PlayhouseSquare Presents A CHRISTMAS CAROL, Now thru 12/23

The stage of the Ohio Theatre, PlayhouseSquare will glow with good spirits and time-honored tradition when Great Lakes Theater (GLT) presents its twenty-sixth annual production of Charles Dickens' classic A Christmas Carol, running tonight, November 29 - December 23, 2014. The production has delighted more than 650,000 people in its history, making it one of northeast Ohio's most-loved and best-attended holiday events.

Great Lakes Theater's twenty-sixth annual production of A Christmas Carol is sponsored by The John P. Murphy Foundation - one of the production's inaugural sponsors. The company's 2014-15 season is generously funded by the citizens of Cuyahoga County through Cuyahoga Arts and Culture. GLT also receives support from The Cleveland Foundation and the Ohio Arts Council. A Christmas Carol's media sponsors are The Northeast Ohio Media Group and WMJI-Majic 105.7 FM. GLT's season media sponsors include The FORM Group, Ideastream and WKSU 89.7 FM.

Longtime GLT artistic company member Sara Bruner, will stage former Artistic Director Gerald Freedman's heartwarming adaptation of A Christmas Carol. The production features a multi-generational cast of actors, singers and dancers led by actor Aled Davies, returning for his seventh season in the role of miserly Ebenezer Scrooge.

"The combination of Gerald Freedman's inspired and moving adaptation, Sara Bruner's dynamic gifts as a director, our remarkable design team and our talented company are sure to delight audiences, whether they're attending for the first time or returning to experience this holiday tradition again with friends and family," said GLT's Producing Artistic Director Charles Fee.

Freedman's adaptation of A Christmas Carol is presented as a story within a story. The fictitious Cleaveland family gathers in its Victorian-era parlor on Christmas Eve to read Mr. Dickens' book. As Mrs. Cleaveland reads the story to her family, her youngest child, Master William, re-imagines familiar faces as characters in the story: the Cleaveland's crotchety manservant becomes Scrooge; Father becomes Bob Cratchit; Mother becomes Belle, and the Cleaveland children become the Cratchits, with Master William becoming the beloved Tiny Tim. In all, more than 60 Dickens characters are brought to life on stage.

Great Lakes Theater's production incorporates theatrical special effects to retain a strong sense of the supernatural, emphasizing the novel's origins in folk tales and myth. Designers for the GLT production blend exceptional stagecraft with dramatic effects that evoke the magical and mysterious aspects of a classic ghost story.

Great Lakes Theater's twenty-sixth annual production of A Christmas Carol commences on Saturday, November 29th at 7:30 p.m. at the Ohio Theatre, PlayhouseSquare. Curtain times for all evening performances will remain at 7:30 p.m., with a 1:30 p.m. curtain time for Saturday matinees and a 3:00 p.m. curtain time for Sunday matinees. An audio-described and sign interpreted performance is scheduled for Sunday, December 7th at 3:00 p.m.

Single tickets for Great Lakes Theater's production of A Christmas Carol range in price from $28-$65 (student tickets $26 - any performance / any seat) and are available by calling (216) 241-6000, by ordering online at www.greatlakestheater.org or by visiting the PlayhouseSquare Ticket Office. Groups of ten or more receive discounts and should call (216) 241-5490 x302 to make reservations.

Great Lakes Theater, the first resident company of PlayhouseSquare, has brought the pleasure, power and relevance of classic theater to the widest possible audience since 1962. GLT programming reaches 100,000 adults and students annually.

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