THE KINGS OF CHRISTMAS
Written, Directed, & Produced by Doug Schutte
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PERFORMANCE DATES:
December 8-11, 15-18, 22-23 | 8 PM
CAST (IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE) Frank King...............DOUG SCHUTTE Carter King..............COREY MUSIC Clinton King............TONY SMITH Carol King.................ABBY BRAUNE Kennedy King..........JOEY EBERLING Wendy Reina.............MEGAN ADAIR Stein King..................DOUG SCHUTTE THE FINAL ACT? Click here for a note from Schutte about the future of THE KINGS. ABOUT THE HOLIDAY HILARITY: The King Family returns to Bard Theatre again this December, marking the 12th consecutive season of KINGS at the Bard. The 2022 production will also see the THE KINGS OF CHRISTMAS celebrate 150 performances. You've got that boot...now shoot! With critics and audiences calling it "a Louisville holiday tradition" and "flat-out brilliant," it's no wonder KINGS just keeps going and going. As always, you can expect a few new twists in 2022. |
PRESS ABOUT THE SHOW
"Louisville has a lot of theatrical holiday traditions, starting with The Nutcracker, but The Kings of Christmas is the only one that's homegrown." - Courier Journal
"A holiday show that has become a Louisville holiday tradition...one of the funniest shows you’ll see this holiday season. It’s a brilliant riff on Dickens’ classic A Christmas Carol." - LEO Weekly
"The Kings of Christmas by Doug Schutte is a must-see. If you don’t have a ticket, buy immediately — if you still can. If you can’t, you might consider bribery. Or theft. Or blanketing your social media connections in hopes that somebody who has a ticket will come down with something… The years have not diminished the ingenious intoxicating pleasures of this holiday treat." - LEO Weekly (2018)
"Comic Writing of a high order" - LEO Weekly
"The madcap opening moments of Kings are flat-out brilliant – and the rest of the play lives up to the opening. This is among the best-written, best-executed riffs on Dickens’ A Christmas Carol you’ll ever see." - LEO Weekly 2018
"The first half of the play is a courtroom comedy like none other, with Uncle Frank as prosecutor (channeling his courtroom idol, Ben Matlock), Wendy as an earnestly impulsive defense attorney (who repeatedly objects to her own inappropriate remarks) and a judge and jury made from poster board cutouts. The highlight of the trial is an intricate series of Rashomon-like reenactments that depict various accounts of Marley’s demise. These scenes are comic writing of a high order – and the ensemble revels in the shape-shifting variations." - LEO Weekly 2018 (Read the full review here)
"One of the funniest shows you'll ever see" - Arts Louisville
"Louisville has a lot of theatrical holiday traditions, starting with The Nutcracker, but The Kings of Christmas is the only one that's homegrown." - Courier Journal
"A holiday show that has become a Louisville holiday tradition...one of the funniest shows you’ll see this holiday season. It’s a brilliant riff on Dickens’ classic A Christmas Carol." - LEO Weekly
"The Kings of Christmas by Doug Schutte is a must-see. If you don’t have a ticket, buy immediately — if you still can. If you can’t, you might consider bribery. Or theft. Or blanketing your social media connections in hopes that somebody who has a ticket will come down with something… The years have not diminished the ingenious intoxicating pleasures of this holiday treat." - LEO Weekly (2018)
"Comic Writing of a high order" - LEO Weekly
"The madcap opening moments of Kings are flat-out brilliant – and the rest of the play lives up to the opening. This is among the best-written, best-executed riffs on Dickens’ A Christmas Carol you’ll ever see." - LEO Weekly 2018
"The first half of the play is a courtroom comedy like none other, with Uncle Frank as prosecutor (channeling his courtroom idol, Ben Matlock), Wendy as an earnestly impulsive defense attorney (who repeatedly objects to her own inappropriate remarks) and a judge and jury made from poster board cutouts. The highlight of the trial is an intricate series of Rashomon-like reenactments that depict various accounts of Marley’s demise. These scenes are comic writing of a high order – and the ensemble revels in the shape-shifting variations." - LEO Weekly 2018 (Read the full review here)
"One of the funniest shows you'll ever see" - Arts Louisville
THE ROYAL HISTORY OF THE KINGS
December 8, 2011. The world got a little bit dumber that day. That evening, at 7:30 PM, the world premiere of Doug Schutte's THE KINGS OF CHRISTMAS had just begun on the Bard Theatre stage in Louisville.
