The biggest title on Barter Theatre's holiday marquee this year came from Broadway. Elf the Musical has a book by Thomas Meehan and Bob Martin, music by Matthew Sklar and lyrics by Chad Beguelin, and it opens on the Gilliam Stage on Saturday, November 14. Barter's own playwright wrote the other two.
Catherine Bush, Barter's playwright-in-residence, wrote Wooden Snowflakes at the Smith Theatre. She also wrote the book and lyrics for Here Comes Suzy Snowflake, the Barter Players' new musical for younger audiences, with music by Dax Dupuy. So one resident writer has two of this season's three holiday shows. Her two shows open within three days of each other in Thanksgiving week, which makes that week a different kind of night out from Elf.
Three shows, two stages, one writer twice
Barter's main building and the Smith Theatre face each other across West Main Street. The Gilliam Stage is at 127 West Main, and the Smith Theatre is at 110 West Main. Two of the holiday shows share the Gilliam Stage.
| Show | Written by | Stage | Runs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elf the Musical | Thomas Meehan & Bob Martin, book; Matthew Sklar, music; Chad Beguelin, lyrics | Gilliam Stage, 127 W. Main | Nov. 14 – Dec. 27 |
| Wooden Snowflakes | Catherine Bush | Smith Theatre, 110 W. Main | Nov. 22 – Dec. 27 |
| Here Comes Suzy Snowflake | Catherine Bush, book & lyrics; Dax Dupuy, music | Gilliam Stage, 127 W. Main | Nov. 24 – Dec. 24 |
Elf is the big-cast production. Ashley Campos directs and choreographs, Zacchaeus Kimbrell plays Buddy and Natalie Crane plays Jovie. The two Bush shows are aimed at audiences at opposite ends of the age range, and that's the most useful thing to know when you're picking tickets.
Wooden Snowflakes is a return visit
Wooden Snowflakes isn't new to Barter. Bush's Barter biography already listed it among her plays produced at the theater, next to The Quiltmaker, Tradin' Paint, The Road to Appomattox and Walking Across Egypt. Visit Abingdon calls it an original holiday production by the resident playwright, and the play has already been staged at Barter.
The story is small and set on one night. On December 24, Eve Lawson's car slides off an icy Kentucky road. She ends up sheltering at the home of Simon Peter Whitaker, a woodcarver who loves the season as much as she has turned against it. Kelly Strand plays Eve, Joe Veale plays Simon, and Carrie Smith Lewis directs. Barter's show page carries a content advisory for mild language and sexual situations. With two actors in the Smith Theatre, it's the grown-up option of the three.
Suzy Snowflake is the new one
Here Comes Suzy Snowflake is the premiere-season piece. Barter's show page calls it a "brand new musical tale." Seven-year-old Maggie Rose Tuggle lives in Wintertown and waits all year for the first snow, because that's when her friend Suzy, a snowflake, comes to play. Then her parents decide to spend the holidays in Florida. Barter has posted a production study guide for the show on the same page.
The Barter Players are the company that makes theater for Barter's younger audiences, and Bush has written more than twenty-five plays for them. Suzy also falls in the first year of new leadership. Barter announced that Sarah Van Deusen became artistic director of the Barter Players on January 6, 2026. That makes this her first holiday season with the company, and a new Bush musical is what's on the calendar.
How the shows line up with downtown's November
Barter's opening dates fall right alongside the town's own holiday kickoff. Here's how the stretch from the Elf opening through Thanksgiving week looks on Barter's listings and the town's calendar.
- Saturday, November 14. Elf opens on the Gilliam Stage with performances at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
- Wednesday, November 18. Elf has a 10:30 a.m. weekday performance.
- Saturday, November 21. Downtown's Merchant Open House runs from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Town Tree Lighting follows from 5 to 6 p.m. on the Abingdon Visitor Center lawn. Elf has performances at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. the same day.
- Sunday, November 22. Wooden Snowflakes opens at the Smith Theatre with a 3 p.m. performance.
- Tuesday, November 24. Here Comes Suzy Snowflake opens at 10 a.m. on the Gilliam Stage, and Wooden Snowflakes plays at 2 p.m. across the street.
Thanksgiving week is when Bush's two scripts come out together. On the Tuesday before the holiday, a family could see the new children's musical in the morning and an adult could see the two-hander that afternoon, a few hundred feet apart on West Main.
On the 21st, the 7:30 Elf curtain comes after the tree lighting ends at 6 p.m., so you can do the open house, the lighting and the show on one Saturday. The Festival of Trees also opens that day and runs through December 31, with decorated trees on the Fields-Penn lawn and inside the Visitor Center. You vote for a favorite tree by donating nonperishable food, pet supplies, school supplies or money, and the proceeds go to local charities.
December 5 and the Saturday mornings around it
The second big downtown date is the Abingdon Christmas Parade on Saturday, December 5, at 5:30 p.m. The Town of Abingdon announced it on October 10. The Kiwanis Club of Abingdon takes registrations for businesses, churches and organizations that want to march, through abingdonkiwanis.org. The route runs down historic Main Street, past both Barter stages. If you want a show on parade day, Barter's ticket page has the December performance times.
Saturday mornings have their own routine. Under the Abingdon Farmers Market's 2026 rules, the Holiday Market runs from the first Saturday in November through the Saturday before Christmas, 10 a.m. to noon. That makes December 19 the last one this year. The market is at 100 Remsburg Drive and posts schedule updates on Facebook. A December 5 that starts at the market and ends at the parade works without driving anywhere else.
The Barter calendar winds down just before the new year. Suzy Snowflake closes December 24, the day Wooden Snowflakes is set. Elf and Wooden Snowflakes both close December 27.
Dinner before the curtain, at the corner of Main and Court
The newest pre-show option downtown is Founders Keep Rooftop & Cellar, an Italian restaurant at the corner of Main and Court streets. Josh Fuller, owner of The Tavern, owns and runs it with Jeremiah Kiser. In September, Fuller told followers on social media, as WJHL reported, that the goal was "great Italian food, a beautiful historic setting, and an experience centered around local roots and lasting traditions."
The Bristol Herald Courier describes it as Abingdon's only rooftop venue. The pasta, pizza dough and sauces are made from scratch. Rooftop seating looks out over Main Street and is open weather permitting. In late November and December, the cellar dining room is probably the better bet before a 7:30 Elf or a parade-night dinner.
Thanksgiving week this year opens two Catherine Bush plays on West Main, and they make a good way to spend the holidays without leaving town. If you're thinking about a home within walking distance of Barter's two stages, or about what your place near downtown would bring on today's market, Denise Blevins knows these streets. Start with your instant home valuation, and we can talk it over before the parade.
