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Community Corner

Yardley resident, Emily Spadaford is performing in Enchantment Theatre Company's Aladdin and Other Enchanting Tales

This holiday season, December 17-30, Enchantment Theatre Company will present their original new theatrical production of Aladdin and Other Enchanting Tales, at the Arts Bank at Broad and South Streets on the Avenue of the Arts in Philadelphia. A huge genie pops out of a lamp; a princess floats in the air; an evil sorcerer turns into a dragon. Families will be enchanted by the magical stories of Sinbad, Aladdin and the Kalandar Prince, told by the storyteller heroine, Scheherazade and brought to life by Enchantment’s energetic troupe of actors and dancers, with stunning costumes, spellbinding magic and spectacular puppets.

Yardley resident, Emily Spadaford, plays the roles of Aladdin's Mother, the Horse, the Magic Carpet, and the Sirenis a graduate of Muhlenberg College with a degree in Theatre Performance. She also studied physical theatre in Tuscany, Italy. Recent credits include Merrily We Roll Along, Godspell, 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, and Beauty and the Beast.  Last year she performed in the  tour of The Velveteen Rabbit and the ETC production of Cinderella at Muhlenberg Summer Music Theatre.

Audiences can come to the show early to explore a Persian Bazaar, with interactive activities for the whole family. Family theater workshops are available from December 22 – 30 and there will be a special opening benefit celebration Saturday, December 21 to support Enchantment Everywhere, Enchantment’s Arts in Education program, with family fun preshow activities, a meet and greet with the cast, and tasty treats.

Directed by Leslie Reidel, Aladdin and Other Enchanting Tales is based on the Tales from the Arabian Nights and incorporates the evocative music of Nikolai Rimsky –Korsakov’s Scheherazade, arranged for this production by Philadelphia’s own Charles Gilbert.  Adapted by Leslie Reidel, Jennifer Blatchley Smith and Landis Smith, the appeal in the show is not only in the fantastic tales and the varied art forms through which they’re told, but in its celebration of how stories change people’s lives. Through these marvelous tales, Scheherazade takes her Sultan on a journey of self-discovery, experiencing the kindness of strangers, the triumph of good over evil and ultimately, the miracle of forgiveness and love.

Tickets are $16 Children / $29 Adult / $25 Senior, with special group rates. View showtimes and purchase tickets online at www.enchantmenttheatre.org. For more information, call (215) 496-9160.

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Enchantment Theatre Company was founded in 1979 as a national touring company by Jennifer Blatchley Smith and Landis Smith, and has been playing to Philadelphia students and families since 2000 when it re-committed itself to its home audience.  Each year the company has presented a stunning holiday production on a downtown stage, including such favorites as The Snow Queen, The Velveteen Rabbit and Harold and the Purple Crayon. With Leslie Reidel, co-founder and co-artistic director, they have taken Enchantment’s original productions all over the world, from the Far East to stages and concert halls throughout the United States and Canada, including Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.



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