FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 10, 2026
For More Information: Renae Perry, director – rperry.stw@gmail.com
Jacob Boyd, Publicity Committee member – jboyd@kicker.com
Town & Gown Theatre offers two shows in one this holiday season
Town & Gown Theatre in Stillwater is excited to renew a theatre form last seen on its stage over 40 years ago, and to double its audiences’ entertainment value at the same time. Two Musical Christmas Stories, as the show is titled, includes both The Reluctant Dragon and Amahl and the Night Visitors, each a distinct one-act story. With this production, Town & Gown will have the opportunity to reacquaint its patrons with the operetta!
For those unfamiliar with the form, director Renae Perry offers some further insight. “Though 'operettas' may sound intimidating, these shows are far from it. Both pieces were created specifically for children, making them vibrant, accessible, and an absolute blast for the whole family. Plus, with a total run time of just an hour and 45 minutes including intermission, it is the perfect length to bring everyone some holiday joy.”
The shows will be performed in English, so audience members need not worry about brushing up on their Italian or German before purchasing tickets. However, just to be extra helpful, Perry’s production will include captions throughout both acts. Where the TV in your living room posts them on the bottom of the screen, Perry’s ingenious solution involves projecting them onto the west wall of the playing space above the action on stage.
The stories in Two Musical Christmas Stories celebrate unexpected friendship and festive wonder. In John Rutter’s The Reluctant Dragon, based on the story by Kenneth Grahame, a boy befriends a gentle, artistic beast, orchestrating a clever mock battle with St. George to prove harmony triumphs over prejudice. Gian Carlo Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors follows an impoverished, disabled shepherd boy visited by the Three Kings. Offering his crutch to the Christ Child, Amahl receives a miraculous healing. Both masterpieces blend beautiful music with themes of deep seasonal grace.
As one might imagine with two shows in one, the cast is large, consisting of nearly two dozen performers. As Perry explains, many of them are making their Town & Gown debut. “Bringing Two Musical Christmas Stories to life has been an incredibly rewarding experience. In pairing The Reluctant Dragon and Amahl and the Night Visitors, we are proudly presenting operettas on the T&G stage for the first time since 1983. I am overwhelmed by the talent of our 22-person cast, which includes 10 brand-new faces to Town & Gown, and I couldn’t be more proud of this production.
“These stories are ultimately a celebration of giving. That deep generosity of the season is summed up beautifully by my favorite line in Amahl and the Night Visitors: 'And the keys to His city belong to the poor.'”
Two Musical Christmas Stories opens on Thursday, December 3 and runs to Sunday, December 6; and again the next week from December 10-13. The Thursday through Saturday evening shows start at 7:30 p.m. and the Saturday and Sunday matinees begin at 2:30 p.m. As a further effort to make its theater a comfortable and inviting space for everyone this holiday season, Town & Gown will offer sensory-friendly performances during the two Saturday matinees (December 5 and 12), featuring soft lighting and reduced volume.
Tickets go on sale beginning Monday, November 30 and can be obtained by calling the Town & Gown box office at (405) 372-9122 or visiting the theatre’s website at www.townandgown.org. Ticket prices are $18 each for adults and $16 for students and children.
For more information on this and other fantastic events happening around the Stillwater community, check out our marketing partner, Visit Stillwater, at https://www.visitstillwater.org/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/VisitStillwater.
