-Press release courtesy Kaine Riggan
The iconic television star Joyce DeWitt, who played Janet Wood on ABC’s Three’s Company for seven seasons, is coming to Henderson, North Carolina for a special, one-night performance of a holiday musical comedy by North Carolina playwright Kaine Riggan.
“A Waffle House Christmas Musical” follows an unlikely mix of characters who are getting snowed in at a Waffle House outside of Nashville on Christmas Eve. It features original Christmas music written by Randy Travis, T. Graham Brown and others and a comedic script by Riggan.
Kay Gobbell and television star Joyce DeWitt (Janet on Three’s Company) star in “A Waffle House Christmas Musical” December 1 at 8 p.m. at Henderson’s McGregor Hall. (Photo Credit: Hatcher and Fell)
Grammy-nominated country music star T. Graham Brown will also star in the show and sing the song he contributed to the work, which was originally commissioned by the Metro Nashville Arts Commission in 2007.
The show is the latest in a line of box-office successes at McGregor Hall, a newly-constructed 1000-seat performing arts center that has sparked a revitalization of Henderson’s historic downtown business district.
“This play is really my favorite kind of piece to do”, shared DeWitt in a recent radio interview on WIZS. “It has strong, real characters who deliver a message that is both hilarious and touching. It is the perfect show to put you in the Christmas spirit.”
DeWitt, a friend of the playwright who lives in Santa Fe, also played Waffle House waitress, Rita, in a sold-out, two-month run of the musical on Nashville’s Printer’s Alley in 2010.
Riggan chose his hometown of Henderson for this final workshop production of his work before it is pitched for publishing. Many of the show’s songwriters will attend the event, including another native North Carolinian, Jennifer Prince, who wrote one of the show-stopping musical numbers, “Packed Up, Prayed Up and Ready To Go.”
“A Waffle House Christmas Musical” plays Saturday, December 1 at 8 p.m. in Henderson. For tickets and information, visit www.McGregorHall.org or call (252) 598-0662.