You may recognize a number of familiar faces when the Christmas Revels takes the stage at the Hopkins Center’s Spaulding Auditorium from December 16 to 19. That’s because Dartmouth community members comprise 10 percent of the cast, according to Effie Cummings, an academic assistant in Dartmouth’s theater department. Cummings serves as the Revels’ assistant director for production and stage as well as director of the Revels’ Mummer’s play.
This year, the 80-member cast is performing A French Canadian Celebration of the Winter Solstice, featuring such renowned Québécois performers as step dancer Pierre Chartrand and folksinger Bernard Simard. Revels was founded in 1971 by John Langstaff in Cambridge, Mass., and brought to Hanover 36 years ago by his daughter Carol. The company she started, Revels North, includes both amateur and professional performers of all ages.
In the video below, see members of the Dartmouth community talk about being part of the 2010 Christmas Revels, and catch a preview of the show. For tickets, call (603) 646-2422 or visit the Hopkins Center box office.