka Jr. (Matilda) and The Velveteen Rabbit (Ballerina Doll). She was also seen in RCT’s production of Seussical (Thing 2.) Her hobbies include playwriting, bucket drumming, and playing piano.
Mariah Eakin, plays the boy crazy Esther Jane, an 8th grader at North Cross School where she studies choral music. She is a recent member of the All District and All State Middle School Honor Choirs. She also enjoys dance and playing softball on her 16U Roanoke Blast team. Mariah is very excited to return to MMT Main Stage in her first play. She would like to thank her parents for supporting her love of theatre.
Graham Roudebush, Scut Farkas, is excited to be returning to the Mill Mountain stage after his recent portrayal of Grandpa George in Willy Wonka Jr., as well as haunting the Fishburn Mansion as one of the adolescent spectres in Dead Of Night. Premiering in MMT’s The Velveteen Rabbit, he has performed both in church and school talent shows, and has developed a love for classic American film and song. As a student at Andrew Lewis Middle, he runs track and plays saxophone in both the jazz and concert bands.
James Moledor, performs in the ensemble understudying Ralphie, Flick, and Schwartz, he is excited to return to MMT after performing in Willy Wonka, Jr. (Mike TeaVee), The Velveteen Rabbit, and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow as well as participating in conservatory classes. A 6th grade homeschool student, James has also been seen in RCT’s production of Seussical (JoJo u/s) and Take One Step at Peppercorn Theatre (Winston- Salem), among others.
Mia Gearhart, ensemble member and understudies Helen & Esther Jane, is 11 years old and attends Glenvar Middle. In October 2014 she was in The Boo Revue at Showtimers Theatre and played in Mill Mountain’s Wizard of Oz. The summer of 2015 she played in Beauty and the Beast Jr. at Mill Mountain Theatre. 2016 Mia was a tapping chimney sweep in Mary Poppins at Attic Productions. Summer 2017 was in Willy Wonka Jr. and recently finished In Dead of the Night for Mill Mountain Theatre. She loves taking her acting classes and spending time with family.
The Child Ensemble is rounded out with Parker Addison, Quinn Roudebush, and Madalene Long. Parker Addison is a 4 th grader at Mountain View Elementary School and studies at Miss Mona’s School of Dance & Performing Arts. Quinn Roudebush is making her Mill Mountain premiere in A Christmas Story. A veteran of the MMT summer camp experience, Quinn also sings in the Roanoke Valley Children’s Choir. Madalene Long is in fifth grade at Crystal Spring Elementary. Having spent most of her life in Florida, she loves playing the trumpet, singing in the children’s choir at St. John’s Episcopal Church, and making everyone laugh.
A Christmas Story runs December 6th-23rd on the Trinkle Main Stage at Mill Mountain Theatre. Tickets range from $20-40 and can be purchased online at millmountain.org or by calling 540-342-5740. Be sure to follow this production by searching the hashtag #LegLamp on social media.
Timothy Booth* and Julia VanderVeen* appear courtesy of Actor’s Equity Association.
