Casting Announced for the World Premiere of Chris, Mrs. – A New Holiday Musical

TORONTO, Oct 4, 2023 – Katie Kerr and Matt Stodolak, co-founders of Boldly Productions, today announced the cast and creative team for the world premiere of Chris, Mrs. – A New Holiday Musical. Featuring a cast of 17 Canadian actors including Stratford Festival, Shaw Festival and Broadway veterans, Kerr and Stodolak have assembled a team of the country’s brightest talent for this year’s biggest new family-friendly holiday production. The Chris, Mrs. teaser trailer was also released today. For tickets and more details visit ChrisMrs.com.

Liam Tobin (Book of Mormon-Broadway; Beautiful: The Carole King Musical-Broadway 1st National Tour; Spamalot-Stratford) and Danielle Wade (Mean Girls-Broadway; The Music Man-Stratford) star in the world premiere of Chris, Mrs. in the respective roles of Ben Chris and Holly Carmichael, alongside Olivia Sinclair-Brisbane (Rent-Stratford; Damn Yankees-Shaw) as Vicki Vandrelle, and AJ Bridel (Kinky Boots-Mirvish; My Little Pony-Netflix) as Claire Chris.

Chris, Mrs. also features Andrew Broderick (The Amen Corner-Shaw; Choir Boy-Canadian Stage) as Cole Jackson, Kale Penny (Rock of Ages-Drayton; Jersey Boys-Citadel) as Charlie Chris, Henry Firmston (Spamalot-Stratford; Murdoch Mysteries) as Tim Penner, Sarah Lynn Strange (The Sound of Music-Thousand Islands Playhouse; Menopause The Musical-National Tour) as Candace Brown, and Mark Weatherly (9 to 5: The Musical-Stage West; Murdoch Mysteries) as Nick.

The Chris family twins, Samuel and Samantha, will be played in rotation by four impressive up-and-coming young actors: Lucien Duncan-Reid (Room-Mirvish/Grand Theatre; A Christmas Carol-Soulpepper) and Addison Wagman (Joseph…-Drayton); and Isaac Grates-Myers (Joseph…-Mirvish) and Finn Cofell (Wizard of Oz: The Panto-Drayton).

The lauded ensemble also includes George Absi (Kinky Boots, Disney’s Newsies-Drayton), Carla Bennett (Spamalot, Frankenstein Revived-Stratford), Devon Michael Brown (Chicago, Spamalot-Stratford; The Next Step), Shelley Kenney (Thoroughly Modern Millie, Beauty and the Beast-Drayton), Heather Kosik (Richard II, Chicago-Stratford), and Jason Sermonia (Miss Saigon, Jesus Christ Superstar-Broadway), with Eric Abel (Spamalot, Frankenstein Revived-Stratford), and Kaleigh Gorka (Camelot-Victoria Playhouse; The Rocky Horror Show-Neptune) as swings. 

Married couple Kerr and Stodolak met while performing in ELF The Musical back-to-back years at Theatre Aquarius and Drayton Entertainment. Their mutual love of musical theatre and the holiday season inspired the creation of Chris, Mrs.

“We have always dreamt of bringing a new Canadian musical to the stage,” said creators Kerr and Stodolak. “It is even more magical for us that our first production is a holiday show. On top of that, we have an incredible cast of renowned Canadian artists bringing these characters to life. From a whiteboard in our basement, to the historic Winter Garden Theatre, we can’t wait to share Chris, Mrs. with friends and families this December.”

Kerr will direct the show, and Stodolak will music direct. Choreography is by Sarah Vance, with set and costume design by Cory Sincennes and associate set and costume design by Beyata Hackborn, lighting design by Mikeal Kangas, and sound design by Ranil Sonnadara.

“The beautiful Winter Garden Theatre is the most magical place to experience a holiday show,” added Gail Packwood, Managing Director, Elgin and Winter Garden Theatre Centre. “I am thrilled to welcome this new company and their incredible artists into the building, and I can’t wait for audiences to discover this heartwarming, new Canadian musical.”

The Chris, Mrs. Story & Synopsis

Ring in the holiday season with the Chris family, where the everyday collides with the enchanted. The story begins in the city, where festiveless father Ben Chris leverages his late parents’ lodge in exchange for a promotion. The only problem is, his brother Charlie still runs the lodge. Ben reluctantly decides to head there to convince him to sell, packing up his socialite girlfriend Vicki, and his children – teenage daughter Claire and troublemaking twins Samuel and Samantha. 

After discovering a ring in their father’s suitcase, the twins write to Santa for assistance, which seems to appear in the form of Holly, a seasonal employee at the lodge. Between Charlie’s nostalgic nature and Holly’s Christmas cheer, it soon becomes a holiday no one will forget. Full of mischief and mistletoe, twisted ankles and tangled heartstrings, Chris, Mrs. is a heart-warming story that will make you laugh and is bound to be a new holiday musical tradition for the whole family!

Boldly Productions

CHRIS, MRS. – A NEW HOLIDAY MUSICAL

Direction, Book and Lyrics by Katie Kerr

Music Direction, Composition and Orchestrations by Matt Stodolak

Choreography by Sarah Vance

Starring
Liam Tobin, Danielle Wade, Olivia Sinclair-Brisbane, AJ Bridel, Andrew Broderick, Kale Penny, Henry Firmston, Sarah Lynn Strange, Mark Weatherly, Lucien Duncan-Reid, Addison Wagman, Isaac Grates-Myers, Finn Cofell, George Absi, Carla Bennett, Devon Michael Brown, Shelley Kenney, Heather Kosik, and Jason Sermonia, with Eric Abel and Kaleigh Gorka as swings.

Set and Costume Design by Cory Sincennes

Associate Set and Costume Design by Beyata Hackborn

Sound Design by Ranil Sonnadara

Lighting Design by Mikeal Kangas

Technical Direction by Greg Dougherty

Stage Management by Jessica Severin

Assistant Stage Management by Madison Kalbehn and Koh Lauren Quan

llustration Artwork for Chris, Mrs.

The illustration artwork for Chris, Mrs. was developed by Canadian illustrator and artist, Kagan McLeod, who has been illustrating for books, comics, magazines, newspapers and design firms since graduating from Sheridan College’s illustration program in 1999. Kagan also created the illustrated end credits to She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (Disney+/Marvel Studios).

Dates: December 5 – 31, 2023

Times: 7:30 p.m. evenings, 2:00 p.m. weekday/Saturday matinees, 1:00 p.m. Sunday matinees – see website for full schedule

Run Time: 2 hours and 15 minutes (including intermission)

Ages: 8 and up

Location: The Winter Garden Theatre, 189 Yonge St., Toronto, ON M5B 1M4 – located at The Elgin and Winter Garden Theatre Centre

Ticket Pricing: Tickets for Chris, Mrs. range from $51 to $138 with family and group discounts available: see ChrisMrs.com. 

Box Office Email: boxoffice@boldlyproductions.com

TO Live Box Office Phone Number: 416-366-7723 or 1-800-708-6754 (1 p.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays)

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