Presented by the Lewis Center for the Arts’ Program in Theater & Music Theater.
Christmastown
Staged reading of a new musical
Book, music, and lyrics by senior Sydney Hwang ’24
Run Time
Approximately 90 minutes; no intermission
Special Notes
No flash photography permitted. Please silence all electronic devices including cellular phones and watches, and refrain from text messaging for the duration of the performance.
Accessibility
The Drapkin Studio is an accessible venue. Visit our Venues and Studios section for accessibility information at our various locations.
Cast
Clara Claus: Lucy Grunden ’27
Jess Claus: Kavya Bhat ’27
Nick Claus: Adam Bathurst ’27
Jake Jingle: Morgan Taylor ’27
Angelo: Johnny Leadingham ’26
Narrator: Pixley Marquardt ’27
Various Characters: Carrie Geisler ’25
Various Characters: Kristen Tan ’26
Musicians
Piano: Vince di Mura
Production Team
Director: Sydney Hwang ’24*
Music Director: Vince di Mura
Lighting Designer: Elena Milliken ’26
Sound Designer: Ryan Gonzales ’26
Stage Manager: Jackie Qin ’27
Run Crew: Cooper Kofron ’24*
*denotes a certificate student in the Program in Theater
Faculty Advisor
Solon Snider Sway, Primary Faculty Advisor
A Note from the Project Proposer
It’s funny the way life never works out the way you expect it to. I came to Princeton as a distance runner on Princeton’s cross country and track & field teams. I had never done anything related to theater before. But just for funsies (and just because it fit in my schedule), I decided to take “Acting and Directing in Musical Theater” my freshman year. One of my professors once said that the best endings are both “surprising, yet inevitable.” This comes from Aristotle who believed that the best endings are ones you never see coming. Only after it ends do you realize it’s the only possible way it could have ended. And I can’t help but feel that my time here at Princeton is ending the same way: surprising, yet inevitably.
I started writing this musical three months ago. But to be honest, it’s taken every second of the last five years (gap year, baby!) to write. The poetry class I took freshman year changed the way I look at words and letters. The gap year I took after my first year at Princeton made me realize that I didn’t want to be a doctor anymore. The chronic knee injuries I had while running forced me to look for passion elsewhere, and I ran right into the open arms of theater. The first time I performed on stage cemented my new passion. An Atelier class about creating comedy television led me to create a TV show also called “Christmastown” (though very different from tonight’s version). A sad girl junior fall led me to discover I can write songs. My study abroad at LAMDA reminded me of my independence and inner-strength, and this is when I truly believed I could write an original musical.
Thank you to the kindest person you will ever meet at Princeton and my advisor, Solon Snider Sway. Thank you to Vince di Mura—the only person who might be more passionate about these songs than me. Thank you to my beyond talented cast for making rehearsals fly by. Thank you for bringing my vision to life, thank you for laughing at my jokes, thank you for not having asked me if the musical was complete when you were auditioning. Thank you to Jackie Qin for reading my mind. Thank you to Professor Nehassaiu deGannes for your vibrancy and encouragement.
Thank you to PM, pawpaw, Clare, and Mason who always believe in me. And thank you to you, dear reader. There are so many finals and essays that you could be working on right now but for some reason, you chose to be here with us. Even if your girlfriend dragged you here. Even if you are just now realizing you are at the wrong theater and should be at the Wallace downstairs to see Gaucho. Even if your daughter asked you to fly here all the way from California.
I could go on and on and on because I love talking. But the show’s probably about to start right now, so I will end this note with this: I hope you see how much joy and love went into the creation of this show.
Unsurprising, yet inevitably,
Sydney Hwang ’24
Land Acknowledgement
An estimated 10 million Native Americans lived in North America before the arrival of European colonizers. Many thousands lived in Lenapehoking, the vast homeland of the Lenni-Lenape, who were the first inhabitants of what is now called eastern Pennsylvania and parts of New York, New Jersey, Maryland, and Delaware.
Princeton stands on part of the ancient homeland and traditional territory of the Lenape people. In 1756, the College of New Jersey erected Nassau Hall with no recorded consultation with the Lenni-Lenape peoples.
Treaties and forced relocation dispersed Lenape-Delaware to Ohio, Kansas, and Oklahoma. We acknowledge the violence of settler colonialism and pay respect to Lenape peoples past, present, and future and their continuing presence in the homeland and throughout the Lenape diaspora.
For more information, see the websites of the Native American and Indigenous Studies Initiative at Princeton (NAISIP), Natives at Princeton and Princeton Indigenous Advocacy Coalition.
Lewis Center for the Arts
Chair: Judith Hamera
Executive Director: Marion Friedman Young
Director of Program in Theater: Jane Cox
Producing Artistic Director, Theater And Music Theater Season: Elena Araoz
View a full list of the Program in Theater Faculty & Guest Artists
For a look at all the people working behind the scenes to bring you this event, view a full list of LCA staff members.
The programs of the Peter B. Lewis Center for the Arts are made possible through the generous support of many alumni and other donors. View a full list of LCA Supporters
