KV Players Plan Virtual Christmas Show

The KV Players, a traditionally summer theatre company, are gearing up for their first virtual Christmas show.

The 12 Days of KV Players: A Virtual Holiday Show with a Twist will feature nightly entertainment from Dec. 1 to 12.

Suzanne Doyle Yerxa, the theatre company’s artistic director, said the idea came from the success of two virtual shows this summer.

“When the Christmas season came around we thought ‘people really need some cheering up,'” said Doyle Yerxa. “We had had such success with the summer that we decided it would be really appropriate to do a Christmas show.”

Doyle Yerxa said it is the first time the theatre company has tried doing 12 different shows, but they are prepared for it.

While most of the shows will be about 15 minutes in length, there will be extended shows on Dec. 6 and 12.

“On the 6th, which is Saint Nicholas Day, we’re doing all of the songs in the show that are geared toward children,” said Doyle Yerxa. “We’re so fortunate because we’re going to reunite Kids at Heart who volunteered to come on board and do some songs for that show.

“For the last night, on December 12th, we’re doing a full show with all of those traditional songs that you would expect in a Christmas concert but also lots of fun and some humorous things and a reading of The Night Before Christmas.”

Doyle Yerxa said “hours and hours and hours” of planning have gone into putting the 12 nights of performances together.

The show will bring together more than 100 past and present performers from across Canada and the United States, said Doyle Yerxa.

“That’s the beauty of virtual,” she said. “You really can reunite people who, if we were doing a Christmas show in our normal venue, we wouldn’t be able to get these people. This is the exciting part for us is bringing people together.”

Tickets are $12 each for all 12 nights of performances. Each day’s performance begins at 7 p.m. but the entire program will remain available online until Jan. 6.