A double dose…

The December to Remember celebration of Christmas entertainment continues at the Niswonger this weekend. This double feature of holiday hits and hilarity is made complete with the arrival of revered a capella artist, Home Free, and the return of the crafty, cunning, and comedic Church Basement ladies. With back-to-back nights serving up harmonies and ha-ha-has, the Van Wert Live will then turn out the lights for a deserved rest until the spring season launches in 2024 with entertainment anew.

At 8 p.m. Saturday night, all-vocal country entertainers Home Free will perform to a sold-out Niswonger audience. This a capella sensation has made its mark on the music scene, racking up nearly 600,000 album equivalents globally, embarking on major international tours, amassing more than 630 million views and over 1.6 million subscribers on YouTube, and being declared “country music fans’ favorite a capella group.”

Their Home Free for the Holidays tour showcases songs from previous albums featuring festive staples, memorable collaborations, and Home Free originals all guaranteed to get you in the holiday spirit. For those fortunate to have a ticket, expect a perfect evening mixed with upbeat, Nashville-dipped pop hits, country and western standards, incredible harmony, and quick-witted humor.

Then at 2 p.m. Sunday, out of the basement comes a Church Basement program of good tidings, great humor and joy! The ladies are serving it up again! This time around it’s an all-new musical comedy Away in the Basement: A Church Basement Ladies Christmas.

Away in the Basement takes us back to 1959 and the day of the Sunday School Christmas Program. Amid holiday preparations and sprinklings of love in the air, the ladies in their witty, down-to-earth style are creating their memories from Christmases past and present. Content to do things the way they have always been done yet pondering new ideas, the reality of everyday life hits home as they plan the Sunday School Christmas Program. As the children rehearse up in the sanctuary, several of the ladies of the kitchen are finishing up the treat bags filled with apples, peanuts, and ribbon candy while the others put the final touches on the nativity pieces. As they mend old bathrobe costumes, and discuss the politics of who’s going to play the various roles, little do the ladies know what surprises are in store for them. Known for their hilarious antics and subtle charm, they are once again called upon to step in and save the day!

Tickets remain at vanwertlive.com or 419.238.6722 for this final installment of the Church Basement Ladies whom we have grown to laugh with and love at The Niswonger. We hope you will join us for a weekend of awe, wonder, and wild laughter as together we bid 2023 adieu and look forward to all things new at The Niswonger, your destination for live entertainment.