in 1997, artistic director paul whitworth introduced the ssc annual winter holiday season. in keeping with the tradition of shakespeare santa cruz’s fresh take on the classics, the holiday shows were original musicals written for ssc by playwright kate hawley with music composed by gregg coffin, craig bohmler and adam wernick. a fusion of the traditions of the british pantomime and the american musical, "cinderella", "gretel and hansel", "the princess and the pea" and "sleeping beauty" were based on traditional fairy tales and appeal to audiences of all ages. the winter season performed in november and december.