A CHRISTMAS CAROL Comes to Mimi Ohio Theatre, Playhouse Square This Month

The stage of the Mimi Ohio Theatre, Playhouse Square, will glow with good spirits and time-honored tradition when Great Lakes Theater (GLT) presents its 35th production of Charles Dickens’ timeless tale, A Christmas Carol, running November 24 – December 23, 2023. The show has delighted approximately 825,000 people in its history, making it one of Northeast Ohio’s most-loved and best-attended holiday events.

A remarkable cast of seasoned GLT performers and those making their GLT debut will bring this holiday favorite to life this season. Lynn Robert Berg* heads up the cast as the popular curmudgeon, Scrooge. Jeremy Alden, Reagan Bentkowski, Izzie Burns, Jodi Dominick*, Avery Elledge, Jason Eno*, Edith Foley, Tamara French*, Sutton Garver, Jeffrey C. Hawkins*, Finn Haselswerdt, Jackson Kalina, Jillian Kates*, Matt Koenig*, Morgan Lehman, Jessie Cope Miller*, Keaton Miller, Kyra Rodenborn, David Anthony Smith*, Aria Sova, Nick Steen*, Gracie Szy, M.A. Taylor*, Parker Towns; Ángela Utrera* and Joe Wegner* will bring this adaptation of the classic Dickens’ novel to life on stage. *Member of Actors’ Equity

Freedman’s adaptation of A Christmas Carol is presented as a story within a story. The fictitious Cleaveland family gathers in its Victorian-era parlor on Christmas Eve to read Mr. Dickens’ book. As Mrs. Cleaveland reads the story to her family, her youngest child, Master William, re-imagines familiar faces as characters in the story: the Cleaveland’s crotchety manservant becomes Scrooge; Father becomes Bob Cratchit; Mother becomes Belle, and the Cleaveland children become the Cratchits, with Master William becoming the beloved Tiny Tim. In all, more than 60 Dickens characters are brought to life on stage.

The John P. Murphy Foundation and U.S. Bank generously support Great Lakes Theater’s 35th production of A Christmas Carol. A Christmas Carol’s production media sponsor is R43 Limited. The residents of Cuyahoga County, through a public grant from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture, provide generous support for Great Lakes Theater’s 2023-24 season. Great Lakes Theater programming is also supported in part by the Ohio Arts Council, which receives support from the State of Ohio and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Great Lakes Theater’s production incorporates theatrical special effects to preserve a strong sense of the supernatural, emphasizing the novel’s origins in folktales and myth. Designers for the GLT production blend exceptional stagecraft with dramatic effects that evoke the magical and mysterious aspects of a traditional ghost story.

Great Lakes Theater’s 35th production of A Christmas Carol begins on Friday, November 24, at 7:30 p.m. at the Mimi Ohio Theatre, Playhouse Square. Curtain times for all evening performances will remain at 7:30 p.m., with a 1:30 p.m. curtain time for Saturday matinees and a 3:00 p.m. curtain time for Sunday and select weekday matinees. An audio-described and sign-interpreted performance is scheduled for Sunday, December 3, at 3:00 p.m.

Great Lakes Theater will also present a special Sensory-Friendly performance of A Christmas Carol for children/adults on the autism spectrum and their families, as well as patrons who need a friendly audience environment, on Wednesday, November 29 at 11:00 a.m. For this special performance, accommodations will be made, including a supportive audience environment, designated quiet areas, adjustments to light and sound, and online resource materials. General admission tickets for this special performance are $14 and are available for children and adults on the autism spectrum and patrons that need a friendly audience environment only.

Single performance tickets range in price from $35-$80, with $30 tickets for patrons 25 and under. Tickets are available by calling (216) 241-6000, ordering online, or visiting the Playhouse Square Ticket Office. Visit https://www.playhousesquare.org/contact-us for Playhouse Square Ticket Office operating hours. Groups of ten or more save up to 45% by calling (216) 453-1066.

Great Lakes Theater, the first resident company of Playhouse Square, has brought the pleasure, power and relevance of theater to the widest possible audience since 1962. GLT programming reaches 100,000 adults and students annually.

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