Mark Scarpelli and Dan Kehde’s rock opera, MARY,a Charleston tradition, opens this coming Friday. This is the first production of the show following the death of its composer, Mark Scarpelli, earlier this year, and while it’s bittersweet, it is good to see the tradition carry on.

To get you in the mood for this production by Charleston Youth Arts Company, you can sample a Radio Free Charleston playlist of clips from previous  productions in the video at the top of this post. This year MARY happens at the Elk City Playhouse at 218 W Washington St, Charleston, on the city’s historic West Side.

I’m going to quote from their event page for the rest of this post, but if you haven’t seen MARY: A Rock Opera, you really should…

Scarpelli & Kehde’s annual production of MARY: A Rock Opera returns for its 26th season on Friday, November 25th and runs through December 4th. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for students and seniors.

The story follows Mary, the young girl destined to be the mother of Jesus, through the 9 months prior to the birth of Christ. MARY paints a poignant picture of an ordinary girl thrown into the ultimate of extraordinary circumstances.

The cast features Maddie Wright as Mary, Maddy Solange as Gabriel, Maddy Stull as Elizabeth, Blaize Hurlbutt as Joseph, Mattie Connelly as Herod, and Justin James and David McMahon split the role of Zechariah.

Our angels this year are Erin Martin, Kayla Skidmore, Sophia Mallory, Sara Jo Bender, Erin Cazad, Beaux Reynolds, Katie Marberry, and Julia Carriger.

Seating is limited, so we suggest you purchase tickets ahead of time HERE.