In the fall of 2022, Williamston Theatre had no Christmas show. Artistic director Tony Caselli had asked for the rights to "The Sherlock Holmes Christmas Spoof" and was still waiting for an answer. Someone close to the theater offered to write a show himself, using the pen name Robert Hawlmark. Caselli told him to try it. The Lansing State Journal reported the story that November.
Hawlmark had never written a play. He finished this one in 30 days, and he set it in Williamston.
Four years later, that stand-in show has a sequel. "A Lansing Christmas Adventure" opens its run on Thursday, Nov. 19. It runs six weeks, which is longer than any other event on Williamston's holiday calendar. That length shapes the whole season. The Winter Wonderland weekend and both Farm & Artisan Holiday Markets fall inside the play's run.
A Hallmark parody with a Putnam Street address
The first show, "A Very Williamston Christmas," spoofed the made-for-TV holiday romance. Before writing, Hawlmark watched Hallmark movies on YouTube to study the formula.
"I watched 10 of them and I definitely saw many patterns," Hawlmark told the Lansing State Journal.
The plot followed the formula on purpose. A young woman with a big-city career gets sent home for the holidays by her boss. Home turns out to be Williamston, where she reconnects with an old flame from high school. According to the paper, the cast played it straight, and Hawlmark said that was what made it funny. The show ran Nov. 23 to Dec. 23, 2022, at the theater at 122 S. Putnam.
That same article mentioned that Hawlmark hoped to license the play to other small-town theaters. They could swap in their own town's name, as in "A Very [your town] Christmas." The sequel takes the story outward instead, into the wider Lansing area.
This year, Danny heads into Lansing
The theater's 2026-2027 season brochure bills "A Lansing Christmas Adventure" as a world premiere. Its show page calls it "the long-awaited sequel to A VERY WILLIAMSTON CHRISTMAS." Robert Hawlmark wrote it again, and Tony Caselli directs again.
On Christmas Eve, a boy named Danny hears troubling news about Santa Claus. He sets out on a snowy night to find the truth, "across familiar Lansing pit stops," meeting new friends along the way. The storm gets worse as Christmas morning gets closer. The show's own description ends with the line "Yes, Danny; there is a Santa Claus."
The cast is Connor Allston, Jamie Elvey, Patrick Loos and Emily Sutton-Smith.
The first show was funny because the audience knew the town on stage. The sequel uses the same idea on a bigger map. Anyone who drives into Lansing for work, errands or dinner will likely recognize some of Danny's stops.
The run, date by date
Tickets have been on sale since Oct. 27. The schedule has a few dates that are easy to miss:
- Thursday, Nov. 19, 7:30 p.m.: Pay-What-You-Wish night, the first public performance.
- Friday, Nov. 20, 7:30 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 21 and 22, 2:00 p.m.: previews.
- Thursday, Nov. 26: no performance on Thanksgiving.
- Friday, Nov. 27: an extra 2:00 p.m. matinee, then opening night at 7:30 p.m.
- Saturday, Nov. 28: Military Matinee.
- Sunday, Dec. 13: Conversation Sunday.
- Wednesday, Dec. 23: extra performances at 2:00 and 7:30 p.m.
- Thursday and Friday, Dec. 24 and 25: no performances.
- Sunday, Dec. 27: the run closes.
Previews and Pay-What-You-Wish night are the cheapest ways in, but they come early in the run. The theater's 2026-2027 season brochure lists these prices:
| Ticket | Price, 2026-2027 season |
|---|---|
| Regular performances | $46 |
| Preview performances | $23 |
| Students, any performance, with valid ID | $15 |
| Patrons 30 or under, any performance, with valid ID | $30 |
| Seniors 65+ | $2 off regular tickets |
| Military | $2 off regular tickets |
| Groups | Discounts for 10 or more |
| Ticket fee | $2 per ticket |
Senior, military and group discounts don't apply to preview performances, according to the brochure. So the preview weekend of Nov. 20 to 22 is the low-cost window for most households. After opening night, the price goes to $46.
The six weeks, with everything else placed inside them
This is where the play's long run matters. Every other date on Williamston's holiday calendar falls between Nov. 19 and Dec. 27.
| Date | What's happening | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Thu., Nov. 19 | Play opens with Pay-What-You-Wish night | Williamston Theatre |
| Sun., Nov. 22 | Farm & Artisan Holiday Market, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; 2:00 p.m. preview at the theater | 500 Williamston Center Rd.; Williamston Theatre |
| Fri., Nov. 27 | Opening night, 7:30 p.m. | Williamston Theatre |
| Fri. and Sat., Dec. 4 and 5 | Winter Wonderland Parade & Festivities | Downtown Williamston |
| Sat., Dec. 5 | Holiday Light Parade at 6 p.m., followed by the tree lighting | Downtown Williamston |
| Sun., Dec. 13 | Second Farm & Artisan Holiday Market, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Conversation Sunday at the theater | 500 Williamston Center Rd.; Williamston Theatre |
| Wed., Dec. 23 | Extra performances, 2:00 and 7:30 p.m. | Williamston Theatre |
| Sun., Dec. 27 | Final performance | Williamston Theatre |
Two Sundays have both a market and a theater event. On Nov. 22, the market closes at 2 p.m., the same time the preview matinee starts, so you can't comfortably do both in full. On Dec. 13, the market and Conversation Sunday share the date.
Winter Wonderland weekend
The City of Williamston lists Winter Wonderland Parade & Festivities on its events page for Dec. 4 and 5, 2026, from 3:00 p.m. to 11:45 p.m. Questions go to [email protected].
The Choose Lansing listing names the City of Williamston as presenter. It lists a Cookie Crawl, a Holiday Market and Sleigh Rides, plus the Holiday Light Parade at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 5, followed by the tree lighting.
For a sense of how the weekend usually goes, City Pulse's 2025 holiday calendar described last year's edition. Friday evening was a Jingle & Mingle Ugly Sweater Pub Crawl at several Williamston bars, with an after-party at Williamston Pub. Saturday ran from noon to 8 p.m. with a Christkindl market, Santa, carriage rides, a Santa Dash, the lighted parade and a cookie crawl. The 2025 Santa Dash started at Howard Dahlstrom Memorial Park, according to its Eventbrite registration page. Last year's parade entrants lined up on Jackson Street and checked in at the Commons parking lot by 5:45 p.m., per the city's 2025 parade information sheet. All of these are 2025 details. The city's events page carries this year's specifics.
Winter Wonderland lands right in the middle of the play's run, the second Saturday after opening night. If out-of-town family visits for the parade, the play can be part of the same trip.
Two Sundays on Williamston Center Road
The other repeat date is the Williamston Farm & Artisan Holiday Market, presented by Sowing Growth. This year there are two: Sunday, Nov. 22 and Sunday, Dec. 13, each from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 500 Williamston Center Rd. Admission is free.
The organizers describe it as a place to connect local farmers and artisans with shoppers. You can buy fresh local food and handmade goods "just in time for Christmas." Contact is [email protected], and updates are on the market's Facebook page.
The two market dates fall at both ends of the play's busiest stretch. The first comes during preview weekend. The second comes on Conversation Sunday, two weeks before closing.
Our team at The Whybrew Project loves seeing Williamston fill its own holiday calendar, from a play written here to markets run by local growers. If guests in town for the parade or the play start asking what homes near downtown Williamston are like, we're happy to talk it through. Schedule an appointment whenever it suits your holiday calendar.