While Frigga, the hostess with the most-ess, is getting sauced on punch – consider ordering yourself a glass of “holiday cheer” from CPT concessions… including our Light the Lights signature cocktail – the “Ol’ Moses Mule”! This sweet and spicy concoction arrives courtesy of the mixologists at Old City Libations (you may recognize their winning ways from MSNBC’s Cleveland Hustles)… and features hand-crafted ginger beer made right here in our Gordon Square Arts District neighborhood. (Laying off the hard stuff? Old City Sodas are great on their own!)

An Insider Spoonful…

Tomato Basil Chicken Noodle

Sweet Potato ginger with Coconut Milk (GF/Vegan)

Beef Chili (GF)

I’ve created a musical scene in a church. I’m an ex-Catholic, but still very spiritual person. My inspiration came from the tension between the religious and commercial reign over the season, and my own quest for a deeper understanding of connection and community during the holidays – during the darkest time of the year.

You get to go on a very personal journey with me as I attend a midnight mass. Catholics are known for keeping things on the inside, and staying relatively quiet during mass, so I attempt to peel away those layers. What inner monologue do we all have as we take part in ritual?

BONUS!
A favorite holiday tradition from Molly:
I love going to get a Christmas tree with my family. Actually going to cut it down. Our group has grown: we used to get one tree for one household, and now we’re up to 4 trees for 4 different homes. I like reading the Christmas poem that’s printed on the signs heading into and out of the tree farm, even though we have no young children with us. The whole experience is made complete by drinking hot cocoa, eating popcorn, and listening Vince Guaraldi’s Peanuts soundtrack on the way home. I feel like a kid again.

Photo by Cory Markowitz.

Creator of ‘Twas The Night Before Christmas (In Cleveland)

My piece of the evening’s frolic is ‘Twas The Night Before Christmas (In Cleveland) – I wanted to do a hyper-Cleveland-centric take on a holiday classic. It’s told by a narrator, whose emotional stability ebbs and flows wildly depending on the moment. I pictured it as just a person with a book, reading to us, as a bedtime story that goes off the rails, accompanied by an off-stage “Director” who uses a sound-effect to alert the reader to get back on track and keep telling an appropriate story.

Part of why I chose this story is that ever since I was a small, small child, Christmas Eve was always the most magical part of the holiday, even more than the day itself. Because it’s nothing but potential – ANYTHING could happen on this most amazing of nights, and it’s barreling toward us minute by minute whether we’re ready or not. It’s all about suspense and belief and dread and optimism… Kind of like Cleveland’s future.

Photo by Betsy Molnar.

Creator of It Begins and Ends with Fire

I have created a one woman version of The Steadfast Tin Soldier (Hans Christian Andersen). This was one of my favorite stories as a kid and although the theme is not centrally “holiday,” it was my first impulse in creating for Light the Lights.

My Barbie and Ken somehow fit perfectly into this story about two toys, a tin soldier, and a ballerina. My Barbies have been on my casting list for a few years now, ever since my mother threatened to throw them out if I didn’t take them home to Cleveland. I actually got that Barbie and Malibu Ken (which are used in the show) for Christmas. They came with a cool plastic van (to go to the beach, I guess). That was a long time ago, so I think they are technically “vintage” now. I loved playing with them as a kid and dreamed of being them. Now they seem a mix of beauty and evil and I wonder what the fallout has been in terms of my self-image in the course of growing up.

The piece, It Begins and Ends with Fire, is a re-telling of the Tin Soldier story from a new perspective. It’s playful with serious undercurrents and features bits of original music and dance which are woven into the performance.

Joyeux Noel was inspired by my in-laws. Last year, I was in France for Christmas visiting (and meeting for the first time) my husband’s family. First off, they are very, very kind (and stylish and smart… you get the idea). They wanted to know lots about Cleveland. As it was, they knew three things: 1. Lebron James lived there. 2. We had a famous hospital. 3. We were important in an election.

The question I was asked the most often was “What are the people in Cleveland like?” I had a really hard time answering that question. In this play I try to answer it. The conversation was not that different than what you would hear around a table here in Cleveland. Election opinions, supermarket prices, job market conversations. The only real difference was that Christmas dinner in that small town surrounded by a medieval wall lasted 8 hours and there was a literal boat load of seafood of the table. It was a boat cooler. I kid you not. See below for a photo of the boat of seafood. Please note – this is the first course. Please also note – there are 9 people at dinner.

Creator of The Best Christmas Movies in 6 Minutes, X-mas is Sexy and Frigga

Every Christmas morning, I make an egg soufflé. Well, it’s like a poorman’s egg soufflé. We call it egg bake. And you mix it up the night before and put it in the oven Christmas morning. It’s delicious with bacon and lots and lots of cheese and bread and eggs and it’s so good. SO GOOD. And then we have mimosas. And by mimosas I mean champagne with just enough orange juice to color it orange. That’s probably one of my favorite traditions.

Photo of Beth Wood by Steve Wagner. Photos of representational egg bake and mimosas pulled by Caitlin Lewins from pillsbury.com and chowhound.com.