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The WordPlayers presents a holiday season kick-off for the entire family: Junie B. in Jingle Bells, Batman Smells! The WordPlayers is excited to present one of the most exciting holiday shows you and your family will ever see! Junie B. in Jingle Bells, Batman Smells! plays December 13 at 7:30 pm and December 14 and 15 at 2:30 pm at the Clayton Performing Arts Center at Pellissippi State Community College, 10915 Hardin Valley Rd, Knoxville. Tickets may be purchased online at https://wordplayers.org/tickets/ or at the door. Adults: $18, Youth (13-18): $12, Children (12 and under): $8. Group Rate: $2 off each ticket of 10 or more purchased in advance. For more information, please call 865-539-2490.

Junie B. Jones, a First Grader, is super-excited about the upcoming Holiday Singalong and Secret Santa gift exchange at her school. Too bad tattletale May keeps ruining all of Junie B.’s fun. So, when Junie B. draws May’s name for Secret Santa, she comes up with the perfect plan to teach her nemesis a lesson! But will the Christmas spirit of peace and goodwill interfere before she can give you-know-who what she deserves? A hilarious and endearing tale based on the best-selling book series by Barbara Park and written by Allison Gregory.

The WordPlayers is a 501(c) 3 faith-based theatre organization dedicated to providing high-quality productions for the Knoxville community.

Performed Thursdays and Fridays at 7 PM; Saturdays at 1 PM and 5 PM; and Sundays at 3 PM and 6 PM.

In this hilarious Christmas classic, a couple struggling to put on a church Christmas pageant is faced with casting the Herdman kids: probably the most inventively awful kids in history! You won’t believe the mayhem – and the fun – when the Herdman’s collide with the Christmas story head on!

The play is performed by twenty-four talented young actors ages 8 to 16. The cast includes KCT veterans Vivienne Bullard as Imogene Herdman, Mason Cox as Leroy Herdman, Julian Daniel as Ollie Herdman, Desmond Gondo as Claude Herdman and Harper Monday as Gladys Herdman. Mother and Father will be played by Leeland Robbins and Quinton Stiffler respectively, while Luna Chavez will be playing Beth Bradley and Owen Bellamy will be playing Charlie Bradley. Joining them will be Connor Watters as Elmer and Rev. Hopkins, Lydia Komeshak as Mrs. Armstrong, and Chloe Beeler as Mrs. McCarthy. Also featured are KCT veterans Camila Herrera, Hogan Honeycutt, Saha Lau, Caroline Simmons, Sophia Stiffler, and Auden Tatler. Making their KCT debuts in this production are Luke Bounds, Laila Brown, Amelia Carroll, Lola Longmire, Julia Luehrs, and Camden Powell.

The show is directed by guest director Ashlee Latimer and designed by eleven student designers ages 10 to 16. KCT is East Tennessee’s leading producer of plays for children and families. Knoxville Children's Theatre, 109 E. Churchwell Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37917. Information: 865-208-3677, www.knoxvillechildrenstheatre.com

By Samuel Spewack, Bella Spewack
Directed by Lisa Silverman

The scene is French Guyana, a region where on Christmas day the temperature has graciously dropped to 104 degrees. Three convicts are employed as roofers by a family, whose roof is in desperate need of maintenance. On the way from France is an evil-minded cousin, to oust the father of the family from his business, and his cold-blooded nephew, who is jilting the father’s daughter for an heiress. The three convicts—two of them murderers, the third a swindler—take the visitors on. All three have warm hearts and are passionate believers in true justice. Possessing every criminal art and penal grace, they set matters right and in doing so redeem themselves as real life angels to the grateful family.
“A completely captivating comedy.” — Philadelphia Inquirer
“Exudes a welcome and congenial air of humanity.” — Christian Science Monitor
“Engaging and pleasant preposterous comedy.” — New York News

Performances are Thu-Sat 7:30 PM and Sun 3 PM

Theatre Knoxville Downtown, 800 S. Central Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information & tickets: 865-544-1999, www.theatreknoxville.com