An Italian Christmas Eve Feast | A Festive Comedy in Two Acts | In the Oasis Room
The Oasis Room, on the mezzanine level, is a cozy 100-seat “living room” theater ideal for jazz and other intimate music, theater and comedy performances as well as conferences, speakers, dining and private events.
Four lively performances
Thursday, December 4th | 7:00pm Friday, December 5th | 7:00pm
Saturday, December 6th | 7:00pm Sunday, December 7th | 2:00pm
Tickets Include:
Salad, Pizza and Cannoli provided by the beloved
Luigi’s Wood Fired Pizza Risto — because no Italian Christmas is complete without good food and even better company. MORE DETAILS
CASH BAR
Join us for a festive night of laughter, food, family, and surprises.
Set on Christmas Eve in New London , this hilarious, heartwarming, and at-times-zany comedy can best be described as “Neil Simon meets Federico Fellini.” Audiences will be swept into the chaos and charm of an Italian-American family gathering in this interactive dinner theater experience , where love is the main ingredient and guests are part of the fun!
Synopsis:
The Pescatore family, proud Neapolitan immigrants running a small grocery store, are preparing the traditional Feast of the Seven Fishes. Mamma Lucia longs for Italy while fussing over the menu with Angelina — her eldest son Mario’s ex-girlfriend and the daughter she always wanted. The family is abuzz when Mario, a famous singer who hasn’t been home in 26 years, texts that he’s coming — but why now?
Meanwhile, middle son Pasquale dreams of becoming a stand-up comic, youngest son Dante wants to open his own restaurant, and only daughter Rosanna is performing magic tricks with Uncle Peppino. As everyone waits for Pappa Francesco to bring home the fish, cousins to arrive from Italy, and dinner to be served, chaos unfolds, and laughter ensues!
Will the feast come together? Will old wounds be healed and new dreams take flight? One thing’s for sure — nothing brings a family together like food, love, and a little holiday madness.
The talented cast: Christine Reynolds as Mamma, Don Bowen as Papa, James Kenney as Zio Peppino, Anjie Leonard as Angelina, Nicole Rose Wilcox as Rosanna, Nathan Rumney as Dante, Rick Fiocco as Mario, and Joel Kalinowski as Pasquale.
ANNA MARIA TRUSKY
(Writer, Director, Producer) Anna is a professional writer, editor, actor, improv performer, and giggle-inducer. Her plays have been seen in Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New York—including the annual Mayfly Playhouse, part of the Hygienic Art Festival; Mystic Seaport Museum’s Lantern Light Tours; the Thames Club in New London; the Burton Leavitt Theater in Willimantic; the Donald L. Oat Theatre in Norwich; the Dina Merrill Theatre at the Eugene O’Neill Center in Waterford; the Chestnut Street Playhouse in Norwich; the Shaw Mansion in New London; the KNOW Theatre in Binghamton, NY; and the United Theatre in Westerly, RI.
Her spooky play The Ledge, inspired by a visit to the Ledge Light Lighthouse, was adapted into a radio play and performed by Prometheus Theatre of the Air, an award-winning radio theater troupe operating out of Eastern CT, for its “Tales of Terror” Halloween show. She wrote and directed skits for The Second Step Players, a theater troupe that performs under Artreach Inc., an Arts and Health Agency supporting mental health and wellness through the creative and performing arts. Her site-specific murder mystery plays were performed on the Essex Steam Train from 2008 to 2011 and produced by the award-winning Riverway Studio in East Haddam.
Anna wrote episodes of the Emmy-nominated children’s web series Kidsploration with Steve Elci and Friends, produced by The Day. She has studied and performed stand-up comedy with New London’s David Iscoe. She recently finished her first novel Eternal Flame, set in Ancient Rome, penned under the tutelage of well-known author Nicholas Checker. Anna is a Spolin-trained improvisational comedy professional and co-founder of the long-running improv troupe Comedy on Demand. She lives in Mystic with her husband Paul and a bunch of critters.
Anna wants to sincerely thank Jeanne, Steve, Jennifer, Karyn, and the whole Garde team for welcoming her and An Italian Christmas Eve Feast into their beautiful theatrical space! She hopes this show puts smiles on your faces and fills your hearts with all the warmth and love of the season!