Jingle $ells

• Director: Ant Lewis
• Musical Director: Phil Fraser
• Producer: Jane Van Dorp
• Stage Manager: Martin Yeadon

Jingle $ells is an original new quintessentially Australian musical set, naturally, in Jackson, Wyoming.

After the loss of his wife, a father moves his family to stay with his sister in Wyoming, hoping that the move would left their spirits.

Once there, his two children enrol at the local school which is preparing for their annual Christmas Concert. But elsewhere in America, someone has copyrighted the word Christmas, ensuring no-one can use it without first paying for the right.

Offended by the commercialism, the school goes ahead without paying the toll. What harm can come to a small school in such a small town?

Plenty apparently, as the new copyright owner brings her legal team to Jackson to steal Christmas.

The father, who didn’t have the strongest faith before his wife died, and now counts himself as a non-believer, is asked to defend the school. What will he do?

Jingle $ells was written by Chris Gordon and features eight new songs by Chris and 10 other (royalty free) Christmas favourites. It leans heavily into pantomime, encouraging the audience to join in at several parts of the show, and looks at the differences between an Aussie and an American Christmas, and the difficulties dealing with missing loved ones at Christmas.

The 2021 production was not able to go ahead, and in fact was cancelled due to the pandemic at the first rehearsal… just after the cast had been selected but before rehearsals were underway. It was poised to be a truly international experience with the Mayor of Jackson Wyoming keen to lend a hand and potentially for schools on both sides of the Pacific to connect.

Jingle $ells is available for hire by contacting Chris@GordonCreative.online.