Holiday Show 2019, 'Where stories are told and carols are sung'

The Presby Players will offer traditional and contemporary good cheer in their holiday show coming to Marsh Hall in Port Jervis from Dec. 20 to 22.

This will be the fifth year the community theater group will perform at Marsh Hall under the direction of Jeffrey Stocker and the third year with musical direction by Sandy Stalter.

It certainly is an annual tradition for actors Donna Dale and Charles Terrat, who have never missed a holiday performance at Marsh Hall. Dale delights in her younger colleagues.

“The kids are fun," she said. "Christmas is all about kids, and they’re so excited and have a lot of energy."

For Terrat, one song in particular underscores that sentiment: “God Bless Us Everyone” from A Christmas Carol.

“It is so beautiful and so sweet, and the kids are angelic when they sing it," he said.

Terrat, who plays the bass, will be accompanying Stalter on the piano and Dale when she sings "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas."

Stalter said contemporary tunes will be performed by some of the younger cast members.

“Someone will be singing 'Last Christmas,' which was a big hit for George Michael," she said.

It’s not all singing for this year's Holiday Show.

“We’re recreating an old-fashioned Christmas, where stories are told and carols are sung," Stocker said. “In the first part of our program, actors from the adult acting class and the young adult acting class will be performing contemporary poetry.”

The cast of 15 ranges in age from 12 to over 90. Patrick Warnshuis, at 92, will be performing a dramatic monologue with music accompaniment, which includes singing in German. It’s a yearly tradition that Stalter says “gets more and more interesting” each time it’s performed.

Terrat agrees.

“It seems like every year, the cast gets better and better," he said. "It’s fun to be a part of that.”