“There is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humour.”
These words by Charles Dickens will no doubt be proven true during A Christmas Carol Comedy — this year’s holiday production from New Stages Theatre, which runs for six performances from December 11 to 15 at Market Hall Performing Arts Centre in downtown Peterborough.
You may have read the book and watched all the movies, but you’ve never experienced a version of Dickens’ tale like this one, written by Canadian playwright Katie Leamen, where one actor plays Ebenezer Scrooge and another actor performs all the other roles.
With shades of Monty Python, A Christmas Carol Comedy is a delightfully silly and charming re-telling of the holiday classic suitable for the entire family.
Directed by New Stages Theatre’s artistic director Mark Wallace, the play promises improv, holiday spirit, and a lot of laughter, with Linda Kash taking on her most miserly role to date as the iconic Scrooge, while Canadian Comedy Award winner Kerry Griffin will play the sweet Bob Cratchit, the ghostly Marley, the adorable Tiny Tim, and, well, every other character.
In the unlikely case you’re unfamiliar with A Christmas Carol, Dickens’ 1843 novella tells the tale of an elderly, greedy, Christmas-despising miser who rethinks his attitude after he is visited by the ghost of his former business partner Jacob Marley as well as the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future. Published on December 19, 1843, the first run of 6,000 copies sold out by Christmas Eve, and Dickens himself performed over 127 public readings of the story from 1849 until his death in 1870.
Since the early 1900s, there have been more than 100 adaptations of the story for stage and screen, including spin-offs like the 1988 black comedy Scrooged with Bill Murray and the 2022 musical comedy Spirited with Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds, with 1951’s Scrooge starring Alastair Sim in the titular role perhaps the most popular version and considered by many to be the most faithful film adaptation.
As for Katie Leamen’s comic take, New Stages Theatre’s production will mark 10 years since No Porpoise Productions premiered A Christmas Carol Comedy in Waterford, Ontario in 2014. The play has since been re-staged in Toronto and across Ontario and had its sold-out U.S. premiere at Pennsylvania’s Hedgerow Theatre Company in 2022. Last year’s production by the same company also saw sold-out audiences.
“Like Dickens, I believe the world can change if we choose joy, generosity, and goodwill,” said Leamen to Broadway World ahead of the 2022 U.S. premiere. “We all deserve more laughs, kind words, and rubber chicken gags.”
If it’s hard to imagine the always-delightful Kash — who is also starring in a new, soon-to-be-released holiday film titled Auld Lang Syne — as the largest “humbug” of them all, she admitted to kawarthaNOW in a previous interview that, while “it’s a challenge” to play such an iconic character, she knew it would be “so much fun.”
“For a character this known, I want to take the opportunity to really dive into the character and find the voice, so you’re not seeing Linda as Scrooge — I want you to see Scrooge,” she said. “I’m not going to comment on the character, I’m going to do the character. So I’ve got my work cut out for me.”
Fortunately for Kash, she has been studying the character her whole life, noting the story was always “a part of my childhood” and was also important to her after she became a parent.
“It’s just imprinted on me,” she said. “I love the story, I love the journey, I love the characters. My kids watched the Muppet version enough to know it backwards, so it’ll be really fun to do it in a two-person show.”
Kash’s co-star Kerry Griffin clearly has an appreciation for holiday cult classics too, having performed as Mr. Potter and a dozen other characters in New Stages Theatre’s successful production of It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play last December.
“He’s going to crush it,” said Kash. “He’s so funny, so wonderful, and was great in the holiday show last season. We just love our Kerry.”
Adding to the all-star local line-up is local legend Beau Dixon, an award-winning musician, composer, director, playwright, and actor who has appeared on stage with Toronto’s Soulpepper Theatre Company and the Stratford Festival and on screen in the critically acclaimed television series Station Eleven and The Expanse.
With a lengthy music career spanning more than two decades, Dixon has toured his own music extensively and has also composed for television, film, and radio.
As the musical director for A Christmas Carol Comedy, Dixon will be rolling out the festive tunes and cheerful vibes. He will also lead a relaxed holiday sing-along which will start 30 minutes before each performance, and will be accompanying the play with his musical stylings.
Behind the scenes, Brad Brackenridge and Adam Whaley are serving as New Stages Theatre’s set and prop builders, while Jen Naus is the costume designer and Bobcaygeon’s Jennine Profeta is the stage manager.
A Christmas Carol Comedy opens on Wednesday, December 11th and runs until Sunday, December 15th, with 7 p.m. performances every day until Saturday, and a 2 p.m. matinee performances on Saturday and Sunday.
At $40 for general admission seating ($20 for children, students, arts workers, and the under-employed), tickets can be purchased in person at the Market Hall box office (140 Charlotte St, Peterborough), by phone at 705-775-1503, or online at tickets.markethall.org.
For more information about New Stages Theatre and its 2024-25 season, visit www.newstages.ca.
kawarthaNOW is proud to be media sponsor of New Stages Theatre Company’s 2024-25 season.
