Cripple Creek’s Acclaimed Christmas Melodrama Show Opens This Weekend
“Miracle on Mistletoe Mountain” Hits the Butte Stage Throughout the Holiday Season
Trevor Phipps
As the snow starts to fly, the Pikes Peak region quickly becomes a prime spot to get into the holiday spirit.
While living in a real life “Winter Wonderland,” the area has gained a niche for featuring a slew of events to help residents and visitors enjoy the Christmas season, whether it is through musical concerts, live dramas, musicals or parades.
To add to the magic, every year the Butte Theater in Cripple Creek puts on a live Christmas-themed melodrama that runs starting Black Friday to the end of the year. Is often regarded as their premiere show. This year the theater presents the first-ever live performance of “Miracle on Mistletoe Mountain,” starting at 7 p.m. this Friday.
During the entire month of December, just about every town in southern Colorado holds some type of Christmas-themed event. Colorado Springs, Woodland Park and Cripple Creek all host Christmas parades every year to add to the many other craft fairs, events, live performances and concerts.
Many crave a live holiday-themed show to help revive the holiday spirit. Luckily, many theaters from Colorado Springs to Cripple Creek offer live performances to bring in the holiday season.
This year Lulu’s Downtown in Colorado Springs is holding a special return of “A Winter’s Eve with David Arkenstone and Friends,” featuring the five-time Grammy nominated performing artist and his assortment of top musicians. (See related article in this week’s TMJ). In Woodland Park, the Charis Bible College is also planning on putting on its annual “Heart of Christmas” live performance from December 13-15.
In Cripple Creek, Butte Theater fans have already been talking about the melodrama that opens this weekend. This new Christmas melodrama is once again produced by the highly acclaimed Thin Air Theare Company and is written by Chris Sorensen, who has authored many Cripple Creek-themed performances in the past.
According to the Butte’s new theater manager Lauren Smith, the melodrama this year has never been performed on the Butte stage or anywhere else. She said that fans are in for a special treat this holiday season as the popular Thin Air Theatre Company is returning with a crew of professional actors that aren’t new to the Butte stage, along with several community actors.
Smith said that “Miracle on Mistletoe Mountain” is based loosely on the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life.” She said that anyone who is familiar with the classic movie’s plotline can expect to see some similarities with the melodrama.
One major difference is that the live performance is set in Cripple Creek’s gold rush era of the late 1800s and early 1900s. “It follows a husband and wife who own a boarding house for downtrodden folks including children,” Smith said. “And there’s a villain who is trying to buy the building out from under them and make it something different. Then there is angel who this is her last chance to try and earn her wings. So, she is coming down to help the Kelly family against the villain. It’s pretty much along the lines of ‘It’s a Wonderful Life.’ It’s very family-friendly and heart-warming and a really great show.”
She said that those that have been coming to the Butte for the last few years will recognize some of the professional actors on the stage for the next month. Actor Noah Peacock is back on the stage after entertaining fans earlier this fall as King Arthur in the Butte’s “Spamalot.” Now he will be playing the villain.
There will also be four other professional actors in the production with a total of five. Three of the other professional actors performed with Peacock in “Spamalot” and the other one also has experience with the Thin Air Theatre Company on the Butte stage in the past.
“Like all Christmas shows at the Butte, the rest of the cast is filled with locals, which is always exciting,” Smith said. “It should be a fun show and there will be an olio after it as all melodramas at the Butte have. So, people can expect some fun Christmas music and such after the melodrama.”
Those who can’t make the first show this Friday will still have ample chances to watch the holiday melodrama throughout the week and during the entire month of December. This Saturday, there will be showings at 1 and 7 p.m. Then, the preliminary schedule calls for a matinee on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Starting next week, “Miracle on Mistletoe Mountain” will have showings Thursday and Friday night at 7 p.m., Saturdays at 1 and 7 p.m. and Sundays at 1 p.m. throughout December. The last week of showings for the Christmas melodrama start on December 26, with the last showing taking place at 1 p.m. on December 29.
For a full list of show times and to purchase tickets visit buttetheater.com. As a special treat for Mountain Jackpot readers, TMJ has a limited amount of free tickets to give away e-mail Newsofwoodlandpark@
