We are bringing two regional premieres to the Tabor Stage, December 5-21, with Christmas Gems, a family-friendly double-bill featuring Dylan Thomas’ A Child’s Christmas in Wales and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle that introduces a topsy-turvy Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson to TSC audiences.
Directed by Stephanie Shine (Much Ado About Nothing, Twelfth Night, Hamlet, The Importance of Being Earnest, Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley), Christmas Gems is generously sponsored by Kathryn & Jim Gilliland, and Anne & Mike Keeney.
A Child’s Christmas in Wales, conceived and adapted for the stage with original music by Myra Platt, transforms the beloved narrative poem into a rich tapestry of unforgettable characters and moments drawn from the many Christmases of memory. Lifted by exquisite a cappella harmonies, Thomas’ 1952 masterpiece celebrates our collective joy of remembering: how we grew up, are looking back, and then rediscovering a wonder that never quite fades.
“Thomas’ work is written to be heard aloud,” says Shine. “The language is so beautiful that people of every generation deserve to hear it. These are words to make you gasp.”
Paired with A Child’s Christmas in Wales is the Memphis premiere of The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle, a new adaptation by Shine that reimagines the classic Sherlock Holmes mystery through the glow of the holiday season. Traditional carol melodies, cleverly woven with new lyrics, accompany Holmes and Watson as they unravel a Yuletide crime.
“Blue Carbuncle is special because we get to see Holmes discover his own sense of compassion in a surprising way,” says Shine. “His warmth emerges through his typically aloof demeanor as he shows mercy at Christmastime.”
Together, these two intimate and gently humorous plays invite audiences into a celebration of memory, music, and the magic of the holidays. With live music performed by the cast, Christmas Gems offers an evening of storytelling that sparkles with both heart and artistry.
The cast includes Lauren Hester Gunn (Sherlock Holmes), Natalie Tangeman (Watson), and ensemble members Matthew Alter, Marian Claire Barber, Ethan Shaw, and Taylor Slonaker.
The design team includes Jeremy Allen Fisher (Lighting), Jason Eschhofen (Music), and Allison White (Costumes). The production stage manager is Cu Cukale, and the assistant stage manager is Milla Meiman.
Shine will present a free, pre-show Director’s Talk in TSC’s rehearsal hall on Sunday, December at 2:30 pm. The public is cordially invited to attend, whether seeing the 3:00 pm performance that day or not.
The performance will run approximately 90 minutes, including one 12-minute intermission, and is ideal for all ages over five years old.
Christmas Gem’s discounted Preview performance ($22 tickets) is Friday, December 5 at 7:30 pm. Opening night is Saturday, December 6 at 7:30 pm, which includes a complimentary post-show reception with the actors. Subsequent performances are on Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm, and on Sundays at 3:00 pm through December 21.
Friday performances on December 5, 12, and 19 are Free Will Kids’ Nights when up to four children 17 years and younger may attend for FREE when accompanied by at least one, full-price-paying Adult Guardian.
Box Office
Tickets are $44.00 (Students $24.00/Seniors $39.00). The Preview performance on December 5 is $22.00 for all tickets. Friday night performances are Free Will Kids’ Nights: up to four children 17 years and younger may attend for free when accompanied by at least one, full-price-paying Adult Guardian, while seats last, and must be purchased either over the phone or in person.
Tickets may be purchased online here or by calling the Box Office at (901) 759-0604; open Tuesday-Friday from 9:00 am – 5:00 pm, and one hour prior to curtain. TSC is located at 7950 Trinity Road, Memphis, TN 38018-6297. No refunds/exchanges. The house opens 30 minutes prior to curtain. Credit Card charges require a $2.00 per-ticket fee. Free Tabor Stage parking and covered drop-off at the front door are available at TSC. The cast and schedule are subject to change with notice.
Artistic and Production Bios
Matthew Alter (Jim in A Child’s Christmas in Wales; Ensemble in The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle) TSC: Ensemble in Classical Comedies & Cocktails Reading Series, Much Ado About Nothing (Don John/Verges). Othercredits include the international tour of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves (Ali Baba), national tour of Treasure Island (Ben Gunn/Billy Bones/Tom Morgan), Our Town (George Gibbs), The Importance of Being Earnest (Jack Worthing), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Lysander), The Mousetrap (Trotter), Art (Marc), Boeing, Boeing (Robert), The Tempest (Ferdinand), and A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder (Monty Navarro). Matthew is a graduate of Rice University with degrees in Theatre and Mathematics.
