Farmington Players Holiday Show HUMBUG Opens This Month

What do you get when you take Charles Dickens' classic holiday tale, A Christmas Carol, update the setting to modern day Wall Street, and sprinkle in some hip and hilarious ghosts?  It's Humbug by John Wooten, a heartwarming family friendly holiday comedy at The Farmington Players Barn Theater, running December 6 - 21.

Most people picture Ebenezer Scrooge as a grizzled, miserable miser, an old man with no sense of humor who runs his business with an iron fist.  However, in Humbug, the central figure is Eleanor Scrooge, played by Denise Kallas of Milford.  Eleanor is a no-nonsense businesswoman who runs a successful firm as a Wall Street executive.  Denise's work as a trial attorney in the Oakland County Prosecutor's office has prepared her well to play Scrooge: “I can turn off my feelings pretty quickly, and that's what Eleanor does. She can distance herself from what's happening around her, and as a trial lawyer, you have to be able to do that.”  Eleanor is both mentor and tormenter to her long-suffering assistant Roberta “Bobbie” Cratchit, played by Madeleine Bien of Livonia, who says: “Bobbie has worked for Eleanor for a very long time and she does care a lot for her despite being treated so poorly.  There's still an unconventional friendship that's been there, and a bond between the two of them.”  

Director Brian Tupper of Farmington Hills “enjoys the challenge to find both the humor in the play of the various characters and their circumstances. Our playwright has tweaked the ghosts as avant-garde ‘advisors' to guide our antagonist through her meaningful past, present and future.”  The modern-day spirits in Humbug provide much of the comic relief, including Jacob Marley (Tony Targan), Past (Stefan Potter), Present (Elizabeth Tumminello ), and Future (Benjamin Burt).

As Bien says, “I really enjoy the characters and personalities of the ghost advisors who come to speak to Scrooge because they talk to her in a more relatable way.”  

Humbug provides a nice, family friendly opportunity to enjoy the best aspects of the holiday season.  The messages of family and redemption are universal.  As Kallas says, “You don't always realize how important the people that are already in your life are.  Scrooge comes to realize that she really has everyone she needs to have a happy, whole life.”  Tupper echoes this sentiment: “Scrooge comes to realize that the important things in life are not money and the power and status it may bring, but rather the humanity and goodwill that is the bedrock for true happiness in the world. May we all remember these ideals this holiday season!”

Humbug opens Friday December 6 – including two shows on December 14 – and runs through Saturday December 21 in Farmington Hills. Weinstein Jewelers is sponsoring the show. Tickets are now available online at www.farmingtonplayers.org or by calling the box office at  248-553-2955.

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