Move over, Boulder: There’s a new town in town.

On Dec. 7, The Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company (BETC) is set to premiere its latest production based on the fictional town of Moose Pass, Alaska: “Holly, Alaska!,” a new musical comedy crafted for audiences of all ages.

The play, which runs through Dec. 31 at the Dairy Center, shares the story of a merry band of starry-eyed theater folks trying to set a world record by putting on the town’s 120th holiday spectacular.

Written by Matt Zambrano and Frank Oden, “Holly, Alaska!” is the result of a creative collaboration aiming to bring together families and new audiences. With a strong focus on community and holiday cheer that is sure to give viewers that warm fuzzy feeling, the show represents a significant step in BETC’s mission to engage a wider audience, particularly younger viewers.

Producing Artistic Director Jessica Robblee expressed her excitement about the project, highlighting it as a key part of BETC’s new direction.

“My background includes twelve seasons of creating original work for kids and families, so I am really excited to continue offering programming for gigglers of all ages. ‘Holly, Alaska!’ is a major part of that,” Robblee said. “I took the helm of Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company this past summer, and from the get-go, we wanted so much to welcome new audiences to connect with the stories and artists of BETC. We’re inviting everyone we can think of — young people and families, especially — to come out and see this story together.”

The musical comedy was born from a specific request to Zambrano to create a holiday show that would appeal to a multi-generational audience. Zambrano and Robblee had worked together “many moons ago”, on an all-ages live superhero sitcom at Buntport Theater in Denver.

“Jess [Robblee] knew that I had a penchant and desire and excitement around writing all ages theater, and she reached out to me to see if I would be interested in taking on the job, which I accepted with enthusiasm,” Zambrano said.

Enthusiasm was an understatement. Zambrano pitched three ideas to Robblee and Ragan: the first titled “All By My Elf”, a story about a group of elves who are tasked with cleaning duty following a post-Christmas rager at the North Pole on December 26th; The second, called “Hanksgiving,” a futuristic tale about a civilization living on mars who worship Tom Hanks as an all-knowing deity; And the third and final pitch, a fable about a group of theater actors who put on a holiday production in a tiny town in the middle of nowhere, Alaska — the chosen winner.

“Holly, Alaska!” follows a group of community theater actors In the minuscule town of Holly, Alaska, who have been keeping the tradition of the town’s annual Holly Daze Spectacular! alive for 119 years. In the lead-up to what will be a record-breaking 120th show, the gang is faced with several hurdles: the daunting task of staging a production, coupled with the capricious Alaskan climate and wild animals running amok. If they can pull it off, however, Holly will make it into the Guinness Book of World Records — proving to their rival town of Ivy once and for all which town is the best in the cold northwest.

According to Zambrano, “Holly, Alaska!” has a little bit of something for everyone: There’s puppetry, original songs, dance numbers, stellar costume and set design, and many giggles to be giggled — a play that is as sure to make people smile, as much as it will make them go “awwwww.”

“In a lot of ways, I think the show is a little bit of a valentine to theater-making. Anybody who has ever had to put on a play will see in this the sort of creative process, and the idea of collaboration that exists in theater, especially when you have a really short deadline. More often than not, we don’t always have everything we want or need to make theater.

“But, I’ve seen great theater that was just three actors and a rainstick, and I’ve seen terrible theater that was probably millions of dollars in budget and made me feel dead inside. I think if anything, this show celebrates the notion that as long as a group of people are working towards the same goal and have a positive attitude and believe in themselves and each other, they can accomplish great things,” he added.

Audiences can catch “Holly, Alaska!” at the Grace Gamm Theatre from Dec. 7 to Dec. 31, with multiple Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday showings. Tickets for the show are on sale now at https://thedairy.org/betchollyalaska/, with prices starting at $16.95 for students and $45.20 for adults.