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Actor Rhodd F. Caldwell, with tech support from Justin Gleeson, Technical Director and Facility Manager, Newport Performing Arts Center, performs this classic holiday prose work by Welsh poet Dylan Thomas.

First recorded by Thomas in 1952, A Child's Christmas in Wales is an anecdotal reminiscence of Christmas from the viewpoint of a young boy, portraying a nostalgic and simpler time.

In December 2018, Rhodd produced and directed an unusual collaboration with the Newport Symphony Orchestra at the Performing Arts Center (PAC) and Porthole Players. They performed a fully staged production of Giancarlo Menotti’s holiday opera Amahl and the Night Visitors. This was the first live opera production at the PAC, and Rhodd was privileged to open performances with a reading of Dylan Thomas’ classic tale.

That reading was accompanied by screened lavish illustrations of the work, created by multiple Caldecott medal winner Trina Schart Hyman for a special edition printed in 1985. Permission has been granted to include those illustrations with this performance.

Rhodd F. Caldwell has had an extensive and award-winning association with regional theatres for nearly half a century as a producer, director, conductor, actor, and singer with widely divergent roles in theatre, musical theatre and opera. Rhodd is very pleased to have been invited to participate in the Deschutes library winter holiday series. With the rise of COVID-19 - and the long-term shuttering of theatres all over the world - he is extremely grateful for all those organizations, producers, directors and performers who have stepped up to the plate and are learning to adapt the arts to virtual media. “It seems that no matter the circumstances, the arts will continue to thrive. It’s a cliché, but it’s true: the show must go on!” He wishes for all listeners a meaningful - and safe - holiday season.


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