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Shakespeare Project of Chicago

Christmas Comes But Once A Year

George Zahora’s new work commissioned for The Shakespeare Project of Chicago.

The program will be preceded by a program of holiday music featuring Hannah Mary Simpson accompanied by Camille Cote.

Late December 2019: At a backwater British university, a trio of squabbling academics attempt to unlock an ancient puzzle box containing the script for "Christmas Comes But Once A Year", a long-lost holiday extravaganza penned by a quartet of Shakespeare's contemporaries. And, in a flashback to November 1602, those playwrights -- Thomas Heywood, Henry Chettle, Thomas Dekker and John Webster -- struggle to complete an "accessible" holiday story. Can they meet their deadline? Will their famous frienemy "Wm Shakspr" come through with a bit of help? And why was "Christmas Comes But Once A Year" erased from history? Past and Present collide messily in this rollicking world-premiere original holiday comedy, written by longtime Shakespeare Project sound designer George Zahora.  Featuring a cast of Shakespeare Project favorites, directed by Peter Garino.

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