November 3, 1997

SSC celebrates the holidays with Wind in the Willows

Costume rendering for SSC's Wind in the Willows production

Shakespeare Santa Cruz will present its first annual holiday production and the U.S. premiere of Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows, December 5-14 in the Performing Arts Theater.

The play is adapted and directed by Shakespeare Santa Cruz (SSC) artistic director Paul Whitworth, and features the talent of many who work on the critically acclaimed festival during the summer, including set designer and technical director Joe Weiss, award-winning costume designer B. Modern, and Gregg Coffin, composer for SSC's production of As You Like It (1997) and Twelfth Night (1996) and winner of several Drama-Logue awards. The cast is expected to include some familiar faces from past SSC seasons.

The Wind in the Willows has entranced children and adults alike since it was first published in 1908. According to Whitworth, "The adventures of Toad, Rat, Mole, Otter and Badger touch a chord in us all--especially at this season of the year--because they put us in touch with our deepest instincts about what is important in life: about friends and family, about home, about who we really are and what we really want. These discoveries are the true gifts of the holiday season and where better to celebrate them than in the theater?Ó

Performances take place at 7:30 p.m. December 5-6 and 11-13; 6 p.m. December 7 and 14; 2 p.m. December 6 and 13; and 1 p.m. December 7 and 14. Tickets will go on sale by mail November 8 and by phone or walk-up November 11. Tickets cost $12 for children, $16 for seniors, UCSC staff, military, and students (with ID at door), and $20 general. For a brochure or further ticket information, call (408) 459-2159, or go to http://arts.ucsc.edu/shakespeare/cruz.

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