A High Country Christmas

By Robert Inman
Directed by: Pam Ratliff & Mary Thompson


~~ Performances ~~

December 1, 2, 7, 8 & 9, 2017

Doors open at 7PM, Showtime 7:30 PM

December 3, 2017
Doors open at 1:30 PM, Showtime 2PM


Tickets will go on sale November 20, and are $12.00 for adults and $10.00 for youth. For reservations, call our Box Office at 641-792-1230. The box office is staffed weekdays, starting November 20, from 11:00 am - 1:00 pm and 6:30-8:00 pm, and one hour before each performance.


Robert Inman brings the Dickens classic to the modern stage. Set in a mountain area during the Great Depression, A High Country Christmas is the story of curmudgeonly country store owner Silas McTavish, who rediscovers the magic of Christmas with the help of an unexpected Christmas Eve visitor.

It's Christmas Eve day during the era of the Great Depression in a rural mountain area where families struggle to keep body and soul together. Miserly curmudgeon Silas McTavish owns and operates a general store—with the help of his long-suffering clerk, Abner Veazey, and Abner's son, Caleb—where hard bargains are struck and credit is never allowed. Misery extends to physical suffering—Caleb with an injured foot and the infant daughter of the neighboring Walker family with pneumonia. As Silas prepares for bed, a mysterious stranger appears—his name simply "Guest"—demanding to be put up for the night. Silas reluctantly agrees in return for payment of a dollar. At midnight, the Guest appears at the foot of Silas' bed and commands him to follow on a journey through Christmas past, present and future. Their first stop is Silas' boyhood home in Scotland, where as a young man he announces to his stunned family that he is going to America, leaving his sweetheart, Fiona, behind. Her memory stirs a long-dormant place in his heart. The second stop is Abner Veazey's home, where his large impoverished family steadfastly maintains Christmas cheer despite Caleb's worsening condition. Mrs. Walker arrives with her sick infant, fearful for the fate of her husband, who is lost in a blizzard. The final stop of Silas and the Guest—Christmas future—is a graveyard where a funeral service is underway for Caleb and the Walker infant, whose lives could have been saved by a doctor. As the mourners depart, Silas spots his own gravestone, and the Guest tells him that he died alone and unmourned. The Guest departs after reminding Silas that he has the power to alter Christmas future. Silas awakens on Christmas morning deeply moved by his nightlong journey. He arranges for Caleb and the infant to be taken down the mountain to a doctor, makes plans for a return to Scotland and serves notice to one and all that he is a profoundly altered man.

 
Role Description
Silas McTavish Curmudgeonly general store owner
Abner Veazey Silas' clerk
Dolly Veazey Abner's wife
Caleb Veazey Abner's teenage son, also working in the store
Other Veazey Children Sara, Tom, Jacob, Tessie, Heather
Luther Walker Abner's neighbor and friend
Ada Walker Luther's wife, nursing a sick infant
The Guest A mysterious visitor to Silas on Christmas Eve
The Minister A local preacher
Father McTavish Silas' father in long-ago Scotland
Mother McTavish Silas' mother
Angus McTavish Silas' brother
Malvina McTavish Angus' wife
McTavish Children Young sons and dauthers of Angus and Malvina
Young Silas Silas as a man in his early 20s
Fiona Young Silas' sweetheart



Who's Who in the Cast and Crew

 
Cast
Role Actor
Silas McTavish Scott Schaeffer
Abner Veazey John Dougan
Dolly Veazey Mikey Carter
Veazey Children Caleb - Liam Dougan
Sara - Kate McCormick
Tom - Sam Swersie
Jacob - Jonny Swersie
Tessie - Jaleea McConnel
Heather - Grace Ham
Luther Walker Gabe Swersie
Ada Walker Dionne Riley
Helen Walker Rachel Swersie
Hazel Walker Amelia Brown
The Guest Bill Perrenoud
The Minister Mike Myers
Mrs. Rose Ellen Schumann
Father McTavish Jeff Carter
Mother McTavish Mel Wilson
Angus McTavish Rod Zuidema
Malvina McTavish Stephanie Bantell
Dante McTavish Dante Bantell
Gladys McTavish Sarah Templeman
Young Silas Dallas Schaeffer
Fiona Paige Robinson
Sister Bertha Linda Dougan
Martha Susan Ham
Charles David Ratliff
Anne Judy Richmond
Elspeth Jenny Swersie
Anna Hannah Templeman
Mary Marybeth Walker
Clarice Janet Wiand
Production Staff
Stage Manager Jeff Carter
Stage Assistant Grace Taylor
Lights Wade Klingensmith
Joe Klingensmith
Andy Malsom
Patrick Kelleher
Sound Hannah Robinson
Kristine Perkins
Set Construction Harvey Olsthoorn
Scott Schaeffer
Paint Crew Mel Wilson
Props Jeff Carter
Cast
Costumes Sue Beukema
Denise Templeman
Cast
Makeup Cindy Healey
Pete Sciarrotta
Hair Annamaria Layton