A.C.T. to Present A CHRISTMAS CAROL, 12/5-28

Featuring a lively cast of dozens, delightful music, gorgeous costumes, and those deliciously spooky ghosts, the Bay Area's favorite holiday tradition returns with American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.)'s celebrated production of the Charles Dickens classic A Christmas Carol. Now in its 38th year, this version of A Christmas Carol-adapted by Paul Walsh and Carey Perloff-stays true to the heart of Dickens's timeless story of redemption and brings a playful sensibility to his rich language. A Christmas Carol runs December 5-28, 2014 at A.C.T.'s Geary Theater (415 Geary Street, San Francisco). Press night is Thursday, December 11 at 7 p.m. VIP seating is available for all performances. VIP ticket holders enjoy the best seats in the house and complimentary drinks during intermission. Tickets (ranging in price from $20-$110), are available by calling the A.C.T. Box Office at 415.749.2228 or online at www.act-sf.org. Groups of 15 or more save up to 50% and enjoy free tickets for group leaders. For group sales, call 415.439.2309.

Hailed as "the best Christmas Carol ever!" by KRON4-TV/KCBS Radio's Jan Wahl, A Christmas Carol is a cornerstone of the A.C.T. repertory and has become a holiday tradition for families all around the San Francisco Bay Area. Since it began performances at A.C.T. 38 years ago (and continuing in its second adaptation, which premiered in 2005), A Christmas Carol has been performed more than 1,150 times to date to a collective audience of more than 1,100,000 and has employed nearly 1,900 actors and 750 backstage staff members.

Says Perloff: "As we have become more and more aware of the dangers of income inequality to a just society, A Christmas Carol continues to seem startlingly relevant. Dickens so beautifully reveals what happens to a culture pulled apart by greed, but he also brilliantly imagines what could happen if we opened our hearts and minds to real social change. Perhaps that's why I always look forward to our production of A Christmas Carol with such anticipation - it is both urgent and hopeful, and filled with youthful energy and passion. What a gift!"

A.C.T.'s A Christmas Carol features a multigenerational cast of performers led by James Carpenter as Ebenezer Scrooge, with Anthony Fusco as the Scrooge alternate. Joining Carpenter and Fusco is legendary Bay Area actor Ken Ruta (who originated this role in the 2005 production) as the Ghost of Jacob, Scrooge's nightmarish late-night visitor; Nicholas Pelczar as Bob Cratchit; and Delia Mac Dougall as his wife, Anne Cratchit; Jarion Monroe and Sharon Lockwood as the ever-festive Mr. and Mrs. Fezziwig; along with BW Gonzalez as the jovial Ghost of Christmas Present. The adult cast also includes Cindy Goldfield and Howard Swain.

Rounding out the cast are 29 talented young actors from the A.C.T. Young Conservatory (YC) as well as ten students from the A.C.T. Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) Program. The M.F.A. Program performers-many of whom traditionally receive their Actors' Equity cards as a result of their participation in A Christmas Carol -are: Josie Alvarez, Joel Bernard, Kemiyondo Coutinho, Danielle Frimer, Rafael Jordan, Stefanée Martin, Ben Quinn, Dominique Salerno, Glenn Stott, and Ryan Williams-French. The YC actors for the 2014 production hail from all around the Bay Area. They are: Evan Aubry, Colin Bires, Madi Chicas, Quincy Corsello, Ian DeVaynes, Catie Dewar-Kudsi, Ella Dovey, Mattea Fountain, Charlotte Kearns, Rae Dox Kim, Zoe Larkin, Ellie Lauter, Gwyneth Lewis, Toby Lichtenwalter, William Lipton, Cecilia Mc Quaid, Anna Neumann-Loreck, Esme Kaplan O'Neill, Evelyn Onpin, Leila Ali O'Rourke, Leo Pierotti, Ryan Remak, Ashby Remak, Carmen Steele, Samuel Sutton, Nina Toracca, Athena von Bothmer, Seth Weinfield, and Campbell Ives Zeigler.

Directed by Domenique Lozano, the creative team for A Christmas Carol includes Tony Award-winning scenic designer John Arnone and period costumes by Beaver Bauer. With original songs and score by composer Karl Lundeberg and choreography by Val Caniparoli of the San Francisco Ballet, A Christmas Carol also features lighting design by Nancy Schertler, sound design by Jake Rodriguez, and music direction by Robert Rutt.

A.C.T. would like to acknowledge its 2014-15 company sponsors Frannie Fleishhacker; Priscilla and Keith Geeslin; Jeri Lynn and Jeffrey W. Johnson; Fred M. Levin and Nancy Livingston, The Shenson Foundation; Burt and Deedee McMurtry; Ms. Barbara Ravizza and Mr. John S. Osterweis; Arthur and Toni Rembe Rock; Doug Tilden and Teresa Keller.

A.C.T.'s 2014- 2015 season continues with Tom Stoppard's great time-travel romance Indian Ink; making its West coast debut, the outrageous and enthusiastically acclaimed new comedy, Mr. Burns, a post-electric play; exploring the forces of memory and mystery immigrant experiences, Let There Be Love; the West Coast debut as the inaugural production at A.C.T's new Strand Theater internationally acclaimed new work, Love and Information; and to close out the season, Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheelers's most rapturous and seductive musical, A Little Night Music.

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