‘Tis The Season: Christmas At Windsor Castle

The show is less than a week away.

Jade Allen, Staff Writer

Tis the season of jugglers, acrobats, actors and dancers coming together to put on the spectacular production of Christmas at Windsor Castle.

Every year during the festive season, Windsor puts together a Shakespeare-themed Christmas production that brings the crowd into the surreal times of the Renaissance era.

“(Windsor Castle’s) the best thing to look forward to,” teacher Whitney Crabtree said.

Crabtree took over from Elaine Geimer to run Christmas at Windsor Castle this year, following Geimer’s retirement.

Students and staff love putting on the show every year. It’s a great way to work together and have fun at the same time.

Junior Peyton Honea said, “Being able to take everybody back in time is the most exciting part.” 

This is Honea’s third year participating in Windsor Castle. This year, she plays on court as the one and only Lady Catherine. 

Not many changes will take place this year, even though last year was Geimer’s final production. Without Geimer, Crabtree has taken the role of putting the production into motion. Crabtree has written a play inside a play for this year’s show that is about a knight, dragon and a damsel in distress. 

Geimer is retired, however, she will still return to help with setup and practices leading up to the opening night.

Crabtree said, “Geimer explained (the show) like the circus people with all the plates going at once.” 

The students in the show are the circus and their parts are the plates. In order to get the show Shakespeare approved, every plate must spin in line at once. Without the spinning plates, the magical atmosphere wouldn’t capture the full effect. This is ensured with all of the help from everyone in the community.

Many kids that have graduated have returned to help navigate all of the effects. Teacher Casey Willenbrock also runs the waiting services for the show. Without the participation of the staff and students, the show couldn’t happen.

For ticket information and purchases, students can reach out to teacher Kelly Stockwell. Christmas at Windsor Castle takes place on Saturday, December 14 in the Windsor High School Commons. Seating is at 6:30 p.m. and the performance starts at 7:00 p.m. If you miss opening day, you can attend the Sunday, December 15 show with seating at 3:30 p.m. and the performance at 4:00 p.m. Cost for admission is $25.