(WOODBRIDGE, NJ) -- Avenel Performing Arts Center (APAC), a new multi-disciplinary performing arts center located in Woodbridge, New Jersey presents its holiday season line-up. Shows include My Big Gay Italian Funeral, Robin Spielberg's Holiday Sing-Along, Celtic Angels Christmas, It's a Wonderful Life: Live from WVL Radio Theatre, and Santa's Circus.
November 26-December 1: My Big Gay Italian Funeral - My Big Gay Italian Funeral picks up where My Big Gay Italian Wedding leaves off, at the funeral of Anthony’s father Joe. Anthony is reunited with his gay brother Peter Pinnunziato, who he hasn’t spoken to in over a decade. Family drama and crazy characters unite when everything that can possibly happen at an Italian wake certainly will! My Big Gay Italian Funeral is a sequel to Anthony J. Wilkinson’s ‘My Big Gay Italian Wedding,’ and including some of the same characters. Tickets: $49.50.
December 3-4: Robin Spielberg’s Holiday Sing-Along - Robin Spielberg will perform in a concert that incorporates the joy of the season with sing-alongs, meaningful reflection, fun stories and concert films. Perfect for the entire family, audiences will leave feeling uplifted and in the spirit of the season! Incorporating “follow the bouncing ball” sing-alongs and a guest choir, Robin’s shows brings nostalgia, warmth and fun to the Avenel. Tickets: $29.50.
December 6-7: BariToned - Damsels in Distress is a comedic musical theatre revue that gives a tip of the heel to Broadway’s Leading Ladies. When three leading men realize their leading ladies are gone, they take on the quest to woo the fair maidens back by giving them everything they require: a spotlight, a feud, a love interest, and more- only to find out that perhaps they weren’t as missing as the guys thought. Tickets: $39.50.
December 10-11: Celtic Angels Christmas - Celtic Angels Christmas captivates audiences of all ages with the magic of Christmas in an awe-inspiring show which encompasses vocal and instrumental seasonal and Irish favorites along with spectacular world class champion Irish dancing. Combined with the stunning dance routines of the Celtic Knight Dancers; this family show is a true holiday celebration of Christmas in Ireland. Tickets: $49.50.
December 12-15: It’s a Wonderful Life: Live from WVL Radio Theatre - It’s Christmas Eve in 1945, and only a handful of WVL Radio’s actors have braved the blizzard to perform that evening’s broadcast of It’s a Wonderful Life and keep the station afloat. This fresh new adaptation of the film is set in the fictional studio of WVL Radio Theatre, which is struggling to stay on the air one snowy winter’s night. The professional voice actors are unable to get to the studio, but the show must go on—and so a small but intrepid band of employees manages to create the story’s dozens of characters and scenes using just their voices and some everyday household items for sound effects. Tickets: $39.50.
December 18-23: Santa’s Circus - The magic of Christmas will come alive at Santa’s Circus, an interactive family-friendly show with breathtaking stunts, illusion, comedy, and everything that you love about Christmas. Santa’s Circus tells the story of an orphaned girl who has stopped believing in Christmas. When she takes an extraordinary adventure to the North Pole she learns that the spirit of Christmas never disappears for those who believe. Celebrate the wonder and joy of a traditional Christmas with lasting memories of fun and laughter. Tickets: Adults- $59.50, Children- $39.50.
The Avenel Performing Art Center is located at 150 Avenel Street in Avenel, New Jersey (located within Woodbridge Township). To purchase tickets, visit www.avenelarts.com or contact the Box Office Tuesday-Saturday from 12:00pm-5:00pm at (732)314-0500.
Funded by the Woodbridge Arts Alliance (WAA), the organization’s goal is to inform and help build capacities needed to organize and distinguish Woodbridge as an arts destination to help advance the economic position of artists, creative entrepreneurs and associated entities. Woodbridge Arts Alliance will build and expand on these existing arts activities to further activate the Township of Woodbridge as a regional hub for the arts.
Avenel Performing Arts Center’s line-up continues with:
November 23-24: Freda Payne
November 26-December 1: My Big Gay Italian Funeral
December 3-4: Robin Spielberg’s Holiday Sing-Along
December 6-7: BariToned
December 10-11: Celtic Angels Ireland
December 12-15: It’s a Wonderful Life: Live from WVL Radio Theatre
December 18-23: Santa’s Circus
January 10-11: One Man Star Wars Trilogy
January 22-26: Big Band Broadway
February 15-16: Erich Bergen Live in Concert
February 25-March 1: Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus- Live
March 20-22: The New York Tenors
April 3-5: Rearview Mirror: Dancing through the 80s
April 17-26: My Big Gay Midlife Crisis
May 27-June 7: My Mother’s Italian, My Father’s Jewish & I’m in Therapy
Additional titles will be announced at a later date.