Marian Claire Barber (Dan in A Child’s Christmas in Wales; Ensemble in The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle) TSC: Ensemble in Classical Comedies & Cocktails Reading Series, Much Ado About Nothing (Hero/Conrade). Lipscomb University credits: Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Pride and Prejudice, Crazy for You, Big Fish, Mamma Mia! Playhouse on the Square: Waitress, Punk Rock Girl; and she was ateacher for their Youth and Adult Musical Theatre Class.
Cu Cukale (Production Stage Manager): Stage Management credits: King Lear (Island Shakespeare Festival), A Lucky Chance (Island Shakespeare Festival), and Seussical the Musical (Youth Theatre Northwest). Director: Mean Girls the Musical (Broadway Bound Children’s Theatre). Acting: Much Ado About Nothing (Borachio), Sweeney Todd (ensemble), and A Chorus Line (Judy Turner).
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Author of The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle) was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1859 and became a physician and prolific writer. In 1887, with A Study in Scarlet, he introduced Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, characters who would come to define detective fiction and inspire readers to look for reason and evidence across 56 short stories. Beyond Holmes, Doyle wrote historical novels, science fiction, and essays, and late in life became a public advocate for spiritualism.
Jason Eschhofen (Music Director) (he/him/his) TSC: Twelfth Night, The Importance of Being Earnest (sound design), Miss Bennett: Christmas at Pemberley (sound design), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Flute/Thisby). Other credits: Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (music direction), The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (music direction), Ruthless! The Musical (music direction), The Crucible (sound design), Days of Rage (sound design), and Murder for Two (Marcus Moscowicz, co-music direction, sound design). Jason has a B.A. in Studio Recording Technology from Bowling Green State University, and a M.M. in Voice Performance from the University of Memphis.
Jeremy Allen Fisher (Production Manager; Scenic and Lighting Designer) has been with Tennessee Shakespeare Company since 2013, designing 30+ productions. An 18-year veteran in the entertainment business with multiple degrees and certifications, Jeremy is a member of Local USA 829 United Scenic Artists with experience in all aspects of lighting. Founding his design firm in 2019, he has worked on projects of all sizes across the country. He is the Resident Lighting Designer for Opera Memphis and Youngblood Studio. He recently redesigned Ballet Memphis’ annual production of Nutcracker and completed several major public art installations at St. Jude Children’s Hospital, Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital, and Oregon State University. Since moving to Memphis in 2011, Jeremy has completed 200+ lighting designs in the city, been nominated for 12 Ostrander Awards with four wins, and in 2017 was awarded the TAC Individual Artist Award for his work in Lighting Design.
Lauren Hester Gunn (Sherlock Holmes in The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle) TSC: Ensemble in Classical Comedies & Cocktails Reading Series, Much Ado About Nothing, Saint Joan, The Grace of Grace: Shining a Light through Shakespeare’s Broken Villains, Twelfth Night, The Comedy of Errors, A Streetcar Named Desire, The Tempest, Cyrano de Bergerac, Macbeth, Henry VI, Romeo and Juliet, Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley, and Ada and the Engine. Southern Arena Theatre: Boeing Boeing, I Hate Hamlet. New Stage Theatre: Constellations, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Crimes of the Heart, A Christmas Carol, Cat in the Hat. Fish Tale Group Theatre: Voice of Freedom Summer. Lauren is delighted and honored to continue serving military Veterans at the Memphis V.A. Medical Center with TSC’s Feast of Crispian-South program. She is a member and associate instructor with Dueling Arts International. Education: University of Southern Mississippi (M.F.A.).
Milla Meiman (Assistant Stage Manager) is a recent graduate of Bard College. Her acting credits include The Tempest, Advanced Placement, Heathers, Pippin, Macbeth, Clyde Must Die, The Crucible, and Titus Andronicus. LoneTree Live: 24-Hour Plays Memphis.
