By Christopher Durang 

Directed by: Sue Beukema & Skye Westendorf

Production: December 3rd, 4th, 5th, 9th, 10th & 11th: 2010

In this departure from Dickens, young Scrooge's exclamations of "Bah, humbug!" are an undiagnosed "kind of seasonal Tourette's Syndrome," and The Ghost of Christmas Past is played by a sassy African-American woman with enough attitude to portray all three spirits (which she does). She tries to show Scrooge his past, present and future in order to change him, but her magic keeps malfunctioning in Durang's version of the beloved holiday classic, and they consistently find themselves transported to the wrong time and place. She tries to take Scrooge back to see his old employers, the Fezziwigs—"always an audience favorite"—but instead she and Scrooge keep appearing in the present at the Cratchit's pathetic home. Mrs. Bob Cratchit, a minor character in the Dickens, takes center stage here. No longer loving and long suffering, Mrs. Bob is in a rage: She's sick of Tiny Tim (the goody-goody crippled child), she hates her twenty other children (most of them confined to the root cellar), including oversized Little Nell, and she wants to get drunk and jump off London Bridge. As the Ghost loses more control, the plot morphs into parodies of Oliver Twist, "The Gift of the Magi" and It's a Wonderful Life. And to make matters worse, Scrooge and Mrs. Bob seem to be kindred souls falling in love. With a dénouement that is two parts Touched by an Angel and one part The Queen of Mean, Scrooge's tale of redemption and gentle grace is placed squarely on its head.

Cast

The Ghost of Christmas Past/Present/Future - Meredith McKay

Ebeneezer Scrooge – Lonnie Appleby

Mrs. Bob Cratchit – Julie Goodman

Bob Cratchit – John Dougan

Tiny Tim – Natalie Camp

Little Nell Cratchit – Grace Kingery

Cratchit Child 1 – Emily Mehmen

Cratchit Child 2 – Daniel Lopez-Sanders

Collector 1 – Robin Stoner

Collector 2 – Mickey Van Baale 

Jacob Marley’s Ghost/Clarence – Scott Schaeffer

Young Jacob Marley – Chase Kolpin

Young Ebeneezer Scrooge – David Lopez-Sanders

Mr. Fezziwig/The Beadle – John Adams

Mrs. Fezziwig/The Beadle’s Wife – Connie Jagau

Fezziwig Daughter 1 – Cheyenne Schaeffer

Fezziwig Daughter 2 – Jandi Matthews

Edvar – Emigdio Lopez-Sanders

Hedwig/Nice Mrs. Cratchit – Julie Schaeffer

Bartender 1 – Mel Wilson

Bartender 2/Minions of the Night – Linda Schafer

George Bailey – Arthur Padget

Zuzu Bailey – Echo Downs

Monica  – Stephanie Alexander

Tess – Stormy Storms

Serena the maid – Sharonn Buckman

Minions of the Night –

 Dallas Schaeffer, Liam Dougan, Westen Matthews