From trimming the tree to baking cookies, holiday traditions powerfully unite us during this special season. At Ashley Hall, our school family’s most cherished (and long-standing) tradition is the annual Christmas Play. On Dec. 12, 2024, 160 Ashley Hall students of all ages gathered in the historic and ethereal St. Matthew’s Church to perform this beloved production for the 100th time.
First presented in 1924 under the direction of school founder Mary Vardrine McBee, Ashley Hall’s annual Christmas Play has brought the medieval Chester Mystery Plays to life with our student’s creativity, passion, and artistic excellence.
From the dancing jesters to the angelic Red Choir, this beautiful retelling of the Nativity story has remained a cornerstone of the Ashley Hall experience for generations of students, families, alumnae, faculty, and the greater Charleston community.
Thank you to everyone who joined us for this unforgettable evening. Your support makes this timeless tradition possible. And, of course, bravo to our hard-working students who shone brightly on and off stage. We’re grateful to have shared this special moment with all who could join us.
Relive the Centennial Performance of The Christmas Play
The ability of dance to stir emotions and build connections was evident during this year’s first performance of The Caterpillar Thriller, an original story-in-dance featuring dancers from second through sixth grades. Written and staged by Lower School faculty member Stephanie Christensen, The Caterpillar Thriller presents a powerful message that “being odd’s not bad” and if we remain true to who we are, we will ultimately find others who are just like us.
Students, parents, faculty, and staff were enchanted by the heart-warming story of a little caterpillar’s journey to grow into her true self and discover her own place within the world. Gorgeous costumes and lively music created the perfect atmosphere for a captivating display of dance. An Ashley Hall favorite, The Caterpillar Thriller has been performed on campus on two previous occasions to capacity audiences. You do not want to miss this year’s memorable performance! Future showtimes are May 17 at 7:00pm and May 19 at 3:00pm in Davies Auditorium. Each performance is free, with RSVPs requested. Online RSVPs are now closed, so please arrive early to the performances to ensure your spot. To learn more about the Lower School, click on the button below.
If you’ve visited campus recently, you may have seen the newest Earth Loom installation, a hanging habitat made from recycled two-liter bottles. In a unique collaboration first grade students shared their knowledge of plants while second grade students provided insight on the world of insects in order to create a plant and insect habitat in each re-purposed plastic bottle. (Many of the habitats have even survived the recent winter weather!) A special thanks to Lower School art instructor Tina Hirsig, and Lower School science faculty members, Beth McCarty and Elizabeth Flowers. This is a wonderful example of collaboration across classes and disciplines. PQV to all!
Performed by the Upper School theater ensemble, Honk! is a musical adaptation of the Hans Christian Andersen story The Ugly Duckling. This is the story of Ugly, whose odd, gawky looks instantly incite prejudice from his family and other barnyard creatures. Along a rollicking and harrowing journey he not only discovers his true beauty and glorious destiny, but also finds love and acceptance in all its forms. This award-winning musical incorporates a beautiful message of tolerance. Appropriate for students of all ages.
The Ashley Hall Performing Arts Department presents
The Other Side of Love: An Evening of One Acts
The program includes:
The world premiere of an original play by Mady Thompson ’18!
Ludlow Fair by Lanford Wilson Lanford Wilson’s one act play, Ludlow Fair, gives us a glimpse of Rachel and Agnes. The two roommates attempt to co-exist in their cramped New York City, yet Rachel and Agnes could not be more different. Rachel is beautiful, dramatic and a serial dater; Agnes is practical, sarcastic and completely clueless when it comes to men. Both are extremely lonely and hopeless romantics, and over the course of one poignant evening, we learn that Rachel and Agnes may need each other more than they realize.
Nine, an abridged version of the Tony Award-winning musical
Nine is based on the Italian film maker Federico Fellini’s semi-autobiographical film 8 1/2. The show concerns the film director Guido Contini who is facing a midlife crisis as he struggles to put together his latest film.
Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein, giants of American musical theater, created legendary Broadway musicals in the 1940s and 50s and initiated what is widely considered the “golden age” of musical theater. The composers were geniuses at weaving challenging thematic issues into romantic love stories shared through dance and song. Consider The King and I, Oklahoma, South Pacific, and Carousel, all musical theater chestnuts that carry a powerful social commentary punch.
With their original production of Café Carousel, the Ashley Hall Theater Department, under the direction of Director Maida Libkin, created an evening to celebrate and examine the work Rodgers and Hammerstein through the lens of social justice. The team crafted the show’s poignant narrative through meticulous research of the musicals and by working closely with Upper School humanities faculty who teach classes such as HumanRights and International Law, American Studies, and Race Class, and Gender for historical and social context. Café Carousel proved enormously successful giving audiences of all ages much to think about.
Taking their efforts one step further, the Café Carousel cast and crew generously donated a portion of ticket sales, $2,000, to the local Charleston non-profit,My Sister’s House, which provides services and resources to empower victims of domestic violence and their children to live free of abuse. Brava to all!
Ashley Hall is a K-12 independent school for girls, with a co-ed preschool, committed to a talented and diverse student population. We consider for admission students of any race, color, religion, and national or ethnic origin.
