Theatre producers The StageCrafts are set to launch the first ever holiday themed theatre festival in L.A. with seven distinct productions over two weeks, offering patrons a spirited collection of seasonal classics and new holiday fare!
LOS ANGELES – For theatre lovers in the City of Angels who can’t get enough of seeing, sharing and soaking up the holiday spirit, get ready … FrostyFest is coming!
Acclaimed theatre production company The StageCrafts, helmed by veteran stage artists and producers Greg and Jenn Crafts, is proud to announce its boldest (and brightest) endeavor yet! FrostyFest is a series of seven unique shows, all with a holiday theme but ranging in length, concept and style (some are on the nice list and some the naughty) presented back-to-back from December 12th-22nd on multiple nights at The Hobgoblin Playhouse, marking the first time ever in Los Angeles that patrons can enjoy seasonal theatrical fare in a festival setting.
“People are always looking for things to do during the holiday season, and we’re giving them a lot to choose from, both family friendly and more irreverent,” said Jenn Crafts. “FrostyFest is an opportunity to see holiday shows in a Fringe-like setting with multiple shows going up a day and runtimes from 30-90 minutes. So it’s entirely possible to make a day out of seeing a few very different holiday shows in a row in the same amount of time it would take you to see something like a traditional Nutcracker or Christmas Carol.”
Here are the seven productions that will make up the inaugural FrostyFest:
A Very DIE HARD Christmas
Come get a little seasonal cheer as Theatre Unleashed brings back one of its most popular shows for the Holidays! Action, humor, Professor Snape taking people hostage, singing, dancing, the guy from Family Matters, guns, puppets, explosions, the EPA guy from Ghostbusters getting punched in the face, Christmas miracles and familiar holiday friends galore. Maybe even an appearance by the legend himself, Santa Claus!
This is much more than a stage version of the holiday classic, it’s parody at its best. Learn more >>
Half-Past the Unlucky
On Christmas Eve, two EMTs find themselves stuck between a scatterbrained patient and the rude receptionist of a hospital waiting room. They have been told they must wait till morning for their patient to be admitted. Will they sacrifice their personal lives or use their cunning to make it home? Learn more >>
Ugly Cry Christmas
Ugly Cry Christmas is about Candy, a dejected 19-year-old barista living on her own in Portland, Oregon and Gertrude, an elderly woman who shares her loneliness on a message board. Will their unlikely intergenerational friendship blossom in time to ensure neither spends Christmas alone, or will their differences keep them apart? Learn more >>
A Christmas Carol in 60 Minutes
First published in 1843, A Christmas Carol tells the story of Ebenezer Scrooge’s triumph over selfishness. This defines the holiday as a time for family, reflection, and giving. This fresh 60-minute adaption captures this and so much more. Learn more >>
A Child’s Christmas in Wales
This one-man retelling of Dylan Thomas’ classic poem will bring you back to a simpler time and place and help you to find the magic of the season through Thomas’ beautiful words. Learn more >>
Kosher Salt
Told with both humor and gravitas, Kosher Salt is a journey through Jewish comedy and Jewish tragedy. A clown show, a personal memoir, and a rollicking trip through some real tough shit. Abel Horwitz is going to solve antisemitism in 45 minutes. You’re welcome. Learn more >>
The Comedy Roast of Santa Clause Hosted by Krampus
Get in the ho-ho-holiday spirit with The Comedy Roast of Santa Claus, hosted by Krampus! We’ve kidnapped Mr. Sandy Claus, and we are going to spill the coco with special guests including Mrs. Claus and elves. Tis’ the season of giving, and trust us, our comics are really going to GIVE IT to Santa. Learn more >>
“You don’t see other holiday-themed performing arts festivals in L.A.,” said Greg Crafts. “Sure, individual companies have their traditional holiday offerings, but we’re offering something bigger––a full lineup of holiday celebrations ranging from comedy to drama to action. There’s puppets, poetry, Jewish Space Lasers, and a 60-minute adaptation of A Christmas Carol performed by a cast of twenty! There’s something for everyone, no matter what you celebrate.”
Since founding StageCrafts in 2017, Greg and Jenn have hosted hundreds of productions at various venues, including The Hobgoblin, The Madnani Theater, Howard Fine Acting Studio, Javista Coffee and the former studio/stage. Frosty Fest came about from both the popularity of the Hollywood Fringe Festival and the many actors they’ve worked with wishing aloud for a Fringe-style festival to happen during the holidays. The Crafts also saw the potential and said, “well, how about we do it!”
As for the selections, they wanted to make sure they offered not only a wide variety of programming, but also both shows with established pedigrees (like Kosher Salt and the audience favorite A Very DIE HARD Christmas) as well as new shows for audiences to see.
Jenn and Greg are excited with the early buzz of the festival and hope to see it grow and become a Hollywood holiday staple. They also plan on offering other festivals in 2025, including a mystery/suspense/thriller-themed event called SleuthFest. There is also BardFest, which focuses on Shakespeare and his contemporaries (plus derivative works) and the sci-fi/fantasy-themed MythicFest. The idea is that the best shows in these various festivals will then be invited back to perform as part of The StageCrafts Spotlight Series later in the year.
“Yeah, this is a lot,” Greg Crafts said. “Building this up is going to be a multi-year process. However, it is our goal to provide opportunities with low barriers for entry to artists of all experience levels, empower them to create career-building opportunities for themselves, and help them get their work out into the world. If we’re going to shoot for something so grandiose, you can’t think small.”
Information on dates, times, and ticket prices (which range from $10-$30) can be found at FrostyFestLA.com or by following @TheStageCrafts on Facebook and Instagram.
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