Earl Hamner’s classic holiday tale of Christmas in Nelson County.

Onstage December 1 – 18, 2011

  • Tue. Nov. 29: 7:30pm (Free preview)
  • Wed. Nov. 30: 7:30pm (Free preview)
  • Thu. Dec. 1: 7:30pm (c)
  • Fri. Dec. 2: 7:30pm (s)
  • Sat. Dec. 3: 2:00pm (c, qu)
  • Sat. Dec. 3: 7:30pm (s, qu)
  • Sun. Dec. 4: 2:00pm (c, qu, ro)
  • Wed. Dec. 7: 7:30pm (s)
  • Thu. Dec. 8: 7:30pm (c, pay what you can)
  • Fri. Dec. 9: 7:30pm (s)
  • Fri. Dec. 9: 7:30pm (c)
  • Sat. Dec. 10: 2:00pm (s)
  • Sat. Dec. 10: 7:30pm (c, improv)
  • Sun. Dec. 11: 2:00pm (s)
  • Wed. Dec. 14: 7:30pm (c)
  • Thu. Dec. 15: 7:30pm (s, pwyc)
  • Fri. Dec. 16: 7:30pm (c)
  • Sat. Dec. 17: 2:00pm (s)
  • Sat. Dec. 17: 7:30pm (c)
  • Sun. Dec. 18: 2:00pm (s)

Key: c=curly hair cast; s=straight hair cast; pwyc=pay what you can; qu=Quinn in for Herb; ro=Roger Collins as Clay.

Admission $15, 10 and under $10, under 4 free. Doors open 30 min. before show. Reservations advised, (434) 361-1999. See also: Daily Progress article.

About The Homecoming

In 1971, CBS aired a TV pilot called The Homecoming: a Christmas Story. This show became The Waltons, the TV series that made Earl Hamner Jr. the most “powerful man in television” from 1972 – 1978. The Hamner Theater’s Homecoming is an original adaptation of Hamner’s novella, which playwright (and Hamner Theater co-Artistic Director) Peter Coy tailors to fit the cast as needed.

The Homecoming is the heart-warming story of a family waiting for the magic of Christmas Eve to arrive, told from the perspective of the adult Clay-Boy. We join Clay-Boy as he searches for his father and encounters some colorful characters that expand his growing understanding of the world.

Says writer Earl Hamner of The Homecoming, “It is remembered in my family that on Christmas Eve of 1933 my father was late arriving home. That, along with the love he and my mother bestowed upon their eight red-headed offspring, is fact. The rest is fiction.”

The Homecoming is about family, and director Boomie Pedersen casts families whenever possible. This year there are more than ever before: there are 21 speaking parts, many of which are doubled, resulting in a total cast of 32. Casts are grouped by hair this year – the Straight hair cast, and the Curly Hair cast.

Pictures from Previous Years’ Productions of The Homecoming