For Immediate Release: November 8, 2006
Media Contact: Tyler Melchior, 1812 Productions, 215.592.9560

1812 Productions is proud to announce its candidacy for the all-time, best-ever, call-your-friends-and-tell-them-all-about-it holiday show with its upcoming production This Is The Week That Is: Political Humor for the Holidays. This Is The Week That Is will run from December 1, 2006 to January 7, 2007 at The Adrienne Theatre, 2030 Sansom Street. Tickets range from $10 to $32 and are available through 1812 Productions' box office at (215) 592-9560 or online at www.1812productions.org.

This Is The Week That Is will be 1812 Productions' 7th annual holiday show production. The show focuses on the art, artifice, and frequent insanity of politics past and present. This has indeed proved fertile ground for the creation of 1812 Productions' edgiest holiday show to date-so much so that entire sections of the production will be re-written from week to week, and even day to day, to keep up with all that is happening in our community and in the world at large. Jennifer Childs, 1812 Productions' Artistic Director, is returning to her role as the holiday show's creator and director. She, along with assistant director Don Montrey and performers Scott Greer, Tony Braithwaite, Dave Jadico, Susan Riley Stevens, and Steven Wright, will also form the show's crack team of writers-keeping watch for the latest stories and their hilarious hooks.

While providing all of the news that's fit to skewer, This Is The Week That Is will also incorporate the acute political observations of the past 2,500 years (give or take a century or two). Aristophanes makes an appearance, as do Mark Twain, Ambrose Bierce, and Petroleum Vesuvius Nasby. A selection of songs from Tom Lehrer compliments the hysterical wisdom of Mort Sahl and Dick Gregory, and we even get to see how Cro-Magnon man figures into the big political picture.

In what is surely be the most ambitious holiday show that 1812 Productions has ever produced, creator, director, and performer Jennifer Childs has spent months steeped in the art of making the best and worst of politics into side-splitting original material. "This is really a departure for us in terms of how the show is coming together," says Childs. "We are all writing new material and exploring older material in new ways because This Is The Week That Is has such a specific comedic focus. It has been an absolute joy to work together with this wonderful cast and collectively flex our creative muscles in this way. Also, the timing for This Is The Week That Is couldn't be better given the enormous political change happening in America as we work. A great example of this is that on the day Donald Rumsfeld resigned-before anyone had heard-we had written a hilarious sketch about him that we were so excited to put in the show. And by noon, after the press conference, that sketch was completely irrelevant. It's amazing to see how fast the world moves and to be able to look at world events through the eyes of this process and then share this experience with our audiences."

Company History
Artistic Director Jennifer Childs and Resident Artist Pete Pryor founded 1812 Productions in the spring of 1998 with a goal to entertain and educate audiences through comedy, and to support and hire local artists. Philadelphia Weekly named 1812 Productions the "Theatre Company of the Year 2002-2003". At the close of the 2002-2003 season, 1812 Productions was the recipient of eight nominations and two wins at the Barrymore Awards for Excellence in Theatre. 1812 Productions received eight Barrymore Award nominations for its 2004-2005 season and most recently closed its 2005-2006 season with the world premiere, and Barrymore Award winning, production Daughters of Genius. Their education program, 1812 Outreach, received four consecutive nominations and been awarded once the Barrymore Award for Excellence in Theatre Education and Community Service. On April 20, 2005, 1812 Productions received an honorary citation from the City of Philadelphia for outstanding work and commitment to the Philadelphia arts community. 1812 Productions, while continually on the search for a permanent home, continues to perform at various locations around Philadelphia.

Go to News Releases»