Lost Nation Theater Presents Willem Lange's Telling of A CHRISTMAS CAROL: A GHOST STORY, December 19

Lost Nation Theater and Willem Lange team up one more time! The Beloved Yankee Storyteller Willem Lange performs his reading of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story, at 7pm. Tuesday December 19, onstage at Lost Nation Theater, protected by our state-of-the-art Synexis Air Purification System.

LNT Producing Artistic Director Kathleen Keenan says: 
 

“We love adding our theatrical magic to Willem's nuanced storytelling to make Dickens glorious tale shine especially brightly!  And it's a joy to help keep Willem's wonderful tradition going!

Emmy-Winner Willem Lange has been performing his reading of Dickens' Christmas Carol every year since 1975.  He loves the story and that love shines through in his reading. “Christmas is my time to howl,” he says.

Jim Lowe, Arts Editor & Theater Critic for Times Argus/Rutland Herald had this to say about Willem's first LNT show:

“Rather than an impressionist, Lang is a raconteur par excellence. Sometimes he did portray, but he was much more like a grandfather telling his grandchildren a Christmas story. And, child or adult, it was irresistible.”  

Lange first heard the rendition he performs – Charles Dickens' original prompter script used for his 1867-68 tour of America – in 1953. His college professor, Dr Lean, found the script in a used bookstore in Boston (in 1903) and started performing it.  By the time Willem heard him

“Lean was already “nearing the end of his string, and I remember thinking, ‘Who's going to take over when he's gone?”

After mulling it over for decades, Willem Lange (author, storyteller, carpenter & TV host) finally decided he would:
 

“In 1975, I sat down with my typewriter and an LP recording of Professor Lean's performance, and typed out the script. That took some patience! My wife and I invited friends over; I borrowed a set of tails; and we held the first session in our living room.”
 

48 years later, Lost Nation Theater is thrilled to keep the streak going as he closes in on #50! 

Dickens "A Christmas Carol: a ghost story," published in 1843, turned Ebenezer Scrooge into a household name. Now nearly 200 years, 40 language translations and countless film, musical & stage adaptations later, Willem offers: 
 

“Dickens had the gift of finding the sensitive spot in each of us –like scratching a puppy in a particular place and making it wave a hind leg. I love the moment when Scrooge, emerging from the horror of seeing his plundered corpse in his own bedroom, wakes to the joy of his new-born self, tries tentatively to laugh, and the amused audience laughs along with him.”

Masks are preferred & strongly recommended for in person attendance, but not required.
The Flood made LNT/City Hall's elevator inoperable, requiring climbing stairs to attend in person. The play will be available digitally to make the show accessible to thosew unable to physically join us. We appreciate your understanding during this emergency situation.

It's inspiring to work with Willem Lange, one of New England's most loved raconteurs, and help bring his inimitable storytelling instincts to Charles Dickens' iconic tale. It's ‘no-brainer' casting! – Kim Bent, LNT Founder
 

Willem donates his fee to The Haven (a shelter in the Upper Valley). LNT's donating a percentage of proceeds locally, to Montpelier's Food Pantry and The Good Samaritan.

“I do love this story, and hope only for a few more years to share it with my friends on cold, dark winter evenings still to come.”  Willem Lange

Lost Nation Theater: 2020 “Theater of the Decade” - Broadway World, “Best in New England”- Yankee Magazine, and named One of the Best Regional Theaters in America by NYC Drama League is Sponsored by Flood & Recovery Fund of the Vermont Community Foundation, City of Montpelier, Vermont Mutual Insurance, Montpelier Strong Recovery Fund, National Life Group, Leahy Press, Eternity, Vermont Arts Council and The World.  

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