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Holidays Are Special At The Playhouse With 'Annie' & 'The Christmas Diaries'

It’s fitting that The Playhouse is showing Annie, which is set in a 1930s orphanage. Times were tough during those years in San Antonio, and Board Chair Lee Cusenbary said that theater was very important to San Antonians in the 1930s.

"People had very little expendable income; they couldn't travel much. It takes money to go far from home, and so people did their best with what they had here in San Antonio. They would bring carriages and cars here and visit and hang out in the park and have picnics. The theater was very popular then because it was a place to meet," Cusenbary said.

Playing alongside “Annie” is “The Christmas Diaries” by David Sedaris and Joe Mantello,which is showing in the cellar and has been extended through Dec. 23.

The tony award winning “Annie” also through Dec. 23 in the historic main theater, and a special showing has been arranged for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights.

"'Annie' is a crowd-pleaser. But one of the reasons we picked it is we have a really strong group of young people in our youth program -- The Conservatory -- right now, and they need a vehicle to shine. And 'Annie's' a great show," Cusenbary said. 

Eileen Pace is a veteran radio and print journalist with a long history of investigative and feature reporting in San Antonio and Houston, earning more than 50 awards for investigative reporting, documentaries, long-form series, features, sports stories, outstanding anchoring and best use of sound.