Meaghan Sullivan and Matthew Simpson to appear in a special performance of THE BOOK OF LUKE

Texas Shakespeare Festival Foundation to sponsor special performance of THE BOOK OF LUKE

The Texas Shakespeare Festival Foundation is sponsoring a special performance of THE BOOK OF LUKE Dec. 8-11 as a fund raiser for its upcoming 27th summer season. The TSF Guild and Foundation will serve a holiday dessert and beverage following each of the performances in the Van Cliburn Auditorium in the Turk Fine Arts Center.

The four evening performances will be 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 8, through Sunday, Dec. 11, with additional matinee performances 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 10, and Sunday, Dec. 11.

Tickets, which include a holiday dessert and beverage, are $25. For groups of 25 or more, admission is $20. All seats are reserved, and tickets go on sale Monday, Oct. 17.

For reservations, call 903-983-8119 from 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. and 1:30 – 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Visa, Mastercard and Discover cards are accepted.

To order tickets by mail, send payment to THE BOOK OF LUKE; TSF; 1100 Broadway; Kilgore, TX 75662, and specify desired performance date(s) and time(s). All tickets will be held at the theatre and may be picked up at the Will Call table one hour before curtain.

The production is a dramatic performance of more than half of the Book of Luke, taken directly from the New International Version of the Bible. To enhance the spirit of the Christmas Season, the King James Version of the Nativity will be used, employing elements of choral reading such as repetition, duet speaking, and rhythmic vocal techniques.  THE BOOK OF LUKE will be directed by Raymond Caldwell, founder and artistic director of the Texas Shakespeare Festival, and it is the first fund raiser the Festival has ever conducted during the winter.

In order to emphasize the words and language of the Bible and to underscore the contemporary relevance of the story told in Luke, the production will be taken verbatim from the Scriptures and be staged without scenery or period costumes. The two actors will act in modern dress on a virtually bare stage with minimal lighting or sound effects.

Caldwell also notes a performance of THE BOOK OF LUKE is ideally suited to the observance of Christmas during Advent, helping to remind the world of the true meaning of the holiday and the original reason for its celebration.

“This performance will be a respectful, verbatim presentation of Luke’s words (with one story inserted from the Book of Matthew), presented without an intermission and without any alteration of the Biblical source other than the omission of some of the parables in order to keep the performance of reasonable length,” Caldwell said. “Our intention is neither to preach nor to impose any point of view, only to dramatically illustrate and illuminate this special portion of what most of the world considers ‘the greatest story ever told,’ and to offer it as a special beginning for this year’s Christmas Holiday Season. We hope that families and church groups will join us for what we think will be a unique and moving performance.”