Charles Dickens as a character in his "A Christmas Carol," indebted to the miserly Scrooge? Catawba College's Blue Masque production of A Christmas Carol offers this for theatre-goers to consider, breaking with the standard Hollywood production of this work.
"From the initial street side greeting of audience members trekking down the hill to the Florence Busby Corriher Theatre to Tiny Tim's now famous 'God Bless Us, Everyone,' this experience of A Christmas Carol is site specific, intimate, and filled with humor and the sights, sounds and smells of the season," says the director, Theatre Arts Professor Linda Kesler. "John Stephens' adaptation of the tale allows us to encounter early Victorian London, with its interesting mix of disappearing Christmas traditions, changing social expectations, debtors' prisons, enterprising industrialists, child laborers, joyful families, homelessness, and unlikely communities setting the stage for Ebenezer Scrooge and his journey to redemption."
Cast members include junior Jesse Hunter of Powder Springs, Ga., as Scrooge; junior Jordan Hunt of Hartford, Wis., as Marley; junior Robby Lutfy of Charlotte as Bob Cratchit; junior Jennifer Short of Jersey City, N.J., as Mrs. Crachit; freshman Mara Stewart of Hurricane, W. Va., as Martha Cratchit; sophomore Joshua Hodgson of High Point, as Peter Cratchit; senior Sarah Koerner of Rocky Mount, as the Ghost of Christmas Past; junior Meghan McLaughlin of Owings Mills, Md., as the Ghost of Christmas Present; sophomore Meg Schneider of Berlin, Conn., as the Ghost of Christmas Future; freshman James Adams of Eden as Fred; junior Sara Johnson of Matthews as Rose of the Evening; senior Robyn Shute of Salisbury as Mrs. Dilber; sophomore Eleanor Withrow of Abingdon, Md., and senior Lydia Price of Boynton Beach, Fla., both as carolers and Fine Ladies; sophomore Meggie Bumgarner of Newton as the Lost Child; sophomore Kathryn "Katie" Alexander of Vidalia, Ga., as various children; freshman Kat Tierney of Smyrna, Ga., as the Lone Musician; sophomore Frank Neuman of Chevy Chase, Md., as Charles Dickens; and local 6-year-old Hans Roemer playing Boy Scrooge and Tiny Tim. Also be aware that many of these performers play additional characters which people the streets of London and Scrooge's ghostly travels.
Crew members include junior Justin Duncan of Raeford, stage manager; junior Patricia Adkins of Salisbury, assistant stage manager; junior Sean Williams of Suffolk, Va., lighting designer; sophomore Allen Jones of Greensboro, set designer; junior Nicole Durant of Fairview, costume designer; senior Sarah Koerner of Rocky Mount, hair and makeup designer; sophomore Alexander Copeland of Clinton, S.C., and sophomore Matt Lewis of Newark, Md., technicians; senior Ashleigh Herndon of Conway, S.C., choreographer; and senior Justin Johnson of Fuquay-Varina, dialect coach.
A Christmas Carol will be performed in the Florence Busby Corriher Theatre on Catawba's campus at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 30; at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 1; and at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 2. Patrons of the Blue Masque have a special performance dedicated to them, and for them, on Thursday, Nov. 29. Due to the limited seating capacity of this theatre (fewer than 100 seats per performance) reservations are strongly suggested.
This production is intended to support the "Complete-the-Seats" project for the Florence Busby Corriher Theatre, so tickets are $10 for everyone. For more information, please call the Catawba College Box Office at 704-637-4481.
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