The Charles Dickens classic, ‘A Christmas Carol,’ is getting a Bucks County Playhouse twist
The Times
One of the most beloved Christmas stories ever written takes on a decidedly New Hope twist when Bucks County Playhouse premieres the new comedy Ebenezer Scrooge’s Big Playhouse Christmas Show Dec. 8 through Dec. 31.
Producers Robyn Goodman, Alexander Fraser, Stephen Kocis and Josh Fiedler announced the new show which is written by the Broadway team of Gordon Greenberg (Irving Berlin’s Holiday Inn) and Steve Rosen (The Other Josh Cohen). It is directed by Josh Rhodes (Broadway’s Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella).
Terrorizing the good citizens of Bucks County, Ebenezer Scrooge rediscovers the spirit of Christmas in this riotous Dickens mashup set in New Hope. All the traditional elements of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol are intact — including the iconic ghosts of Christmases Past, Present and Future — comically reimagined. The authors have rebooted the story, charging five talented actors with the task of playing nearly three dozen roles while infusing the show with a lot of comedy and harnessing the energetic joy of the season.
The cast stars Broadway veteran Don Stephenson as Scrooge. Stephenson has appeared on Broadway in The Producers, Parade, Dracula, Titanic and Rock of Ages. He is joined by Evan Alexander Smith (Broadway’s Amazing Grace), Kate Wetherhead (Broadway’s Legally Blonde and BCP’s Company), James Ludwig (Broadway’s Monty Python’s Spamalot) and Tracey Conyer Lee (BEDBUGS!!! IT’S A MUSICAL Off-Broadway).
With the world premiere, there is a special gift-giving package available at the theater. This adaptation offers the opportunity for local theater-lovers and aspiring thespians to join a cast of five Broadway actors on the historic Playhouse stage with Scene-Stealers: Scrooge’s Big Playhouse Performance Gift Package.
This package includes a two-hour workshop to learn and rehearse their roles, a costume fitting, box lunch, tour of the Playhouse backstage, ‘put-in’ rehearsal on the mainstage with the cast, pre-show prep in theater dressing room and performance of the show for the Bucks County audience. Each performance will be followed by Christmas carols in the Playhouse courtyard.
The cost is $150 per participant with a special discount on tickets for family members. For more information, visit bcptheater.org/donate/education- programming/scene-stealers-christmas- show/. The gift is appropriate for anyone ages 9 to 99.
To book Scene-Stealers: Scrooge’s Big Playhouse Performance Gift Package, call the BCP Box Office at 215–862–2121. For more information, contact Ellen Gallos at 267–740–2090 ext. 106 or ellen@bcptheater.org.
Tickets to Ebenezer Scrooge’s Big Playhouse Christmas Show range from $40- $75. Special rates for groups of 10 or more. For complete details and to purchase tickets, visit buckscountyplayhouse.org, call 215–862–2121 or visit the box office at 70 S. Main St, New Hope. ••
