'A Cactus Christmas' could become local tradition:
THEATER REVIEW
'A Cactus Christmas' could become local tradition
Kathleen Allen Arizona Daily Star | Posted: Sunday, December 18, 2011

Beowulf Alley Theatre is on to something.

The company is staging the world premiere of Tucsonan John Vornholt's sweet play, "A Cactus Christmas."

The intention is to bring it back annually, and it's got the potential to become a holiday tradition in the Old Pueblo.

...there's a charm to "A Cactus Christmas."

PHOTO COURTESY OF BEOWULF ALLEY

Jon Benda, left, and Joseph Sanchez in Beowulf Alley Theatre's "A Cactus Christmas."

The play is a gentle, heartfelt story of prospectors Pete and his wife, Alice, who have holed up in an Arizona ghost town in search of a lost treasure.

Vornholt's script speaks of the Southwest cleverly and sometimes eloquently. "The sky," says Mona when she looks up and sees the stars, "looks like sugar sprinkled on black velvet."

Read more: http://azstarnet.com/entertainment/arts-and-theatre/a-cactus-christmas-could-become-local-tradition/article_362d2c39-0e73-572c-927f-0e86e4c83a73.html#ixzz1h8hR2E6f

A CACTUS CHRISTMAS" STARTS A NEW TRADITION

A Cactus Christmas: "A CACTUS CHRISTMAS" STARTS A NEW TRADITION"
by Chuck Graham, TucsonStage.com

Beowulf Alley put its Christmas trust in a production that feels honest, heartfelt and homespun.

It would take a real Scrooge to complain about the production values of this "Cactus Christmas."

Versatile theater veteran Jon T. Benda sets the pace with a campy portrayal of Pete the old desert rat who has dreamed for years of discovering the Treasure Trove of the Lost Turk, which he is convinced is hidden somewhere in the forgotten ghost town of Wishbone, Arizona.

Instead of pretending that Tucson is London in the time of Charles Dickens, or imagining you are on a family sleigh ride over the river and through the snowdrifts to Grandmother's house, have a more distinctly Sonoran desert experience in a Christmas play with Tucson's own southwestern lore.

Read the entire review here: A Cactus Christmas

A CACTUS CHRISTMAS" STARTS A NEW TRADITION

A Cactus Christmas: "A CACTUS CHRISTMAS" STARTS A NEW TRADITION"
by Chuck Graham, TucsonStage.com

Beowulf Alley put its Christmas trust in a production that feels honest, heartfelt and homespun.

It would take a real Scrooge to complain about the production values of this "Cactus Christmas."

Versatile theater veteran Jon T. Benda sets the pace with a campy portrayal of Pete the old desert rat who has dreamed for years of discovering the Treasure Trove of the Lost Turk, which he is convinced is hidden somewhere in the forgotten ghost town of Wishbone, Arizona.

Instead of pretending that Tucson is London in the time of Charles Dickens, or imagining you are on a family sleigh ride over the river and through the snowdrifts to Grandmother's house, have a more distinctly Sonoran desert experience in a Christmas play with Tucson's own southwestern lore.

Read the entire review here: A Cactus Christmas

World premiere of "A Cactus Christmas"

12/9/2011

Tonight is opening night for the world premiere of "A Cactus Christmas" at Beowulf Alley Theatre Company, 11 S. Sixth St. The family-friendly play, suitable for children 6 and older, tells the story of a couple of desert rats who've taken up residence in the ghost town of Wishbone and they try to take advantage of a visiting family of well-off Easterners, only to be thwarted by an interfering ghosts.

The play comes from the imagination of by local writer John Vornholt, who is director of Beowulf's Active Imagination Theatre. Performances of "A Cactus Christmas" continue through Dec. 24, at 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays through Fridays and 2:30 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays."

From: Holidays aren’t complete without seeing ‘Messiah’ - Inside Tucson Business: Arts And Culture