Calvary Assembly of God announces Christmas show, ‘A Gift of Hope’ Dec. 6 to 9
The Creative Arts Ministry of Calvary Assembly of God in Dover will hold this year’s holiday production, “A Gift of Hope,” at 7 p.m., Thursday through Sunday, Dec. 6 through 9, plus a 10:30 a.m. performance Sunday, Dec. 9 in Calvary’s state-of-the-art sanctuary/theater, 1141 E. Lebanon Road, Route 10 and South State Street.
Directed by Terence Savagel and Dee Gleason, this uplifting holiday musical retells the Christmas story through music, dance and a series of dramatic vignettes that shift from the Nativity to the present day to deliver a powerful message of faith and hope.
In the present day, audiences will meet two military wives and their families and share in their joys, hopes and worries as they look forward to their husbands coming home for Christmas.
The story and the message are highlighted by narration drawn from Max Lucado, spectacular laser “smart” lights, dance, and live music performed by Calvary’s high-energy worship band and live choir, who will invite the audience to join in on familiar favorite carols including a jazzy “Joy to the World.”
Executive producer Angela Coon shared that “A Gift of Hope” was inspired by comments about last year’s musical, “Welcome to Our World.”
“The message of hope resonated with so many of our audience members that we wanted to keep that theme as we wrote a new drama script and added some new music. While most of the Biblical story is the same, we wrote a new shepherd scene with an older, wiser shepherd and his young protégée,” Coon said.
Featured players in the Nativity scenes include Alexis Baione as Mary; Adrian Bissette as the Angel Gabriel; Thomas Plumber as the master shepherd and Mike Primo as the shepherd boy; Sam Vasquez, Malcolm Howe and Tom Lighthall as the Magi; and Pastor John Bowman as Herod.
Present-day scenes are narrated by Paige Baione and feature Chelsea Borders as military wife Grace; Ginger George as her mother-in-law Betty; Cassie Primo as her daughter Staci; Kristin Keller as younger daughter Kylie; and Ally Diehl as Grace’s friend Michelle, a younger military wife.
Dancers are Maria Fry, Ellen Woodworth, Ashley Torbert, Jessica Badner, Jen Guerrero Bosco and Briana Love.
Crew includes stage manager DJ Buckner, costumer Bernadette Brown, technical director Paul Bell, set designer Robin Lear and music director Steve Woodworth.
Admission is free and open to all, no reserved seating. Doors open one hour before performances and nursery care is available.
For more information, call 302-697-7776, or visit www.calvarydover.org.
