A CHRISTMAS CAROL Returns for the 33rd Year to Goodman Theatre

Goodman Theatre's perennial holiday classic A Christmas Carol, consistently included among the Midwest's top-tier holiday events, returns for the 33rd season.

Renowned Chicago actor John Judd appears for the first time in the legendary role of Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol, "Goodman Theatre's annual Christmas gift to Chicago" (Daily Herald) for more than three decades. Judd leads a cast of 26 this holiday season-including 10 Chicagoland actors also appearing in A Christmas Carol for the first time. Chicago actor/director William Brown
returns for the fifth consecutive year to stage the production hailed as "a joyous present for the entire family" (Chicago Sun-Times) and "ideal family fare, both heartwarming and spectacular in its familiar tale" (Chicago Tribune). A Christmas Carol runs November 19 - December 31, 2010 in the Goodman's Albert Theatre.

Tickets are $25 - $76 and can be purchased at GoodmanTheatre.org, by phone at 312.443.3800 or at the box office (170 North Dearborn). Harris Bank is the Major Corporate Sponsor of A Christmas Carol. Aon Corporation and Chapman and Cutler LLP are Corporate Sponsor Partners and Chicago Tribune is the Media Sponsor.

"A Christmas Carol at the Goodman has made an astonishing impact on Chicago as the annual holiday tradition for thousands of families, as well as the entry point to theater for a legion of young people," said Executive Director Roche Schulfer, who was instrumental in originating the production at Goodman Theatre 32 years ago.

"We are proud to consistently deliver the definitive holiday theatrical offering in our region-a first-rate, glorious production that has touched the lives of well over a million theatergoers."
200 Chicagoland children-a record number-auditioned for this year's production. An all-newly cast Cratchit family includes young performers Cameron Conforti (South Elgin) as Tiny Tim; Megan Delaney (Western Springs) as Belinda; Emma Gordon (ClarenDon Hills) as Emily; Peyton Young (Mokena) as Martha; and Grant Mitchell (Elmhurst) as Peter. Other newcomers to the Goodman's production include Nate Burger (Chicago) as Dick Wilkins; Naren Chaudhry (Oak Park) as Turkey Boy; Aaron Holland (Chicago) as Percy; Eric Parks (Chicago) as Young Scrooge; and Lisa Tejero (Chicago) as Miss Crumb.

Veteran actors returning to the production include Susan Felder (Chicago) as Mrs. Fezziwig; Tim Gittings (Chicago) as Topper; Katie Jeep (Chicago) as Abby; Anish Jethmalani (Chicago) as the Ghost of Jacob Marley; John Lister (Chicago) as Mr. Fezziwig; Michael Perez (Chicago) as Mr. Ortle; Ron Rains (Chicago) as Bob Cratchit; Tiffany Scott (Chicago) as Belle; Christine Sherrill (St. Charles) as Mrs. Cratchit; Susan Shunk (Chicago) as Ghost of Christmas Past; Andy Truschinski (Chicago) as Fred; and Penelope Walker (Chicago) as Ghost of Christmas Present. Also
returning to the production are musicians Justin Amolsch (Chicago), Greg Hirte (Chicago) and Malcolm Ruhl (Highland Park).

Based on Charles Dickens' 1843 novella, A Christmas Carol is the tale of the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge, who is opposed to holiday cheer and indifferent to the sufferings of the poor in Victorian London. Scrooge is visited by four ghosts who offer him the opportunity to sympathize with his fellow man. Dickens' famous characters include Scrooge's kind-hearted clerk Bob Cratchit and his family, including Tiny Tim, the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future, the merry-making Fezziwig couple and the Ghost of Jacob Marley. Throughout its history at the Goodman, over 1 million people have experienced A Christmas Carol and the production has hosted six
directors, seven Scrooges, 27 Tiny Tims and nearly 20,000 "Bah, Humbug!"s.

