EBENEZER SCROOGE'S BIG VANCOUVER CHRISTMAS SHOW! Comes to Ekklesia Theatre

Vancouver's newest theater company, Ekklesia Theatre, will take to the boards this December with Ebenezer Scrooge's Big Vancouver Christmas Show!, written by Gordon Greenberg and Steve Rosen. This cheeky, family-friendly retelling of Charles' Dickens A Christmas Carol features five actors playing over 30 characters, with plenty of laughs and local references. Directed by Chris Murphy, Ebenezer Scrooge's Big Vancouver Christmas Show! performs December 13 through 22 at The Coffee Church in Vancouver. Tickets ($15) are available at https://ekklesiatheatre.com/tickets; the company also offers a limited number of free tickets to those who could not afford to attend otherwise.

The show, which allows performing theaters opportunities to insert their own town's name, landmarks, and well-known persons into the dialogue, has become a holiday favorite in many places across the country. The San Diego Union-Tribune has called it “eighty-five zippy, intermission-free minutes of festive escapism,” and BroadwayWorld reported that “a story about transformation has found itself transformed into this clever, high energy show … a concentrated shot of holiday fun and festivity.” New Hope Free Press crowed, “The whole show is a delight. It is a theater lover’s dream. The focus becomes so singular that you are enthralled by the craftsmanship of playwright, director, and actors.”

Ebenezer Scrooge's Big Vancouver Christmas Show! features Vancouver actors Scott Rushford, Stephanie Crowley, and Chris Hullender, and Portland actors Samantha Brown Hsu and Sarah Ratcliff. Kim DeShiell of Washougal stage manages and Chris Murphy, founder and Artistic Director of Ekklesia Theatre, directs.

Murphy, who lives in Vancouver with his wife, daughter, and two dogs, serves on the board at North Creek Church and is a student at Vancouver's Heritage School of Ministry. His theater background includes having studied at the Steppenwolf West in Los Angeles, Upright Citizens Brigade, and Antelope Valley College, where he earned a degree in theater. Over the years he has worked both onstage and backstage, was nominated for an acting award for his work in Shakespeare in Love at Lakewood Center of the Arts, and served on the board of directors at Portland's Twilight Theater Company. He has also taught improv and comedy classes at Journey Theater Arts Group, a Christian youth theater in Vancouver, Washington. Alongside his work in theater, he is also a marketing director and business owner.

Ekklesia Theatre is a faith-based community theater dedicated to making high-quality performances accessible to all, regardless of financial circumstances. Through their "Pay-It-Forward" model, for every ticket purchased, another ticket is provided for someone in need—buy one, give one. For Ebenezer Scrooge's Big Vancouver Christmas Show!, 50% of ticket sales will be donated to a local Vancouver charity that fights food insecurity and homelessness. Ekklesia Theatre believes in the transformative power of storytelling to not only inspire but also create meaningful change in the community.

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