Celebrate the Season with Detroit's Holiday Tradition A CHRISTMAS CAROL at Bonstelle

Theatre and Dance at Wayne continues its 2016-17 season by bringing together the undergraduate and graduate acting companies on one stage at the Bonstelle Theatre to present A Christmas Carol to audiences of all ages in Detroit. The entire company collaborates to deliver a holiday spectacle of story, song, visual and sensory delight for the season.

Follow miserly Ebenezer Scrooge as he encounters three ghosts showing him the past, present and future on the night before Christmas. A Christmas Carol is not just the story of a cruel man who learns to be kind. It is the story of a man who rejected love for most of his life deciding to let himself love other and let others love him. Through the flashbacks of Christmas Past, we learn that Scrooge is not just a miserly monster. The audience learns to empathize with Scrooge just as the way Scrooge himself learns to empathize with Bob Cratchit. The story's focus on Christmas, the darkest time of the year, intensifies Scrooge's journey.

Theatre and Dance at Wayne is pleased to partner with Gleaners Community Food Bank in presenting this production. Patrons who bring two canned items and purchase one adult ticket for any performance of A Christmas Carol will receive a free child's ticket.

Opening night will take place on Friday, December 2, at 7:00 p.m. with additional performances on December 3, 7-10 & 15-18. Specific performance times are listed below, with ticket prices ranging from $10 to $30 per person.

Tom Aulino, assistant professor of theatre, directs this production. Aulino is in his second year of teaching in the department and previously worked as an actor in New York City and at many other regional theatres. Aulino describes the production as "a story ingrained in our culture and adapted as classic and modern films, stage productions, and television specials starring everyone from Bill Murray to Vanessa Williams to Mr. Magoo. It is easy to forget that the original novel was written by the same man who wrote Great Expectations, David Copperfield, Bleak House and Oliver Twist. It is a joy to bring this story once again to the stage and to listen to it anew through the original words of the great Charles Dickens."

Performances:

Wednesday 2:00 p.m. (December 7)
Thursday 7:00 p.m. (December 8 & 15)
Friday 7:00 p.m. (December 2, 9 & 16)
Saturday 3:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. (December 3, 10 & 17)
Sunday 3:00 p.m. (December 18)

Cast (in alphabetical order):

Jackson Abohasira (Partier 2/Man 1), Christian Anderson (Dick/Belle's Husband), Ernest Bentley (Ebenezer Scrooge), Easton Bynum (Zacharias/Tiny Tim), Wesley Cady (Belle), Devri Chism (Narrator 2/Laundress), James Davis III (Young Scrooge), Christiano DeRushia (Apprentice Scrooge/Partier 3), Noel Garcia (Benjamin/Boy with turkey), Joe Gaskill (Peter/Partier 4/Man 2), Michael Hailey-Dibbles (William/Ignorance), Luke Hodgeson (Narrator 3), Kyle Mitchell Johnson (Bob Cratchit), James Kern (Narrator 1), Hope Laurain (Martha/Mrs. Fred), Kayla LeFebvre (Lady 1), Maddie Lorio (Narrator 4/Caroline), Cody Robison (Marley's Ghost), Aubrey Rutterbush (Belinda/Fan/Want), Mary Sansone (Ghost of Christmas Past/Charwoman), Abagail Snow (Mrs. Cratchit/Lady 2), Nick Stockwell (Charity 1), Michael Phillip Thomas (Mr. Fezziwig/Old Joe), Tiffany Michelle Thompson (Ghost of Christmas Present), Zoe Thompson (Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come), Graham Todd (Fred), Michael Vultaggio (Mrs. Fezziwig/Beggar Man), Matthew Woods (Topper/Caroline's Husband), Brandon Wright (Charity 2/Scrooge Double)

The production team includes Tom Aulino (Director), Ryan P. Jones (Stage Manager), Jocelyn Levadoux (Assistant Stage Manager), Andrea Lauryn (Assistant Stage Manager), Ben Moore (Music Director), Fred Florkowski (Scenic Designer), Sarah Pearline (Projections Designer), John Woodland (Costume Designer), John Wolf (Lighting Designer), Natalie Colony (Assistant Lighting Designer & Master Electrician), Beth Lake (Sound Designer), John Schmidt (Assistant Sound Designer), Brian Dambacher (Technical Director), Emily Willemse (Properties Master), JP Hitesman (Marketing Manager), Dale Dorlin (Audience Engagement Manager), Ashleigh Daindridge (Digital Media Manager).

Wayne State University's Maggie Allesee Department of Theatre and Dance serves students as a nexus of performance, production, and research in the fields of dance, theatre, and performance studies. It provides a wide variety of degree programs that allow students the flexibility to study these disciplines broadly or to concentrate more specifically in performance, design, or management. The Hilberry Theatre hosts a professional theatre company that is staffed by graduate students and runs on a rotating repertory schedule. Each academic year, graduate students receive assistantships to work for the Hilberry Theatre and study for advanced degrees. The company performs and produces an annual season of six plays, including high school matinees for nearly 6,000 students. Wayne State University is a premier urban research institution offering more than 370 academic programs through 13 schools and colleges to nearly 29,000 students.

Pictured: Christian Anderson, Jackson Abohasira, Ernest Bentley, and Michael Vultaggio. Photo by Chuk Nowak Photography.

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