Guitarist Frank Vignola will be among the performers at Chocolate Church Arts Center in Bath during this holiday season. Photo by Lynn Redmile
BATH — The Chocolate Church Arts Center will present a slate of holiday-themed performances through November and December. The lineup will feature shows ranging from a live Motown concert to guitarist Frank Vignola, and family-centered theater shows to a Celtic fiddle event featuring Eileen Ivers.
A stage adaptation of humorist David Sedaris’ “Santaland Diaries” kicks off the holiday season on Nov. 29. The show, which tells stories from Sedaris’ time spent working as an elf at a Macy’s department store in New York, stars Zachariah Stearn and is directed by Daniel Burson, both of Portland. “Santaland Diaries” will run through Dec. 8 in the annex at the Chocolate Church Arts Center.
For those looking to dance, on Saturday, Nov. 30, Pat Colwell and the Soul Sensations will return to the Chocolate Church with “A Motown Christmas.” This live R&B revue, complete with female backup singers and a full horn section, will feature soulful takes on Christmas tunes, as well as classic hits from The Temptations, Marvin Gaye, The Supremes and more.
Guitarist Frank Vignola will perform Friday, Dec. 6, and will be joined by fellow guitarist Vinny Raniolo, bassist Gary Mazzaroppi and jazz singer Audra Mariel. Vignola, who has played with musicians including Ringo Starr, Madonna and Tommy Emmanuel, will play a show featuring holiday tunes, as well as a mix of guitar music from Beethoven, to Frank Zappa, to Paul Simon.
Opening Thursday, Dec. 12, and running through Dec.15, the Chocolate Church Arts Center will present its holiday play, “A Fairy Tale Christmas Carol.” Directed by Michael Millett of Topsham, the family-friendly show retells the classic Dickens tale, but with each role taken on by a fairy tale character. It features the big bad wolf as Scrooge, King Midas as Jacob Marley, and with appearances by Mother Goose, Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel and more.
Maine’s own Don Campbell Band will play a Christmas-themed show on Saturday, Dec. 21. Campbell, who was recognized for six consecutive years as the Maine Sunday Telegram’s favorite Maine songwriter, will perform a mix of holiday classics and original songs, inspired by his home state.
Dec. 22 will bring a performance from fiddler Eileen Ivers, dubbed “the Jimi Hendrix of the violin” by the New York Times. Ivers, who has established herself as a prominent Irish fiddler, will perform a holiday-themed show with an ensemble of phenomenal musicians.
The season will come to a close at the Chocolate Church Arts Center with “Sing! It’s Christmas,” a community singalong that has taken place at the venue for decades. The event is free to the public, and features local singers and dancers, as well as an appearance by Santa Claus himself.
Tickets for all events at the Chocolate Church Arts Center are available for purchase at chocolatechurcharts.org, or by calling the box office at (207) 442-8455.
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