DUNELLEN, N.J. — Pushcart Players, a professional touring theater company based in Verona, is teaming up with The Actors Studio of New Jersey to stage a family holiday show at the historic Dunellen Theatre next month, the company announced.
“Holiday Tales: A Season of Miracles” will be performed at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 5, and Saturday, Dec. 12, at the theater, 458 North Ave. Doors open at 10:30 a.m., and general admission tickets cost $20.
The show strings together four stories tied to Christmas, Chanukah and Kwanzaa. It opens with Clara and Fritz from “The Nutcracker” waiting for their family’s Christmas celebration, when a storybook they open brings the tales to life.
The program includes O. Henry’s “The Gift of the Magi”; “The Kwanzaa Kite,” an original story set in Mozambique about a girl’s creativity and the seven principles of Kwanzaa; “The Menorah from Heaven,” adapted from a story by Eric Kimmel; and E.T.A. Hoffmann’s “The Nutcracker.”
Pushcart co-founder Ruth Fost wrote and adapted the production. Tony Award winner Larry Hochman arranged the music, and producing artistic director Paul Whelihan directs.
“Miracles are not always extraordinary events,” Whelihan said. “They are also found in everyday expressions of compassion, generosity, courage, creativity, and love.”
The performances will be the first theater-for-young-audiences production presented at the Dunellen Theatre by The Actors Studio of New Jersey, a nonprofit professional company founded in 2024, according to the release.
“Bringing professional theatre to children and families is something we believe strongly in,” said Michael Restaino, the studio’s founder and producing artistic director.
Cast member Danny Sims, who has toured with Pushcart for eight seasons, also serves as the studio’s director of creative vision. Sims said the shows mark “the start of many more exciting educational theatre experiences for children and families at Dunellen Theatre.”
The cast also includes Nikki Andrews-Ojo, Oscar Castillo and Ariella Mandel, with Tori Riley as production stage manager.
Founded in 1974, Pushcart Players is a member of Actors’ Equity Association and performs for students from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade in schools and communities across New Jersey and the country.
More information is available at pushcartplayers.org or by calling 973-857-1115.
This report is based on a press release from Pushcart Players.
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