Possum Point Players' THE TRIAL OF EBENEZER SCROOGE Brings New Twist to Holiday Classic Tonight

Not your everyday courtroom setting, THE TRIAL OF EBENEZER SCROOGE promises to stretch the imagination from a strict and structured court of law to a flight of fancy where ghosts, spirits and even characters from dreams occupy the witness stand and swear their innocence. As Ebenezer Scrooge charges them all with a litany of offenses, including kidnapping, trespassing, stalking and slander, are we seeing Scrooge as he was before, or maybe the way he was before before?

You really need to see THE TRIAL OF EBENEZER SCROOGE to know and maybe understand.

Show dates for the Possum Point Players' Christmas production are Dec. 4, 5, 6, 11, 12, and 13; Friday and Saturday shows, 7:30 PM, and Sunday matinees, 2 PM. Tickets are $18; $17 for seniors and students, and may be purchased by calling the ticketline, 302-856-4560 or on line at www.possumpointplayers.org.

Director Jim Hartzell admits that it might be best if audience members don't try to figure things out. "So, sit back," he said, "And enjoy a wonderful cast in a delightfully irreverent take-off from Dickens' tale. Please do not get bogged down in "How come....?", "How did he....?", "Why is she.......?"

Probably good advice when characters in and out of the courtroom include a chain-laden ghost who finally appeared to Scrooge after being on a haunting waiting list for seven years, and one of the big three Christmas spirits requires a courtroom translator because he only speaks ghost. The judge himself can't hide his own "Humbug" characteristics and Scrooge, acting as his own attorney, performs with a paucity of protocol as his outbursts rile judge and spirits alike.

Hartzell added, "Dealing with dreams and ghosts and reality and fantasy within the same script is difficult enough. Add in familiar and beloved characters and story lines from arguably the most popular secular Christmas story and the result becomes a real, but humorous, test of wits for the audience, director and cast. Trust me, you may have an answer to your questions, but, like as not, it will prove to be as illogical as the circumstance which prompted the question."

To dispel any traces of humbug, all who attend are encouraged to join Possum Point Players as they partner with Delaware Food Bank in collecting food for those who are experiencing need during the holiday season. A Food Bank collection barrel for nonperishable food will be in the lobby.

The Players will also be having a fund raiser in the Green Room during each show. Attendees are invited to stop in and bid on items collected from friends, members and local merchants.

Possum Point Players is supported, in part, by grants from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency dedicated to nurturing and supporting the arts in Delaware, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts.

Pictured: Cast members (from l. to r.) George Mason (Under sheet), Milford; Chuck Rafferty, Laurel; John Marino, Lewes; Cat Baker, Georgetown, Pat Erhardt, Seaford and Anne Maloney of Millsboro, rehearse a scene from PPP's The Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge.

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