Peculiar Updates
Victorian Christmas a Joy and a Success
This year was another amazing season of joy & merriment as Peculiar People presented Victorian Christmas to our community in Greensboro.
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This year brought many visitors (well over 500) to the Jones home for carols, Christmas goodies, Mulled Cider, Hot Chocolate and the most charming Christmas production in the State. This show is so much fun for us and the cast. By the way, this year's cast was a wonderful mix of personalities and voices. Lauren Smith, Jim White, Grayson Butler and us... Charlie & Ruth. Lauren has one of the most beautiful soprano voices we have ever heard. And Grayson brought the much needed harmony to our carols and songs. And we have had Jim White's voice in our shows for so long... we almost forget what a talent he is and how much he adds to every show. His voice is amazing. We so wish you all could have come to this marvelous show!
This was our fourth year of presenting Victorian Christmas and it has become quite a Christmas tradition. We have many people who have come all four years. They leave saying that it would not be Christmas without this show. We had folks almost in tears as they told us that the season had not been very joyful until they came to be with us... they said it made them "catch" the Christmas spirit again. In case you are unaware of what Victorian Christmas is, I will give a quick overview. As mentioned all guests are met on the street by our volunteer carolers dressed in period garb. (Carolers this year were not numerous and some nights we just had a greeter at the door - plus we excused carolers on nights of rain... I mean, we're not Scrooges, ya know!)
After climbing our steps guests are greeted by our butler who offers hot chocolate or mulled cider to warm them while our maid takes their wraps to the cloak room. Once in the door, guest are invited to roam our 5000 sq. ft. apartment to see the stunning Christmas decorations that Ruth has spent 3 weeks working on.
Then guests are directed to the dining room where a vast array of Christmas treats, goodies, candies, cheeses, egg nog, cakes and savory snacks await them. Once finished with the hors d'oeuvres, guests are directed to the "theater" where the play will be presented. As mentioned in the program, they are about to enter a time where there were no TV, radios, iPods, computers or cell phones. A time when people celebrated, not by stuffing themselves and then falling asleep in front of the TV, but rather this was a time when people prepared for days, weeks and even months to come together for special occasions... Christmas being the most special. GK Chesterton (our favorite man of all time) is used as the template for this show. The audience is taken to the living room of GK & Frances Chesterton to watch them and their guests celebrate Christmas by sharing the poetry, games, songs and stories that they have prepared for so many days beforehand to share. The audience is invited to participate in several festivities and some are even plucked from the audience and brought onstage! We invite you to scroll through the gallery of pictures and share a bit of our joy and satisfaction at presenting this gift to our city.
