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
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 |
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 |