WINNSBORO – If you’re one of those people hoping for a White Christmas or a winter wonderland this holiday season, you’re probably going to be disappointed if you live around here. But, you can experience that wintry, holiday feel at the Pine Tree Playhouse production of “A Pine Tree Christmas,” opening Friday, Dec. 3 at the Pine Tree Playhouse in Winnsboro, located at 230 S. Congress St., Winnsboro, S.C.
This is the fourth time the theater has presented this much-anticipated Christmas show, full of live performances by local talented singers and actors.
The show is once again directed by Andi Phipps, who originated the Christmas show.
The Pine Tree Playhouse, like many live venues, has been mostly dark since March of 2020. The stage was once again lit up with the last production, “The Sweet Delilah Swim Club,” in August.
Phipps said she wanted to revive the Pine Tree Christmas show to get people in the holiday mood and also to do something that helps the theater raise money without having to spend a lot of money.
Phipps has taken on the demanding roles of writing the script (though some parts are unscripted and spontaneous) and directing the talented cast of performers.
The show is a mix of live musical performances, some a Capella, some accompanied and some recorded melodies.
Audience members can expect to see “singing, dancing and children performing,” Phipps said. “We will be performing some favorite Christmas songs. The audience can expect to sing along, clap along and laugh with us. There are some sweet moments in the show and there are some funny moments, where the audience is welcome to laugh out loud, sing along, clap and just have a great time.”
The show is in two acts, with a short intermission between.
Phipps said the songs were chosen by the cast themselves.
“The cast played a huge role in putting the show together. They selected their songs and their own costumes. They also helped design and paint the entre set and put everything together with me, so it was a group effort,” Phipps said.
The set is designed to get the audience in a holiday mood, and showcases a blue and white wintery theme, with simulated snowbanks, snowflakes and miniature Christmas trees.
“I absolutely love snow, and ‘White Christmas’ is high on the list of my favorite Christmas songs,” Phipps said. “Because I love snow so much, I wanted to make the set look like you are, as the song says, walking in a winter wonderland, because in South Carolina we don’t usually get a white Christmas. So, hopefully, when people come into the theater, they will see the snow, see the lights and everything, and they’ll be able to get their own sense of a white Christmas,” she said.
Along with the hard work, the talent and the special nature of the setting, there are a couple more ingredients that the show has required to make this Pine Tree Christmas special.
“It’s taken a lot of love. It’s taken a lot of faith, faith in the Pine Tree Playhouse and my faith in the community that people want to get out and have a good time,” Phipps said.
And aren’t faith and love two of the most important things at Christmas?
“A Pine Tree Christmas” opens at 8 p.m. on Friday, December 3, 2021 with 8 p.m. performances on Dec. 4, 10 11 and Sunday matinees at 3 p.m. on Dec. 5 and 12.
General admission tickets are $10 each (cash or check only) and, of course, the seating is limited.
