News release
Grace Baptist Church’s theater group’s latest production, an original adaptation from the 1947 film “It Happened on Fifth Avenue,” opens for a two-weekend run starting Friday.
The film had never been adapted for the stage until writer Amy Caldwell, a successful novelist and a member of Grace Baptist, took on the challenge of reshaping the comedy into a stage show, according to a news release from Grace Baptist.
“Watching the cast and crew craft this story as a gift to our audience — from learning lines to sewing costumes, finding props and even building the set — has made it an absolute pleasure to direct,” “Fifth Avenue” director James Phillips said in the release.
Longtime friends Carol Scholl, Andrea Rodriguez, Judy Barringer and Monique Newman all have been a part of Grace Theater since its inception in 2002, and all four are still involved in this latest production.
“It’s been a joy to be in a company that harnesses the power of storytelling, and
remains such a harmonious group, for so many years,” Newman said in the release. “We all do this out of our love for Jesus.”
“It Happened on Fifth Avenue,” set in 1946, is the tale of Aloysios T. McKeever (played by KFI radio’s Gary Hoffman), a tramp who moves into wealthy New Yorkers’ mansions when they leave for the winter. This Christmastime, he winds up taking in others who have no place to live, but when the owner’s daughter shows up, followed by her estranged parents, Al’s simple life of “house-sitting” gets very complicated.
Showtimes are; 7 p.m. Friday; 3 p.m. Saturday; 6 p.m. Sunday; 7 p.m. Nov. 14; and 6 p.m. Nov. 15 and 16.
Tickets are $12, and can be purchased online at gracebaptist.org/events. Cash is also accepted at the door. Grace Baptist is located at 22833 Copper Hill Drive, Santa Clarita.
