Delaware County's Beloved Tradition Continues With Hedgerow Theatre's Smash Hit A CHRISTMAS CAROL Comedy Back This Holiday Season

Back by popular demand, A Christmas Carol Comedy returns to Hedgerow this Holiday Season. Leap into the holiday spirit with Katie Leamen's fun and festive adaptation of A Christmas Carol featuring performing veterans and regional favorites Brian Anthony Wilson and Christopher Patrick Mullen.

Wilson assumes the iconic role of Ebeneezer Scrooge and Mullen returns to take on Everybody Else with his renowned comic dexterity. Celebrated and versatile Philadelphia theatre artist Pete Pryor, who helmed the US Premiere at Hedgerow last year, returns to direct this gleefully inventive take on the classic tale that will delight the whole family. 

This year,  A Christmas Carol Comedy runs November 22-December 24. Opening Night is Friday, November 24 at 7 p.m. Tickets cost $20-35, plus fees, and are available online at www.hedgerowtheatre.org. 

Playwright Katie Leamen is excited for the return of her highly anticipated play to the Hedgerow stage. “It brings me immense joy to see A Christmas Carol Comedy so warmly received by the team at Hedgerow Theatre and the larger community that supports this historic company,” said Leamen. “Last year's American premiere was a huge gift; but for that excellent production to sell out, extend, sell out again, and then be welcomed back for a second season is the stuff of dreams. Like Scrooge, every visit with these wise and mischievous ghosts cracks open my mind and heart a little wider, to see the world a little more clearly to where hope, joy, humor, and generosity can best serve.”

Director Pete Pryor also recognizes the timeliness of communal recognition and celebration. “Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol is a beloved story about redemption and the opportunity and responsibility of learning how-to live-in celebration with humanity,” observes Pryor. “It has been celebrated and presented in myriad forms for ages but It could not be more relevant in our current time. I am excited about this opportunity to explore these most important themes with two wonderful actors and our great creative team.” 

Comic virtuoso Christopher Patrick Mullen eagerly returns to what he describes as a “heartfelt, madcap, Dickensian romp.” He professes that “it's a blast to rehearse and perform!” and recalls that “Hedgerow audiences couldn't get enough of this hilarious little holiday gem last holiday season; many of them returned a second and a third time! Me too!  I want seconds! And this time I'm coming back with the BAW [Brian Anthony Wilson]!”

For Brian Anthony Wilson, known for his gravitas and big stage presence, stepping into this larger-than-life role feels like a homecoming of sorts. “I got my Equity Card portraying the Ghost of Christmas Present in A Christmas Carol at The Actors Theatre of Louisville in 1996 and I have seen many different versions of A Christms Carol at Hedgerow, usually on Christmas Eve, kind of a tradition,” said Brian Anthony Wilson. “ So now, playing Scrooge at Hedgerow, working with Pete Pryor and Christopher Patrick Mullen, two phenomenal artists that I admire greatly, feels 'full circle.' I am beyond thrilled!” 

To create the world of Dickens' famed ghost story, as well as meet the madcap pace of the play,  Sarah Stryker and Lily Fossner return to the challenge as Scenic Designer and Lighting Designer, respectively. They collaborate once again with Jamel Baker, this time as Sound Designer, and are joined by Elizabeth Hanson as Costume Designer and Susan Wefel as Props Coordinator. Ali Caiazzo Stage Manages and Kate Fossner helms as Production Manager. 

To crack open and widen the welcome for the care and joy this story embodies, Hedgerow continues to create space and access for the community. This production features American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation by Hands UP Productions on Dec 9th at 3pm, which is also a Relaxed and audio described performance. Open Captioning will be offered during an entire week of performances, and Hedgerow hosts a family-friendly LGBTQ+ Pride Night offered in partnership with Swarthmore Pride on December 7th. This warm welcome includes a lobby display featuring an exhibit of winter-themed artwork by students from the School in Rose Valley, and pre-show gatherings and receptions, plus music in the lobby by folk duo "Last Chance" and other musicians throughout the run.

This holiday season, Hedgerow leads with mirth, laughter, generosity, and communal celebration. With seasoned artists at the helm, A Christmas Carol Comedy promises to be a memorable experience of unbridled merriment for the whole family.

   

About the Artists

Katie Leaman, Playwright: Playwright, producer, actor, and founding member of No Porpoise Productions, a Toronto (Ontario) based theatre collective that has produced two of her scripts including Alice in Wonderland: A Tale with No Porpoise and A Christmas Carol Comedy. Commissioned scripts include: Treasure Island, produced by Solar Stage four times and received multiple Dora Mavor Moore Award Nominations for Ensemble - TYA Division in 2016, 2017, and 2018; and an original script and soundtrack to educate grade 7-11s about the pathways in education for skilled trades, performed by student collaborators in the Hamilton Wentworth District School Board. Her next creative quest currently in the research phase is Worthy, a play about King Arthur and kidney transplants.