Schutte had only begun writing the script at the end of September--roughly 40 days (well, late nights) bringing together his love of A CHRISTMAS CAROL, his love for an old short play he wrote about a cat, a microwave, and 2 brothers, his love of Elvis, love of misdirection, and--of course--love of bourbon. And boots.
Indeed, the first time Schutte printed a copy of the script was minutes prior to the first read-through rehearsal. Schutte was convinced this was the most idiotic thing he had ever written...and he was right. Luckily, it is the dumbest thing he has ever written, IN A GOOD WAY. In relation to playwriting conventions--conventions he teaches to his students--THE KINGS is a habitual line crosser. But the fun that comes out of the other side of that line JUST WORKS.
4 weeks after the initial read through--a read through Schutte was convinced at least half of the cast would walk out of, on that fateful night of December 8, 2011, a man who had yet to be beaten down by 12 years of Bard life, strutted out onto stage and uttered the words: "Marley was dead: to begin with..." Schutte had hidden the rails across town, so there were no rails to go off. Perfect for the KING FAMILY.
It is utterly befuddling, and simply MOVING, to have people come up to Schutte on the street and say "It's just not Christmas without THE KINGS." Or have a group of 4 people walking on the opposite side of Bardstown Rd stop and shout across the street to Schutte, "YOU GOT THAT BOOT NOW SHOOT!" Or to see large groups come year after year, a family or friend group tradition. And all for a play that Schutte was convinced was going to prove that he should never be allowed a pen again .
THE KINGS FAMILY has seen
3 Carol Kings - Jennifer Levine, Megan Adair. Abby Braune
3 Clinton Kings - Ben Gierhart, Andrew Stairs, Tony Smith
2 Carter Kings - Scot Atkinson, Corey Music
3 Kennedy Kings - Jake Beamer, Ben Silliman, Joey Eberling
3 Wendy Williams - Beth Tantanella, April Singer Rea, Meghan Logue Holland
1 Frank/Stein King - Doug Schutte
December 8, 2011. The world got a little bit dumber that day. That evening, at 7:30 PM, the world premiere of Doug Schutte's THE KINGS OF CHRISTMAS had just begun on the Bard Theatre stage in Louisville.
Schutte had only begun writing the script at the end of September--roughly 40 days (well, late nights) bringing together his love of A CHRISTMAS CAROL, his love for an old short play he wrote about a cat, a microwave, and 2 brothers, his love of Elvis, love of misdirection, and--of course--love of bourbon. And boots.
Indeed, the first time Schutte printed a copy of the script was minutes prior to the first read-through rehearsal. Schutte was convinced this was the most idiotic thing he had ever written...and he was right. Luckily, it is the dumbest thing he has ever written, IN A GOOD WAY. In relation to playwriting conventions--conventions he teaches to his students--THE KINGS is a habitual line crosser. But the fun that comes out of the other side of that line JUST WORKS.
4 weeks after the initial read through--a read through Schutte was convinced at least half of the cast would walk out of, on that fateful night of December 8, 2011, a man who had yet to be beaten down by 12 years of Bard life, strutted out onto stage and uttered the words: "Marley was dead: to begin with..." Schutte had hidden the rails across town, so there were no rails to go off. Perfect for the KING FAMILY.
It is utterly befuddling, and simply MOVING, to have people come up to Schutte on the street and say "It's just not Christmas without THE KINGS." Or have a group of 4 people walking on the opposite side of Bardstown Rd stop and shout across the street to Schutte, "YOU GOT THAT BOOT NOW SHOOT!" Or to see large groups come year after year, a family or friend group tradition. And all for a play that Schutte was convinced was going to prove that he should never be allowed a pen again .
THE KINGS FAMILY has seen
3 Carol Kings - Jennifer Levine, Megan Adair. Abby Braune
3 Clinton Kings - Ben Gierhart, Andrew Stairs, Tony Smith
2 Carter Kings - Scot Atkinson, Corey Music
3 Kennedy Kings - Jake Beamer, Ben Silliman, Joey Eberling
3 Wendy Williams - Beth Tantanella, April Singer Rea, Meghan Logue Holland
1 Frank/Stein King - Doug Schutte