It's back by popular demand - The Human Race Theatre's own adaptation of A Christmas Carol returns to The Loft Theatre for a second year this holiday season, with a bigger cast, more music, and the same concept - true to Charles Dickens, but with a few added twists.
"It will be better than last year," says Scott Stoney, who is again co-directing Carol with
Kevin Moore. "We're working in rehearsals to make it lively, with different nuances. We have a new Bob Cratchitt and other cast members who are bringing fresh energy."
Most of the 2008 cast is back, including Chicago-based
Mark Douglas-Jones, who drew raves as Scrooge. There will be two additional cast members this year, adding body to the music and richness to the story.
The Human Race version of Carol emphasizes family, with the story of Scrooge's transformation set as part of a family's Christmas traditions. Appropriately, there are a lot of family connections in the cast.
Jennifer Johansen of Indianapolis, last year's spirits of Christmas past and future, is joined by her husband, Rob, last seen in Dayton in Wait Until Dark.
Claire Kennedy is joined by her husband,
Aaron Vega, and her father, Mike Kennedy, both of whom were just in the smash hit of Man of La Mancha. J.J. Tiemeyer is joined by girlfriend Hannah Lenae Grizz.
Siblings Jacob and Maria Boyd return as the two youngest children.
Also returning to the cast are Human Race Resident Artists Kay Bosse and Alan Bomar Jones, Christine Brunner, and Peter Fitzkee, with Drew Attaway taking the part of the oldest child
.
The caroling for A Christmas Carol will again be to arrangements created especially for the Human Race production by
Gregg Coffin, composer of such shows as Convenience and Five Course Love. "The sound will be much fuller with the larger cast," says Stoney, who co-wrote the Human Race adaptation with Leigh Allan.
Terry Stump's set will be used again, as will costumes by Laine June Marr. Sound Design is by Gary Scanlon and Lighting by Resident Artist John Rensel.
The family theme carries over for the audience. All evening performances will begin at 7pm to accommodate youngsters, with the show recommended for those 8 and up. Santa will be on hand in The Loft lobby before the Tuesday, December 15, performance, taking requests from children from 5:30 until 7, during which time food and beverages will be available from Citilites.
To provide even more chances for family attendance, a performance has been added at 10:30am Thursday, December 17, with adult tickets at Preview prices. And there will be a special Family Day matinee Saturday, December 26, with all tickets, adult and child, at the usual children's price of $18.
A Christmas Carol will have a preview December 10, with the official Opening Night December 11. Performances will run Tuesday through Sunday through December 27, with Christmas Eve and Day off. Tickets are available by calling Ticket Center Stage at (937) 228-3630 or toll-free at (888) 228=3630 or via www.humanracetheatre.org <http://www.humanracetheatre.org> . There are discounts for groups of ten or more, who should call Tara at (937) 461-3823 x 3113.
A Christmas Carol is the third presentation of the 2009-2010 Eichelberger Loft Season of The Human Race. Production sponsors are KeyBank; Mrs. Wallace
E. Johnson; Matt Scarr, In Memory of Vernon and Pauline Scarr; Kettering College of Medical Arts; Everybody's Workplace Solutions; One Lincoln Park; Battelle & Battelle; Pickrel, Schaeffer and Ebeling; and HK Tryke.
Photos by Scott J. Kimmins
Mark Douglas-Jones
Jennifer Johansen and Mark Douglas-Jones