Pete Pryor, Director:  is the co-founder and former Producing Artistic Director of 1812 Productions; he most recently directed last season's A Christmas Carol Comedy. With Hedgerow he has performed as an actor in The Pillowman and The Weir. He has worked with People's Light as Associate Artistic Director and wrote and directed many of that company's holiday shows. Pete has worked extensively in theatre across the Delaware Valley and beyond. Pete is the winner of four Barrymore Awards for excellence in theater and is the recipient of multiple Independence Foundation individual artist fellowships. Pete is a Lunt Fontanne Fellow and was mentored at Ten Chimneys under Barry Edelstein. Pete's first play, Beautiful Boy is now available on Amazon. He has a M.Ed. in early childhood, is a certified special education teacher and is the Theatre Arts Program Coordinator at The Pathway School in Norristown; contactpetepryor@gmail.com.  

Brian Anthony Wilson, Scrooge: is a versatile Actor that has been blessed to maneuver through the fields of Theatre, Film & T.V. Recent Theatre : Twelfth Night & The Royale @ Lantern Theater, Radio Golf @ The Arden, The World Premiere of The Reclamation of Madison Hemings @ IRT in Indianapolis, King Lear, opposite Tony winner Andre DeShields @ St. Louis Shakespeare Festival, Jitney @ The Nashville Shakespeare Festival, Looking Over The President's Shoulder (one man Show) @ Act II Playhouse, Gem Of The Ocean @ Arden Theatre (* Barrymore Award for 'Outstanding Supporting Performance In A Play') & Thurgood ( one man Show) @ Olney Theatre Center in MD. Film/TV selected credits : Aurora: A Love Story, Manodrome, Finster, St. Michael of the City, Glass, Oceans 8, Creed, Limitless, Keeping The Faith, Rounders,The Postman / Shooting Stars (Peacock TV), (Interview With A Vampire (AMC), Manifest (Netflix), Poker Face (Peacock), Servant (Apple TV), Mare Of Easttown (HBO), FBI: Most Wanted (CBS), Dispatches From Elsewhere (AMC - Recurring), Wu-Tang: An American Saga (HULU-Recurring), Siren (Freeform TV-Recurring Guest Star), Bloodline (Netflix), Gotham (Fox), Blue Bloods (CBS) ,The Sopranos and The Wire (HBO-Recurring). 

Christopher Patrick Mullen, Everybody Else: Previously at Hedgerow: A Christmas Carol Comedy (last season), Amadeus (1998). Other credits include: West Side Story (First National Tour); The Runner Stumbles (Off-Broadway); Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes, Long Day's Journey into Night (Bridge Street Theatre); Birds of North America (Chester Theatre); Hapgood (Lantern Theatre); Assassins, Cabaret, Metamorphoses, Macbeth, A Little Night Music, Candide (Arden Theatre); The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, Noises Off, Rumors, Leading Ladies, ChipandGus (Arts Center of Coastal Carolina); Productions with the Pennsylvania  Shakespeare Festival since 1992 include: The Tempest, Sense and Sensibility, Henry iv Parts One & Two, Irma Vep, Shakespeare In Love, Richard II, Love's Labour's Lost, Pericles, Henry VIII, Charley's Aunt, Hamlet, The Glass Menagerie, Twelfth Night, As You Like It, and Macbeth; A Midsummer Night's Dream, Hamlet, The Taming of the Shrew (Orlando Shakespeare Theatre). TV: Law & Order, FBI; Training: DeSales University. His play “ChipandGus” has been produced at Baltimore Center Stage, Proctors Theatre, Centenary Stage, The New York Fringe Festival (Best of Fringe Award), and SoHo Playhouse. CPM is a People's Light veteran of thirty productions over 30 years (from 1989 to 2020). He is an acting teacher and audition coach: www.christopherpatrickmullen.com

Production Details
November 22-December 24

A Christmas  Carol Comedy
Written by Katie Leaman
Directed by Pete Pryor

Featuring:
Brian Anthony Wilson** as “Scrooge”
Christopher Patrick  Mullen** as “Everyone Else”

Stage Manager  Ali Caiazzo
Assistant Stage Manager Jacob Ryan
Scenic designer Sarah Stryker
Lighting designer Lily Fossner^^
Sound designer Jamel Baker
Costume designer & Shop Manager Elizabeth Hanson
Props coordinator

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