Christine Kruze’s plan was to write a play that was holiday focused without being a traditional holiday show.
“I wanted to take a look at the holidays from a different perspective,” Kruze said. “It took me awhile to get it all the way through a few versions and a few drafts. It took me a year to put together and I finished it up during the summer.”
Kruze will debut her play “Circumstantial Holidays” at The Cat, 254 Veterans Way, Carmel, at 8 p.m. Nov. 29. The play will have six performances, all at 8 p.m, through Dec. 8. Kruze and her husband, Steve, run Approxima Productions and will produce the play along with June and John Clair’s Carmel Theatre Company.
The play takes place at a New Year’s Eve party and follows the evening where two couples are there with the wrong dates.
“Two of them kind of fall for each other and they have to try to get out of the dates they are currently there with,” said Kruze, an Avon resident. “It’s a romantic comedy. It’s kind of a look of what it means to be a single person at the holidays. Comedy is a difficult thing. I’m interested to see if audiences connect with the humor and connect with these characters.”
The play has four actors, Matt Anderson, Clay Mabbitt, Carrie Schlatter and Josh Ramsey.
“All of them are seasoned performers,” Kruze said. “We’re not utilizing the stage at all. We’re doing it in the round.”
Kruze has previously acted with Civic Theatre and Carmel Theatre Company, among others.
Last year, Kruze and her husband, Steve, produced her original play, “In the Family Way,” a drama at The Cat.
Steve will design and build sets and handle lighting for “Circumstantial Holidays.”
“Our goal is to do either brand-new work, either by mine or someone else’s,” Kruze said. “This is the fourth show I’ve written and two we have produced.”
There will be wine tastings before the performances on Nov. 30 and Dec. 7.
For more, visit approximaproductions.com and thecattheatre.com.
