Dale Place as Scrooge Submitted photo
This holiday season, for one weekend only, The Public Theatre will present its acclaimed adaptation of “A Christmas Carol” on Dec. 8, 9, and 10. This inventive version, performed by six actors and a fiddler, was developed and written for The Public Theatre by Co-Artistic Director Christopher Schario in 1993, and has since been published and performed by theaters around the world and is now a Lewiston/Auburn tradition.
“There’s a great reason why this story is told during the holidays and will never go away,” says author Schario. “It’s unfortunately become too easy for the true meaning of the season to get overwhelmed by shopping sales, but somehow watching Scrooge’s journey in this play always awakens my holiday spirit and gets me ready to celebrate Christmas.”
Another thing worth celebrating, according to Schario, is The Public Theatre’s ticket price of only $15 for children 18 and under. “With our $15 youth ticket, we are hoping to introduce today’s children to the magic of professional theatre and give them a gift they’ll have for the rest of their lives.”
With all the different versions of “A Christmas Carol” out in the world, The Public Theatre’s adaptation remains many people’s favorite. “We stay true to the heart of the story, while at the same time telling it with a sense of playfulness and imagination,” says Schario. “Much of Dickens’ original text is used, as six actors and a fiddler grab a handful of props and your imagination and joyfully bring Dickens’ language and characters to life. Creating a magical atmosphere with live music, a hand-cranked wind machine and a thunder sheet, the audience’s imagination is free to soar, and this classic story comes to life in a way you’ve never seen before.”
The Public Theatre’s version begins with a child reading a copy of Dickens’ novel. As the child reads, five actors and a fiddler magically appear and slowly coax the child into joining the story and becoming the character of Tiny Tim. It’s a marvelous metaphor for the way literature grabs and transforms us.
Leading the cast of “A Christmas Carol” will be Dale Place in the role of Scrooge. Dale has appeared on Broadway opposite Mary Louise Parker in Heisenberg and off-Broadway at Lincoln Center, The Public Theatre’s Shakespeare in the Park and Manhattan Theatre Club, among others. He is also a familiar face to Public Theatre audiences having appeared onstage in Human Error, Lend Me a Tenor and Deathtrap, among others.
The rest of the cast features Russell Berrigan as Marley, Nicholas Perron as Christmas Present, Sheila Stasack as Mrs. Cratchit, McKenna Canty as Belle and local young actor Simon Golob in the role of the child/Tiny Tim. Fiddle music for the production will be performed by local fiddler Beck Welling.
With a top ticket price of only $30 for adults, and $15 for children 18 and under, it’s professional theatre at a price even Scrooge would love. Gift certificates for any production throughout the remainder of the season are also available for the holidays.
“A Christmas Carol” will be performed on Dec. 8 at 7 p.m.; Dec. 9 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.; and Dec. 10 at 2 p.m. For tickets visit thepublictheatre.org or call 207-782-3200.
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