Like it or not, the holidays are upon us, and Christmas-themed shows abound throughout the Midlands. This past weekend, A Christmas Doll opened at Columbia Children's Theatre, while The Winter Wonderettes opened at Town Theatre. (See the current issue of Jasper for details on these and many other shows.) One show that may have slipped under your radar, however, is the new musical Once Upon A Christmastime, 
presented this coming weekend by the The St. Paul's Players, at St. Paul's Lutheran Church (corner of Bull and Blanding Streets downtown.)
The Players are a ministry of the church, offering family-oriented productions for people to enjoy as participants and/or as audience members. You don’t have to be a church member to get involved, and volunteer opportunities include set building, costuming, makeup, hair, and of course acting. Once Upon A Christmastime is a musical adaptation of Dickens' A Christmas Carol, written by Paula G. Benson, with music and lyrics by Paula Benson, Frank Fusco and John W. Henry (if you’ve gone to Workshop Theatre in the last 20 years, he’s probably given you your tickets.)
The performance on Friday Nov. 30th is at 6:00 PM, and includes dinner; menu choices include chicken (baked or fried) roast beef, ham, rice pilaf, vegetables, tossed salad, rolls, dessert and coffee, tea or water. call 779-0300 for reservations - the $16 ticket includes dinner and the show.Catering is provided by A & J Catering (the Clarion Hotel chef.)
There are also non-dinner shows at 7 PM on Sat. Dec. 1st, and at 3 PM on Sunday
Dec. 2nd. General admission tickets for these will be sold at the door, and are only $5. There will be a pre-show performance of Christmas music 20 minutes prior to each performance, so plan on coming early to enjoy entertainment by Kiah Creed and Friends, featuring Laura and Kirk Adair with Terri Schumpert.