BCCC Presents Benefit Performance of 'The Snowman'

The holidays are all about coming together while helping one another. And for the first time, several local nonprofit cultural organizations are doing just that to present a benefit performance of The Snowman Saturday, Dec. 10 at Bucks County Community College.

The show, to be performed at 1 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. on the college’s Newtown Township campus, is a cooperative production between the BCCC Office of Cultural Programming, the Pennsylvania School of the Performing Arts and the Newtown Chamber Orchestra. All proceeds benefit the BCCC Foundation, the nonprofit educational trust that provides scholarships and resources at the public, two-year college.

“The substantial degree of community collaboration makes this an important event,” said Jonathan Lee, director of cultural and community programming at BCCC.

“Such cooperation among arts organizations is a key survival tactic as we navigate these new fiscal waters.  I also believe that our local nonprofits can benefit greatly through outreach efforts like this.  My hope is that The Snowman will aid the college mission of serving the community while providing a local model for sustainable cultural programs.”

Based on the children’s book by Raymond Briggs, the show tells a tale in music and dance of a snowman that comes to life during a young boy’s Christmas Eve dream, sending the pair on a journey into each other’s world. This gentle fable of friendship and the power of imagination is presented in a rich tapestry of dance, live music, and colorful costumes and lighting. The Snowman is set to Howard Blake’s musical score, which is as touching as it is mischievous.

The special benefit performance features the Wrightstown-based Pennsylvania School of the Performing Arts, home of Spirit in Motion Ballet Theater, under the direction of Terri Garcia-Lee. Members of the Celtic Flame Irish Dancers of Philadelphia will also take part.

Live orchestration will be provided by the Newtown Chamber Orchestra, led by music director Dr. Russell Hoffman.  Bliss Michelson, a host on classical music station WWFM in Mercer County, N.J., will narrate the story.

Tickets for this benefit performance, which supports the BCCC Foundation, are $24 for general admission and $50 for preferred seating. Children ages 3 and under are free.

Tickets can be purchased online at www.bucks.edu/cultural; at the Bucks County Community College Bookstore, located in the Library Building on campus; and at the Newtown Book & Record Exchange.