Myra Platt (Adapter of A Child’s Christmas in Wales) is a part-time lecturer of Topics in Youth and Theatre. She was the founding Co-Artistic Director (with Jane Jones) of Book-It Repertory Theatre. Book-It was the recipient of Seattle’s 2010 Mayor’s Arts Award and Washington State’s 2012 Governor’s Arts Award. In 2010, she and Jane received a Paul G. Allen Family Foundation Anniversary grant, as well as the 2010 Women of Influence recognition from Puget Sound Business Journal. In 2008, Myra and Jane were honored to be named by the Seattle Times as an “Unsung Hero and Uncommon Genius” for their 20-year contribution to life in the Puget Sound Region. As director, adapter, actor, and composer, Myra helped Book-It produce nearly 100 world-premiere stage adaptations and over 30 education touring productions. Most recently, she adapted and directed the new musical Howl’s Moving Castle (music by Justin Huertas), Behold the Dreamers, and The Brothers K: Parts I and II. She directed The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay (2014 Gregory Award for Outstanding Production and The Seattle Times Footlight Award). Past credits include: Adapter/Director credits: Little Bee, The Financial Lives of the Poets, The River Why, Night Flight (an operetta with music by Joshua Kohl), Red Ranger Came Calling (a musical with Edd Key), The House of the Spirits, Giant, Plainsong, Cowboys Are My Weakness, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (2002 original production), and Roman Fever. Directing credits: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Persuasion, Cry, the Beloved Country, Sweet Thursday. Adapter credits: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (2017 with Malika Oyetimein), The Art of Racing in the Rain, Owen Meany’s Christmas Pageant (with Jane Jones). Acting credits: Prairie Nocturne, The Beautiful Things that Heaven Bears, The Awakening (West Garland Los Angeles Award), Howards End. Outside of Book-It, Myra has performed at the Seattle Repertory Theatre, Intiman, New City Theatre, the Mark Taper Forum, among others. She originated the role of Candy Kendall in The Cider House Rules, Parts I and II, directed by Jane Jones and Tom Hulce.
Ethan Shaw (Dylan in A Child’s Christmas in Wales; Ensemble in The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle) TSC: Ensemble in Classical Comedies & Cocktails Reading Series, Much Ado About Nothing (Claudio). Other credits include Cymbeline and Twelfth Night (Theatre at Monmouth, ME); King Lear, Company Cabaret, and A Christmas Carol (Oklahoma Shakespearean Festival); Romeo and Juliet, Much Ado About Nothing, and Edward III (Kingsmen Shakespeare Company, CA); and A Christmas Carol (Lyric Repertory Company, UT). Ethan has a B.F.A. with honors from Utah State University’s acting program with minors in music and chemistry.
Stephanie Shine+ (Director; Adaptor of The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle) in 16 seasons with TSC, her directorial credits include this season’s Much Ado About Nothing, as well as Twelfth Night, Hamlet, The Importance of Being Earnest, Emily Dickinson: I Dwell in Possibility, which she co-created with Denice Hicks, Henry VI: Wars of the Roses, Macbeth, Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley, Henry V, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Julius Caesar, It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play, Southern Yuletide, Shakespeare’s Greatest Hits, Shake(s), Rattle, and Roll, Shakespeare Said It, Lend Me Thy Sword, 12 productions of Romeo and Juliet, and 15 Literary Salons. On stage at TSC, she played the Abbess in The Comedy of Errors, Countess in All’s Well That Ends Well, the female roles in Unto the Breach, and Gertrude in Hamlet. Prior to joining TSC, she was Artistic Director of Seattle Shakespeare Company, a position she enjoyed for 13 years. Other directorial credits include King Lear and As You Like It for Houston Shakespeare Festival, The Taming of the Shrew and The Comedy of Errors for Colorado Shakespeare Festival, the award-winning one-woman internationally-touring Marilyn Monroe Biopic, Marilyn: Forever Blonde, and several new works for Seattle’s Book-It Repertory Theatre. Her production of I am of Ireland (which she also conceived and adapted) opened Book-It’s 25th Anniversary Season in 2014. As an actor, she has performed with the Oregon Shakespearean Festival, NYC’s Theatre for a New Audience, Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Alley Theatre, Arizona Theatre Company, ACT, The Empty Space, and Seattle Children’s Theatre, among others. Roles include Juliet, Rosalind, Lady Macbeth, Beatrice, Regan, Feste, Kate, Bianca, Dionyza, the Princess of France, Hero, Perdita, and the Chorus in Henry V. The Germantown Arts Alliance honored her with its 2016 Distinguished Arts and Humanities Medal for Performing Arts. Education: graduate of the Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts; B.F.A in Acting from the University of Washington’s Professional Actor Training Program; M.F.A. in Directing from the University of Memphis.
