On Stage: Six Takes on A Christmas Carol

We’re no humbugs – Rhode Islanders love the annual tradition of viewing A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens’ classic holiday tale of hope and redemption, live on stage. This season, choose from six different productions across the state, from Westerly to Woonsocket. A treasured tradition since the novella first appeared in London in 1844, A Christmas Carol is the timeless story of the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge who is visited by three ghosts on Christmas Eve as they attempt to show him the error of his ways and make him a better person. You’ll have to see how it turns out yourself at one of these spirited performances.

ICYMI, the big news is that Trinity Repertory Company’s production of A Christmas Carol has changed locations. This year, Scrooge and the Cratchits will be having dinner on the big stage at the Providence Performing Arts Center, a few blocks over from their usual home. For the first time in its nearly 50-year history, the drama will be held in a new setting due to renovations happening in Trinity’s Chace Theater. The relocation allows for new and exciting opportunities – including larger audiences – but you’ll have to wait until it opens to see for yourself. Providence, TrinityRep.com

If A Christmas Carol had been written in the 1940s, it may have been produced as a radio show like the play within the play in A 1940s Radio Christmas Carol at the Granite Theatre. Unfortunately, when the Feddington Players get together for their Christmas Eve performance, there are more than spirits to contend with as technical and professional components go awry. Comedy ensues as the actors rally together to save the play – and the day – by devising their own unique ending to the holiday classic. Enjoy a fun twist on the timeless tale without sacrificing the big heart at its core. Westerly, GraniteTheatre.org

For a completely different approach to Dickens’ drama, the Rhode Island Stage Ensemble has put together an original musical adaptation of A Christmas Carol at the The Assembly Theatre. Featuring more than 30 cast members, there will be plenty of singing and dancing as Scrooge faces the past, present, and future in a new role and setting overseeing a textile empire in 19th-century Rhode Island rather than Victorian London. Adapted by Harland Meltzer and Barry Rocklin, this fresh and innovative version is sure to be bursting with local flavor and talent. Burrillville, RIStage.org

Speaking of Dickens, the Historic Park Theatre & Event Center presents the author’s great-great-grandson Gerald Dickens in a one-man adaptation of the novella that he’s been entertaining audiences with since 2009. For one night only on December 2, experience the magic of A Christmas Carol as the descendant of the author bounds and springs across the stage as 26 different characters during this stop on his national tour. Given the complexity of Dickens’ one-man performance, the show is not recommended for children under eight years old. Cranston, TheParkRI.com

The Broadway World award-winning production of A Christmas Carol returns to the Stadium Theatre. Featuring beloved Christmas carols performed by a live orchestra, we could say it flies into the theater, but no spoilers! The classic gets a fresh adaptation as Dickens himself appears onstage to share how the terrible working conditions of the time provided his inspiration for writing his original novella. Staged at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in London in 2017 and 2018, this version is steeped in the rich tradition of British theater. Woonsocket, StadiumTheatre.com

Five talented actors play all the parts, sparking A Christmas Carol to life in this joyous production for the whole family by the Contemporary Theater Company. Returning for the first time in five years, audiences have been waiting to feel the unique energy and heart of this show in this treasured setting. Join the cast of stellar actors as they leap from one character to the next in their mission to share Scrooge’s story of redemption as he learns the true meaning of Christmas. Wakefield, ContemporaryTheaterCompany.com