Director William Brown celebrates 18 years with A Christmas Carol at the Goodman, including the last five as director. He recently directed the world premiere of Brett Neveu's Old Glory at Writers' Theatre, where he also directed As You Like It, Another Part of The Forest, Our Town, Arms and the Man, Rocket to the Moon, Misalliance, The Glass Menagerie and Incident at Vichy. At American Players Theatre in Spring Green, Wisconsin, he directed last summer's Comedy of Errors and Hay Fever and, previously, productions of A Midsummer Night's Dream, Night of the Iguana, The Matchmaker, Twelfth Night, The Cherry Orchard, Antony and Cleopatra, All's Well That Ends Well and Shaw's You Never Can Tell. At Northlight Theatre he directed Lady Windermere's Fan, The Chalk Garden and his own musical adaptation of She Stoops to Conquer. He recently directed the Midwest premiere of Curtains for Drury Lane Oakbrook. For TimeLine Theatre Company in Chicago he directed Steven Dietz's Halcyon Days and Paragon Springs and Tennessee Williams' Not About Nightingales. Brown is the Associate Artistic Director of Montana Shakespeare in the Parks, where he most recently directed Romeo and Juliet and Heartbreak House. He received an After Dark Award for his 2006/2007 season and a Jeff Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Henry Kissinger in Nixon's Nixon at Writers' Theatre.

John Judd (Ebenezer Scrooge) previously appeared at the Goodman in Shining City and Magnolia. An actor hailed as "astonishing" (Chicago Sun-Times) and "remarkable" (Chicago Tribune), his Chicago credits include Last of the Boys, The Dresser, The Butcher of Baraboo and Orson's Shadow at Steppenwolf Theatre Company; The Price, Crime and Punishment and Othello at Writers' Theatre; Lettice and Lovage and Gross Indecency at Court Theatre;
The Cripple Of Inishmaan and The Lieutenant Of Inishmore at Northlight Theatre; A Number at Next Theatre Company; Come Back, Little Sheba at Shattered Globe Theatre; Execution Of Justice at About Face Theatre; Gagarin Way at A Red Orchid Theatre; and Angels In America at The Journeymen Theater. His off-Broadway credits include Orson's Shadow and an oak tree at Barrow Street Theatre and Crime and Punishment at 59E59.

Regionally and internationally Judd has appeared in Orson's Shadow in Williamstown, Massachusetts, Westport, Connecticut and Beaver Creek, Colorado; Shining City at Huntington Theatre Company in Boston; American Buffalo at McCarter Theatre Center in Princeton, New Jersey; and Long Day's Journey into Night at Town Hall Theatre in Galway, Ireland. His film credits include Hoffa, Losing Isaiah, Ride With The Devil, Road To Perdition, Mr. 3000, Batman Begins and Public Enemies. His television credits include Early Edition (CBS), ER (NBC), Prison Break (FOX), Missing Persons (ABC) and numerous pilots.

Tickets to A Christmas Carol ($25 - $76) are currently on sale at GoodmanTheatre.org. Tickets can also be purchased at the box office (170 North Dearborn) or by phone at 312.443.3800. Mezztix are half-price mezzanine tickets available at 12 noon at the box office, and at 10am online (promo code MEZZTIX) day of performance; Mezztix are not available by telephone. 10Tix are $10 rear mezzanine tickets for students available at 12 noon at the box office, and at 10am online on the day of performance; 10Tix are not available by telephone.

Valid student I.D. must be presented when picking up the tickets. Limit four per student with I.D. All tickets are subject to availability and handling fees apply. Discounted Group Tickets for 15 persons or more are available at 312.443.3820. The Luxury Package includes access to the Goodman's exclusive Patrons' Lounge, complimentary beverages, free parking in the Government Center Parking Garage and an A Christmas Carol commemorative gift, with a donation to Goodman Theatre. For pricing information and details about the Luxury Package, call the box
office at 312.443.3800. Purchase Goodman Gift Certificates in any amount at GoodmanTheatre.org. The flexibility of Goodman Gift Certificates allows recipients to choose the production, date and time of their performance.

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