(Photo courtesy ArtsWest – “Snowed In” cast)

West Seattle’s only playhouse, ArtsWest (WSB sponsor), is days away from opening its holiday show, “Snowed In.” Here’s the ArtsWest explanation of this brand-new homegrown production:

This holiday season, ArtsWest will present the world premiere of “Snowed In,” a new holiday musical by Corinne Park-Buffelen and ArtsWest Artistic Director Mathew Wright. Directed by Kelly Kitchens (Mrs. Caliban, Book-It Repertory Theatre) and featuring beloved Seattle musical theater stars Rachel Guyer-Mafune (ACT’s The Wolves), Christian Quinto (Village Theatre’s Mamma Mia), Sarah Russell (Seattle Rep’s Lydia and the Troll), and Nik Hagen (The 5th Avenue Theatre’s Sweeney Todd), Snowed In performs at ArtsWest from November 29 through December 23. Tickets are available online at artswest.org, or by phone at 206-938.0963.

In this fast-paced musical comedy, four musical theater stars (and best friends) are commissioned by ArtsWest to write the most magical, fabulous, fantastic holiday musical of all time. The only problem is they open tomorrow night and all they have is the opening number. When they get snowed in with no escape, a cozy mountain cabin retreat becomes a drama-filled pressure cooker. Will they finish the show and make it to the stage on time?

Writers Park-Buffelen and Wright have aimed to create a holiday musical that speaks to the now. This production takes all the best elements from vintage holiday TV specials, SNL, the Rockettes, and old Hollywood, and mixes in the humor, voice, and reality of 2023. Co-creator Corinne Park-Buffelen remarks, “The magic of this production is that at the heart of the show, we have cast four real-life friends who have never had the opportunity to take the stage together. Mathew and I had the pleasure of writing a show around their incredible talent and chemistry. The holidays are about spending time with people that you love, and we have built that into the show by forming this incredible production team and extend that to welcoming our audiences.”

Snowed In features holiday classics alongside original music by Rich Gray (Forbidden XMas), Corinne Park-Buffelen, and David Taylor Gomes (Ranked, A Musical) with additional musical arrangements by Aaron Norman and Riley Brule, and choreography by Shadou Mintrone (The Can Can). This brand-new musical will have you dancing and singing along with the cast.

ArtsWest will present Snowed In, Wednesday through Saturday at 7:30 pm and Sundays at 3 pm.