This Christmas take a mysterious train journey across Europe from Venice, Italy to Zurich, Switzerland during the waning days of World War I (1916). The award-winning theatrical group North County Players will present the stage thriller, Passage Into Fear, premiering at the California Center for the Arts Escondido over nine shows December 2023.

Passage Into Fear is written and directed by master storyteller Charles Carr (Macmillan, St. Martin's Press, Eldridge Plays and Musicals, Dramatic Publishing, and Heartland Plays) and is inspired by historical events with added characterizations.  The show has been produced at venues across the US.

Passage Into Fear relates the story of an English dowager, Mrs. Lillian Merriweather, who boards the train insisting she knows of a sinister plot with vast international repercussions. And then is promptly done in. Other characters include an American socialite, Kate Hedley, who is on a final fling before returning home to be unhappily married; Ida, a pugnacious 8-year-old Ukrainian war orphan; a United States senator and his wife; a pair of Romanian gypsies who have wandered the European continent most of their lives; a sinister Austrian doctor hiding an immense secret; and a ruthless German countess bent on achieving her evil ends no matter who gets in her way. Kate and Ida join forces to uncover the truth behind Mrs. Merriweather's disappearance, which has its roots in the causes and history of the Great War itself.

While Passage Into Fear is primarily a thriller, the show has many humorous and touching moments as it explores the meanings of home, family, and Christmas.

Passage Into Fear stars Ashley Birtwell, Lena Palke, Alaina Sinclair, Betsy Toker, Marsi Carr,  Neha Ford Curtiss, Charlie DeNatale, John Aviles, Laura Makey, Jeff Makey, and Kadijah  Pointer.

Shows will take place in the Center's Studio 1 theater, an intimate 100 seat venue that gives audiences extraordinary access to all the action and creates a feeling of being right in the middle of the action, complete with colorful sets and costumes, and professional lighting, sound, and music.

Tickets on sale soon at artcenter.org. Enjoy special holiday value seats priced more like movie tickets than most live theater events, with easy parking, refreshments, and comfortable seating.