Scarborough Players bring A Christmas Carol to the stage from Dec. 1 to 16
Scarborough players production of Charles Dickens’ classic A Christmas Carol will take the stage from Dec. 1 to 16 at the Scarborough Village Theatre.
A Christmas Carol was published on Dec. 19, 1843 and sold out within six days. It was then adapted for the stage eight times in 1844. Its universal themes of family, social responsibility and redemption, accounts for the enormous continuing popularity of the story in all its incarnations.
Scarborough Players chose John Jakes’ adaptation of A Christmas Carol for its unique dramatic concept. Dickens is introduced, and enters the stage, ready to present one of the famed platform readings of his stories that packed auditoriums in Europe and North America.
And so, he opens the show with his beloved Christmas classic:
“To begin with Marley was dead…Old Marley was dead as a doornail…This must be understood or nothing wonderful can come of this story I am about to relate.”
Ebenezer Scrooge is a miserly man of business and a curmudgeon who cares nothing for Christmas cheer. He answers every “Merry Christmas” with a “bah humbug!”, until one Christmas Eve he is visited by three spirits.
They are the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future who set out to show Ebenezer the error of his ways.
Audience members are invited to join Dickens as he takes them on Scrooge’s ghostly journey to redemption with help from the characters generations have all come to love.
This timeless holiday classic reminds us each year that it is never too late to become a better person.
For this production of A Christmas Carol, Scarborough Players welcomes back director Katherine Turner who is enjoying the opportunity of bringing the play to life.
Turner last directed Players’ production of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.
Once again, an extraordinary creative team is putting the show together. The team includes set design by Tony Jones; lighting magic from Chris Northey; sound design by Bodene Corbitt; and prop coordination by Eileen Dalton.
The challenging task of costuming 20 actors playing multiple roles, has been taken on by the super Costume Squad – Valerie Lusted, Jane Allen, Hayley McCormick, Mary Nowlan and friends. Stage manager Wendy Miller returns for this production, supported by assistant stage manager June Watkins.
The cast includes Scarborough Players’ veteran actors, Greg Nowlan, Chip Thompson, Dave Corbitt, Caleb Upshaw, Larry Westlake, John Pirker, Neil Kulin, Alma Sinan, Rhonda Upshaw, and Mary Nowlan.
Also on stage will be newcomers Paul Coady, Melissa Wood, Victoria Badham, Jamie Obregon, Tala Fayad, Gerald Seaward, and Matthew Thomas along with young actors Zev Stone, Avery Gouge and Raya Talunay.
Throughout the production run of A Christmas Carol, Scarborough Players will be hosting a food drive for Feed Scarborough.
Those attending are asked to please bring a food donation to support families in need. In December, Feed Scarborough projects that it will serve more than 30,000 people at its six food banks.
To order tickets for A Christmas Carol, or for more information about Scarborough Players, please visit https://app.arts-people.com/index.php?ticketing=tscar or call 416-267-9292.
The Scarborough Village Theatre is located at 3600 Kingston Rd. on the northeast corner of Kingston and Markham roads.
