Trinity Rep in Providence will once again celebrate the magic of the holiday season with the 30th anniversary production of Charles Dickens’ "A Christmas Carol." Under the direction of artistic director Curt Columbus, "A Christmas Carol " is adapted by Adrian Hall and Richard Cumming. Performances are set for November 17 through December 31.

Columbus will be infusing this timeless tale of the power of forgiveness with all-new elements as well as gigantic puppets from award-winning artist Blair Thomas. 

Columbus commented, " I've always felt that the show was for the inner six-year-old in each of us. It's a wonderful story and this year we are presenting it as a fantastic children's book come to life."

Company favorites Timothy Crowe and William Damkoehler share the role of Scrooge (at alternating performances) against a backdrop of magical special effects.

This year's production also features a children's choir recreating the musical soundscape of the play. Columbus explains, "I was looking for that certain quality in children's voices – that one moment they can be the purest and most beautiful sound imaginable, and the next moment they can sound so wonderfully eerie."

As for the puppetry elements, he explains, "People hear 'puppets' and think Lamb Chop – not these! Scrooge sends a life-size puppet version of himself out into the world, so he can stay behind and keep counting his money. We did plaster casts of the faces of the actors playing Scrooge, so the puppets truly look like them."

Columbus has assembled the largest children's cast ever, which includes a cast & chorus of almost 80 children age 8-12 from across Rhode Island and Massachusetts. The two rotating casts also include Trinity Rep company members Janice Duclos, Mauro Hantman, Phyllis Kay, Cynthia Strickland, Anne Scurria, Fred Sullivan, Jr., Stephen Thorne and Joe Wilson, Jr.

Rounding out the casts are local actors Mat Arruda, Peter Deffet, Richard Donelly, Marya Errin Jones, Mark Peckham and Sean Hopkins along with Brown/Trinity Rep Consortium students Diana Buirski, Morgan Dover-Pearl, Nick Few, Jason Hart, Charlie Hudson III and Rama Marshall.

For tickets and information, stop by the box office at 201 Washington Street in Providence, call 401-351-4242 or visit www.trinityrep.com.

Note, the first performance on November 17th at 8:00 p.m. is Pay What You Can (PWYC) sponsored by The Rhode Island Lottery. PWYC tickets go on sale in the box office at 7:00 p.m. that evening with a limit of one ticket per person.

-- OnStage Boston

10/30/06