Taylor Slonaker (Jack in A Child’s Christmas in Wales; Ensemble in The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle) TSC: Ensemble in Classical Comedies & Cocktails Reading Series, Much Ado About Nothing (Dogberry/Balthasar). Taylor is an actor, director, and educator. She trained at Shakespeare & Company (Lenox, MA) and the Circle in the Square Theatre (New York, NY). Favorite roles include Midsummer Night’s Dream with The Rooted Voyageurs (Lysander/Mustardseed/Flute), Julius Caesar at Elsewhere Shakespeare (Brutus), and Circle Mirror Transformation at Ghent Playhouse (Lauren). TSC: Much Ado About Nothing. Other credits: A Christmas Carol, Romeo and Juliet, The Tempest.
Natalie Tangeman (Dr. Watson in The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle) TSC: Ensemble in Classical Comedies & Cocktails Reading Series, Much Ado About Nothing (Hero). Favorite roles include Northwester: As it is in Heaven (Hannah), Dracula: A Feminist Revenge Fantasy, Really (Renfield), Dave Malloy’s Beowulf (Grendel’s Mother/Academic 2), John Proctor is the Villain (Beth); and Actors’ Theatre of Columbus: Romeo and Juliet (Juliet). Natalie is a performer, educator, and director having worked with Griffin’s Tale Children’s Repertory Theatre and Seesaw Theatre. Natalie is a graduate of Northwestern University with majors in Theatre and Psychology and an emphasis in Theatre for Young Audiences.
Dylan Thomas (Author of A Child’s Christmas in Wales) was born in Swansea, Wales, in 1914 and began writing poetry as a teenager, leaving school at age 16 to work as a reporter before devoting himself fully to literature. Known for his musical use of language and vivid imagery, Thomas became one of the most distinctive poetic voices of the 20th century. A Child’s Christmas in Wales, first broadcast on radio in 1952, captures childhood memory with humor, nostalgia, and lyrical detail. Thomas’ work in poetry, stories, and broadcasts, continues to celebrate the rhythms of ordinary life and the music of the spoken word. His other notable works include the poem “Do not go gentle into that good night” and the play Under Milk Wood.
Allison White (Costume Designer) has been the resident costume designer and costume shop manager at TSC for the last four seasons. TSC design credits include Much Ado About Nothing, Saint Joan, The Importance of Being Earnest, Cyrano de Bergerac, Ada and the Engine, Macbeth, Henry VI: The War of the Rose. Her other design credits include I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change (Germantown Community Theatre); The Mousetrap, Blithe Spirit, You Can’t Take It With You (Theatre Memphis); Pippin, Between Riverside and Crazy, The Day is Long to End (University of Florida); Caroline, or Change (Cape Fear Regional Theatre); The Secret World of Og (Sarasota Youth Opera); Smokey Joe’s Café, All My Sons, The Mystery of Edwin Drood (Theatre Raleigh). Allison has an M.F.A. in Costume Design from The University of Florida.
+ Member of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers, In., an independent national labor union.
Season 18 Sponsors
TSC’s generous sponsors of the 18th season, productions, and Education and Outreach Program include FedEx, ARTSmemphis, Tennessee Arts Commission, James R. Humphreys, Nancy R. Copp, Evans Petree PC, Pat and Ernest Kelly, J. Walker Sims and the Sims Family Charitable Trust, Kathryn and Jim Gilliland, Anne and Mike Keeney, Independent Bank, Pete Pranica, First Horizon Foundation through an ArtsFirst grant, AutoZone, the Dunbar Abston Fund for Sustainable Excellence, the Barbara B. Apperson Angel Fund, and the Jack Jones Children’s Literacy Fund. TSC’s season is funded under a Grant Contract with the State of Tennessee.
