Tag Archive for: #awafflehousechristmasmusical

Don’t Miss the One-Night-Only Performance of ‘A Waffle House Christmas Musical’

/by

-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.

Joyce Dewitt ‘Thrilled’ to Return to Role in ‘A Waffle House Christmas’

/by

Henderson’s own downtown development director Kaine Riggan and special call-in guest and actress Joyce Dewitt were on air for Thursday’s edition of WIZS’ Town Talk program.

Riggan, writer, producer and director of the musical comedy “A Waffle House Christmas,” announced that the play will be performed at the McGregor Hall Performing Arts Center in downtown Henderson for one night only – Saturday, December 1, 2018 – at 8 p.m.

According to Riggan, approximately 600 of the 1,000 available tickets have already been purchased, and he hopes to see it become a sold-out performance. “I hope it happens for McGregor Hall and for downtown Henderson. That’s our crown jewel!”

The musical, which was first commissioned by the Metro Nashville Arts Commission in 2006, will feature five of the principal actors for the December performance, including Dewitt as Waffle House waitress Rita and country singer T. Graham Brown. Auditions for local actors to round out the cast were held last week.

Dewitt, most well-known for her role as Janet on the sitcom “Three’s Company,” said she was excited to return to this role. “In this case, I had done the play before with Kaine and I know that he is a very wonderful director and I know that he gathers terrific actors together. So the idea of coming back and doing this with a number of wonderful people that I did it with in Nashville was thrilling.”

The setting for the musical is a Waffle House in both the middle of nowhere and in the middle of a blizzard on Christmas Eve. The regular staff and customers are stranded there along with outside visitors. What unfolds are a few secrets, surprises and heartfelt human connections.

“The wonderful thing about these characters that Kaine has written is that they are so human, but what’s going on in their personal story is so meaningful,” said Dewitt. “The audience can relate to each of them.”

“It’s my favorite kind of material – funny, funny, funny – but also, at times, catching and poignant.”

According to Dewitt, when she is first approached about a role she asks herself if she believes in the material and if she can deliver the material in a way that will relate to the audience. She is pleased to have found both in this role.

“When the audience is walking out of the theater, what have we given them? What is in their heart? I genuinely believe this play is a perfect Christmas gift to give the audience.”

To give the gift of this play to yourself and/or a loved one, purchase tickets by:

DROP IN: 201 Breckenridge Street, Henderson, N.C. Monday – Friday 1:30 – 5:30 p.m

CALL: (252) 598-0662 (M-F 1:30 – 5:30 p.m.)

CLICK HERE: www.McGregorHall.org  (Use the eTix official site, online fees apply)

 To hear the interview in its entirety, please click here.