"A Christmas Carol" is a story about celebrating a tradition, especially though spirit. When the nexStage and Laughing Stock theaters thought about taking a hiatus for this year, they had to quickly dispel the idea because of the overwhelming public interest in auditions for this year's production.
"This is the fourth year and everything has changed," said co-director Patsy Wygle. "We had 60 kids come to auditions. Most different is we have four Scrooges of different ages."
Wygle said she asked participants why they wanted to be a part of the production. Over 60 replies included reasons such as "I love acting," "I love working with these great people," "I meet new friends" and "'A Christmas Carol' is the best."
This year's performance features several families participating in the show, and the age range for the performers spans from 4 to 70. In addition, co-director Keith Moore had no choice but to continue his role of Bob Cratchit, as did actor Steve d'Smith as Scrooge, who literally grew into the part with his sideburns.
A special addition to this year's show will be the fun and exciting musical accompaniment of Paul Tillotson. Tillotson is one of the valley's most celebrated winter performers, playing with his trio in Sun Valley's Duchin Room.
"A Christmas Carol--The Musical," was written by Charles Dickens and adapted by Mark Waldrop with music by Dick Gallagher. The show will open at the nexStage Theatre in Ketchum on Friday, Dec. 18, and will have shows through Wednesday, Dec. 23, all at 7 p.m. The final performance on Thursday, Dec. 24, will be a matinee performance at 2 p.m.
Tickets are $35 for reserved seats, $25 general seating and $10 for students. Tickets are available at the nexStage or by calling 726-4857.
Sabina Dana Plasse: splasse@mtexpress.com
Laughing Stock and nexStage theaters present a holiday tradition, “A Christmas Carol–The Musical,” at the nexStage Theatre in Ketchum. Photo by David N. Seelig
