A CHRISTMAS CAROL Comes to South Coast Repertory

South Coast Repertory will share with Orange County audiences the 44th production of the Charles Dickens classic, A Christmas Carol, adapted by Jerry Patch, and directed by Hisa Takakuwa running Nov. 30-Dec. 24 on the Segerstrom Stage.

SCR Founding Company Member Richard Doyle returns for his fourth year as Ebenezer Scrooge. A familiar face and voice, Doyle has appeared in A Christmas Carol for 39 years, playing many different characters, including the Spirits of Christmas Past and Present, Mr. Fezziwig, Scrooge’s nephew Fred, and both solicitors. Doyle has also appeared in 131 SCR productions across its 61 seasons, including memorably The Tavern from SCR’s Third Step Theatre (1973), Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune (1989), A View From the Bridge (2005) and Kings (2018).

“We are always anticipatory of our annual offering of A Christmas Carol,” Ivers said. “Dickens’ great ghost story of redemption continues to be a grand tradition for patrons across our wonderful community. Join us for this delightful and transformative experience as we kickoff a joyful holiday season here in Orange County!”

Appel added, “Our production is a real Orange County tradition, in part because the artists performing on our stage are all members of our community, including Founding Company Member Richard Doyle and the 16 SCR Theatre Conservatory students. The young people performing in A Christmas Carol have been taking classes under the tutelage of professional theatre artists in our conservatory, which celebrates 50 years of excellence in theatre training this year. Who knows, our audiences could witness an early performance of the next Pedro Pascal (The Last of Us, The Mandalorian), Zachary Prince (SCR’s Joan) or Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Sanaz Toossi (SCR’s Wish You Were Here) all of whom took classes in our Theatre Conservatory.” 

Takakuwa served as assistant director for 14 years after also appearing in the production for 14 more. Her experience with A Christmas Carol and her skill working with the large cast of 34 actors, including 16 children who alternate performances, enhances the storytelling and the theatrical experience. As director of SCR’s Youth Conservatory, Takakuwa has directed numerous Summer Players and Teen Players productions, including Matilda The Musical, Into the Woods, Seussical, The Wizard of Oz, Peter Pan, Mary Poppins and the world premiere of Cursed, among others. She directed Henry V, Twelfth Night and Shooting Stars at the Actors Co-op in Hollywood.

“Part of the challenge of A Christmas Carol is to balance honoring the beloved tradition of the production while constantly seeking small ways to deepen and enliven the experience for our audiences each year,” Takakuwa said. “This year we are excited that playwright/adaptor Jerry Patch was able to do a (very!) light refresh of the script. The changes are very small, but help spark the show in multiple simple but evocative ways. … Our goal is always for audiences to feel that they are coming home again for Christmas, but they may sense just a couple of new sparkles on the tree.”

Joining Doyle in A Christmas Carol’s cast are Preston Maybank (Bob Cratchit), Michael Manuel (Spirit of Marley), Richard Soto (Spirit of Christmas Present), Jennifer Parsons (Spirit of Christmas Past), Diana Burbano (Mrs. Fezziwig/Solicitor), Tommy Beck (Young Scrooge), Larry Bates (Fred/Gentleman), Kelsey Bray (Mrs. Shelley/Pursued Maiden), Eduardo Enrikez (Joe, Young Marley), Thomas Anawalt (Topper/Puppet Show), Erika Schindele (Belle), Nick Slimmer(Thomas Shelley/Spirit of Christmas Yet to Come), William Francis McGuire (Mr. Fezziwig), Melody Butiu (Mrs. Cratchit) and Alicia Coca (Sally).

The understudies are Kaci Hamilton (Mrs. Fezziwig, Mrs. Cratchit, Spirit of Christmas Past and Sally), Michael Polak (Bob Cratchit Spirit of Christmas Present, Fred, Jacob Marley) and David Nevell (Ebenezer Scrooge).

Anawalt makes his A Christmas Carol debut.

The adult cast is joined by 16 young performers, who are divided into two eight-person teams, which alternate performances. The child actors are students in the SCR Theatre Conservatory who auditioned for their roles after completing at least two years of theatre training in the Conservatory.

The Red Team features Justine Roussel (Martha Cratchit), Matthew Chan (Peter Cratchit), Kennedy Levine (Belinda Cratchit), Lara Anderson (Tiny Tim), Aya Hanai (Teen Girl About Town), Megan Chan (Girl About Town), Brady Barrett (Boy Scrooge/Oliver Shelley) and Lola Brett (Turkey Boy)

The Green Team features Quinn Garcia (Martha Cratchit), Isaac Person (Peter Cratchit), Natalie Yokota (Belinda Cratchit), Penelope Main (Tiny Tim), Libby Rue (Teen Girl About Town), Claire Jeong (Girl About Town), Bea Main (Boy Scrooge/Oliver Shelley) and Charlie Wellman (Turkey Boy).

The creative team includes Thomas Buderwitz, scenic design; Dwight Richard Odle, costume design; Amy Hutto, additional costume design; Donna & Tom Ruzika, lighting design;Dennis McCarthy, music arrangement/composer; Drew Dalzell, sound design; Sylvia Turner, choreographer; David Nevell, dialect coach, Joanne DeNaut, CSA, casting and Talia Krispel, production stage manager.

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