A CHRISTMAS CAROL West Coast Premiere is Coming to Center REP
Performances will run from December 10–21, 2025.
Center Repertory Company will usher in the holiday season with the West Coast premiere of the Charles Dickens classic, A Christmas Carol, adapted by award-winning playwright Harrison David Rivers and directed by multimedia visionary Jared Mezzocchi (director of creative technology for Froggy at Center REP), performing at `Walnut Creek’s Lesher Center for the Arts.
In this heartfelt and exceedingly lively new adaptation, a young Tim Cratchit makes a wish on a candle, invoking a series of ghostly visitors to the bedside of miserly Ebenezer Scrooge. With a “humbug!” on his breath, the curmudgeon is whisked away on a journey of awakening. Celebrated playwright Harrison David Rivers’ tender retelling highlights the necessity of caring for the most vulnerable among us while delivering a profound love letter to Dickens’ beloved story. Presented in association with AXIS Dance Company— one of the nation’s most acclaimed ensembles of disabled, non-disabled, and neurodiverse performers—nationally acclaimed director Jared Mezzocchi immerses the audience in a dazzling blend of digital design and live stage magic, bringing Victorian London and its netherworld to vivid life in this time-honored tale that asks us to contemplate the value of empathy over financial profits.
Returning for their 10th season with Center REP as Scrooge, is acclaimed Bay Area actor, Michael Ray Wisely. “Having joined the company in 2015, I’m so grateful for the many years I and my family had the privilege to be a part of bringing Center REP’s A Christmas Carol To generations of Walnut Creek audiences,” said actor Michael Ray Wisely. “I’m excited to collaborate with my friend and director, Jared Mezzocchi on this reimagined version of Dickens' classic tale of love and redemption.”
The cast of A Christmas Carol includes (in alphabetical order) Annika Bergman, Elizabeth Cowperthwaite, Alan Coyne, Sarah Dunnavant, Carla Gallardo, Danny J. Gomez, JanpiStar, Catherine Luedtke, Jed Parsario, Salim Razawi, Skyler Sullivan, Jomar Tagatac, and Michael Ray Wisely.
Completing the cast is an ensemble of gifted youth actors, including (in alphabetical order) Maeve Coyne, Annie Dooling, Ray Khalili, Dominic Moran, Keenan Moran, Layla Rachidi, Aislinn Robbins, Giovanna Romagnolo, McKenna Rose, Brayden Sinkay, Hyacinth Taylor, Bea Toben, Gus Toben, and Brady Wraight.
The creative team for A Christmas Carol includes Jared Mezzocchi (Director), Harrison David Rivers (Playwright), Elizabeth Carter (Associate Director) Nadia Adame (Choreographer), Tim Fletcher (Music Director), Brooke Kesler (Costume Designer), Nina Ball (Scenic Designer), Emily Haynes (Wigs Designer), Alyssa Tryon (Props Designer), James Ard (Sound Designer), Kurt Landisman (Lighting Designer), Camilla Tassi (Projections Designer), Carl Erez (Associate Projections Designer), Octavia Rose Hingle (Accessibility Artist & Consultant?), Kathleen Parsons (Stage Manager), and Joe Coe (Assistant Stage Manager).
Performances will begin on Wednesday, December 10 and running through Sunday, December 21, 2025.
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