Sunday, December 02, 2007

A Christmas Carol

Director Susan Davis and Producer Shirley Worthman treated Fine Arts and Theatre Arts audiences to a wonderful portrayal of Israel Horovitz's adaptation of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, the timeless story of the true spirit of Christmas.

As old business partner Jacob Marley (Charly Davis) looked on, Ebenezer Scooge (John Diebel) was transported through time and space first by the Spirit of Christmas Past (Karen Quarnstrom).

Scrooge was reminded of events and friends from early years (younger Scrooge played by a series of guest actors including Liam Conlan, Cody Shrader and Matthew Becker) , including best friend Dick Wilkins (Cody Shrader) and fiance Belle (Kim Czasnojc).
The Spirit of Christmas Present (Jack Petz) showed Scrooge how his miserly ways affected people around him, including the poor (the young chorus of Lindsey Shrader, Maggie Rapai, Liam Conlan, Amanda Shrader, Cody Shrader, Avery Platt, Caroline Forster and Claire Platt), do-gooders wanting to help them (Bernice Platt and Paul Gracey) and his employee Bob Cratchitt and his family (Rob Green, Isabelle Donnelly, Leonie Leslie, Claire Platt and Avery Platt).


He shows the famous twins Ignorance (Liam Conlan) and Want (Lindsey Shrader) to Scrooge with the warning: "This boy is Ignorance. This girl is Want. Beware them both, and all of their degree, but most of all beware this boy, for on his brow I see that written which is Doom, unless the writing be erased."
The Spirit of Christmas Yet to Come (Nancy Radke) then took Scrooge into the future to see the direction his miserly ways would lead, with his fellow businessmen (Matthew Becker, Paul Gracey, Geno Pirrami and fiddle player John Telford) debating even whether to go to his funeral, and scavengers Mrs. Dilber (Lisa Lechniak), Old Joe (Daniel Badia) and friend (Laura Pruitt) fighting over his clothes.
In the end, of course, Scrooge recognizes his errors, shouts out to Adam (Avery Platt) to get a holiday turkey for the Cratchitt family, promises to unite with nephew Fred (Gabriel Camero) and his wife (Kim Czasnocj) and to help all those in need.



And finally the audience was lifted into the Christmas Season by Tiny Tim’s “God bless us, Every-One.”


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