Over the past 44 years, the Westmoreland Players Theatre has staged many holiday classics during the Christmas season, including Miracle on 34th Street and four different productions of A Christmas Carol. This year, the Players will present the Virginia premiere of a Tilt the Unlit Candle, a quirky grown-up holiday comedy by Ben Clawson, directed by Michelle Ayala and Dan Beckhard.
Tilt the Unlit Candle is playing November 17 through December 3 at the Westmoreland Players Theatre, 16217 Richmond Road, Callao. It contains some mature themes.
Tilt the Unlit Candle takes place in a setting that may feel familiar to many theatre-goers on the Northern Neck: a small church with an aging congregation in a small town, according to Players president Dan Beckhard. At the center of the story is Brendan, an idealistic young pastor who wants the Christmas Eve service to be about people “living up to the potential of what we can be for each other.” His nemesis is Ms. Martha, who as the head of the fellowship committee is his boss, constant critic, and verbal sparring partner.
The play also tells the story of six more celebrants who each come to the church on Christmas Eve carrying a variety of burdens, beliefs and gifts. Among these is Kathleen, a woman with an acid tongue and deep doubts about her own competence, and Freddy, the hapless chairman of the welcoming committee, whose genuine efforts to make Kathleen feel at home backfire hilariously. The youngest revelers are Trish and Joel, who come to the service to support their “significant others” in the church choir but who use their time waiting outside to ruminate about God, the ‘Big Bang’ and delicious toaster pastries.
Rounding out the characters are Sue, a retail clerk in a mall gift store whose last nerve has been shattered by yet one more abrasive holiday shopper, and Thad, who is described as “the proverbial drunk on the church steps,” but who may not be exactly what he seems.
Act I concludes as the candlelight service is about to begin. In Act II, we see the aftermath of a near disaster stemming from the failure of one of the celebrants to comply with the simple admonition in the play’s title: she forgot to tilt the unlit candle. But we learn that the service has changed each of the characters just a little, in redemptive ways.
The directors have blended a cast of seasoned performers with bright newcomers. Matt Johnson stars as Brendan. Players veteran Laurie Breakwell portrays Ms. Martha. Katie Lucy portrays Kathleen. Monique Langevin, Christopher Brown, and Sharon Mason Stone appear in their first major roles on the Players stage as Trish, Joel, and Sue, respectively. John Pitman, a local favorite who has starred in numerous Westmoreland Players productions, rounds out the cast as Thad.
Tilt the Unlit Candle offers a fresh new comedic take on the familiar Christmas themes, said Beckhard. It celebrates friendship, family and faith while acknowledging the holiday stresses of commercialism, obligation and unrealistic expectations. “The dialog crackles like a flaming yule log,” he said.
The Westmoreland Players, a non-profit theater group, produces about four plays and musicals per year in addition to sponsoring a children’s summer theatre program. In addition to Tilt the Unlit Candle, the upcoming 2023-2024 season will feature Almost Maine, February 9 – 25; The Diary of Anne Frank, April 26 – May 9, and Run for Your Wife, August 2-18.
For tickets to Tilt the Unlit Candle, visit westmorelandplayers.org/tickets or call 804-529-9345.
