Covenant Care to Provide Citadel Theatre's Filmed A CHRISTMAS CAROL to Hundreds of Seniors in Care

Among the serious concerns facing senior citizens in care facilities across Canada is the impact of isolation and loneliness, stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, on their mental and emotional health. One Alberta organization is taking a step toward modifying that impact this festive season.

Covenant Care, which operates facilities for seniors in communities across Alberta, is streaming the Citadel Theatre's digitized rendition of A Christmas Carol To its residents. Covenant Care will provide the show to around nine-hundred seniors in nine of their facilities across the province. Covenant Care has a master channel with Telus through which they can provide a feed that plays in the rooms of residents.

David van Belle's adaptation of the Charles Dickens' classic tale of redemption and Christmas cheer first appeared on the Citadel stage in November/December 2019. The new A Christmas Carol, moved from 18th century London to post-war America and built as a dynamic musical filled with modern popular Christmas songs, was an instant hit. The pandemic made it impossible to stage the show again this year, breaking a 20-year tradition of presenting A Christmas Carol during the festive season. Instead, Citadel artistic director Daryl Cloran spearheaded an ambitious project to create a movie based on van Belle's Carol. The film was released to the public on streaming platform Broadway on Demand December 15th and will be available for streaming until December 31st. Initial reviews from the critics have all had high praise for this new film version. Captioned video is available for those who are Deaf or hard-of-hearing.

"This season truly is magical-it has a way of bringing people and organizations together to uplift those around them," says Derrick Bernardo, President of Covenant Care. "Seniors have been heartbreakingly hard hit with the pandemic. Offering them theatre and musical performances is a beautiful, unexpected gift that will fill their hearts with hope."

"We are grateful to The Citadel Theatre for their wholehearted support of this tiny idea that will undoubtedly have a big impact on our residents."

The filming of A Christmas Carol was made possible through generous funding support from the EPCOR Heart and Soul Fund, the Edmonton Community Foundation, and Citadel season sponsor Capital Power.

For the public, A Christmas Carol is available for the very reasonable price of $40 a household plus Fees/GST. To order your streaming pass today, call the Citadel Box Office at 780-425-1820 or go on-line to https://www.citadeltheatre.com/2020/a-christmas-carol.

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