Chesapeake Shakespeare Company's A CHRISTMAS CAROL Returns This Holiday Season

Chesapeake Shakespeare Company will invite audiences home for the holidays with its annual return of A Christmas Carol. The company's adaptation of the classic has become a centerpiece of Maryland's festive season, connecting the story's themes of community and compassion to the place where it unfolds. A Christmas Carol opens Saturday, November 29, and runs through Tuesday, December 23.

The tale follows Ebenezer Scrooge through one extraordinary Christmas Eve in 19th-century Baltimore, as he journeys through the past, present, and future for one final chance at redemption.

While the production has long been set in Baltimore, company member Laura Rocklyn deepened that relationship in her 2022 adaptation, allowing both Dickens's voice and Baltimore's to exist in harmony. The result is a heartfelt production that feels at once timeless and intimately attuned to its audience.

This year introduces another new chapter: Séamus Miller and Quāé Simpson will collaborate as co-directors. Drawing on his multidisciplinary background to guide the production's expressive staging, Simpson notes “Directing A Christmas Carol is a reminder that redemption is always within reach, no matter how far we've strayed. Each time this story is told, it asks us again: what kind of person will we choose to be?”

The production's ongoing evolution reflects the vision of its creative leadership. Miller, who came on as Director last year, notes, “We built this show during a time of uncertainty. It is a play about radical positive change. This is not a typical path of progress. A Christmas Carol shows us, in one night, a massive transformation that takes everyone by delightful surprise.”

And as Ebenezer Scrooge, Gregory Burgess returns. Seen earlier this year in It's The Comedy of Errors, Hon!, and Mary Stuart, Burgess continues to showcase remarkable range and versatility. Once again, he mines new layers in Dickens's most famous miser—a role that has become unmistakably his own.

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Best Musical - Top 3

1. DISASTER: THE MUSICAL (Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre)

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2. HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH (Maryland Ensemble Theatre)

6.6% of votes

3. THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME (September Song)

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