Clarence Brown Theatre's A CHRISTMAS CAROL Opens Tonight

The Clarence Brown Theatre holiday tradition of the timeless Dickens classic "A Christmas Carol" returns tonight, November 27 through December 22 on the Clarence Brown Theatre mainstage.

This year's production features an enhanced set, more music and will include an intermission. Also new this year will be a special photo opportunity and sweet treat concessions for young and old alike. he production is sponsored by mainstage series sponsor, Schaad Companies and also Pilot Flying J, Rotary Club of Knoxville, the Arts & Culture Alliance, the Tennessee Arts Commission and the Arts and Heritage Fund. Hotel support is provided by the Hilton Garden Inn. Media sponsors are WBIR, Comcast, WUOT, WUTK, Knoxville News Sentinel, East TN PBS, and B97.5.

"A Christmas Carol" is the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, whose ghostly journey and transformation through Christmas past, present and future is among the most beloved stories in western literature. Described by Dickens as his "little Christmas Book," "A Christmas Carol" was first published in December 1843. The story was instantly successful, selling over 6,000 copies in one week. It has since been republished countless times and adapted for stage and screen. It remains one of literatures' most enduring and often-quoted stories of hope, triumph, and communal spirit.

Director Casey Sams is an Associate Professor at UT where she works in both the Graduate and Undergraduate programs teaching Movement and Acting. Casey's other CBT credits include: "Sweeney Todd," "On the Razzle," and "Tommy." She also has directed, choreographed or served as movement coach at such theatres as The Round House Theatre (DC), The Utah Shakespearean Festival, PlayMakers Rep (Chapel Hill), North Carolina Stage Company (Asheville), Virginia Stage Company (Norfolk), Knoxville Opera Company, and Vermont Stage Company (Burlington).

"What excites me about "A Christmas Carol" and one of the areas we will be focusing on is the real sense that Scrooge is going on an individual journey...that it's his trip from being closed off and isolated from the world around him to a place where he can see and share in the beauty, generosity, and joy that is around him," Sams said.

Rachel Schlafer-Parton (Musical Director) from Luttrell, TN is best known for her performance on the syringe on Garrison Keillor's "A Prairie Home Companion." She also performed at the National Gallery of Art, Strathmore Music Center, Bonnaroo, and the Bluebird Café. Locally she has performed with Farr Horizons, Knoxville Early Music Project, InterAct Children's Theatre for the Deaf, Hudson K, and The Band of Humans. Her CBT credits include: "A Christmas Carol" and "The Story of Opal."

The production features professional actors and resident artists, UT Theatre faculty, UT graduate and undergraduate student actors, and actors from greater Knoxville. Again, performing the role of Scrooge is visiting guest actor David Kortemeier. Some CBT credits include: "Sweeney Todd," "Moonlight & Magnolias," "The Music Man," "Man of La Mancha," "Amadeus," "Oedipus the King," "Little Shop of Horrors," and "Love's Labour's Lost." His work also has been seen at the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, the Great Lakes Theatre Festival in Cleveland, Drury Lane Theatre and Noble Fool Theatricals in Chicago and thirteen seasons with the Illinois Shakespeare Festival in Bloomington. He holds an MFA in Acting from the University of Louisville. UT Theater faculty member Katy Wolfe Zahn will perform the role of Christmas Past. Resident artists David Brian Alley will play Jacob Marley and Neil Friedman will play Christmas Present and Mr. Fezziwig.

UT Theater graduate actors include: Micah-Shane Brewer (Bob Cratchit/Ensemble); Johanna Dunphy (Belle/Mrs. Fred/Ensemble); Angela Graham (Mrs. Cratchit/Ensemble); StuArt Matthews (Schoolmaster/Priest/ Topper/Undertaker); Corey O'Brien-Pniewski (Fred/Ensemble); Laura Sebastian (Mrs. Grigsby/Mrs. Fezziwig/Ensemble); and Tramell Tillman (Soloist/Musician/Ensemble). Undergraduate students include: Dani Disotelle (Petunia/Ensemble); Kolt Free (Dick Wilkins/Ensemble); Robert Parker (Boy Scrooge/Peter Cratchit/Ensemble); Hannah Jones (Martha Cratchit/Ensemble), Eric Sorrels (Young Ebenezer/Ensemble); Juliet Bethel Stuphin (Fan/Sophia/Ensemble); and Emerald Wright (Dorthea). Community actors include: Cian Owen Bell (Boy Caroler, Boy Ebenezer, Tom Cratchit, Ignorance, Turkey Boy and Ensemble); Kate Cimino (Belinda Cratchit, Ensemble); Isabella Coyne (Mary Cratchit); Eason Bullard (Tiny Tim, Ensemble); Ted Kitterman (Fiddler/Ensemble); Amelia Payne (Mary Cratchit/Ensemble); and Shelton Tison (Tiny Tim/Ensemble). The creative team for this production includes: Melissa Caldwell-Weddig (Costume Coordinator); Catherine Marie Girardi (Lighting Designer); Joe Payne (Sound and Projection/Media Designer); and Christopher Pickart (Scenic Designer).

Also contributing to the production are Jess Milewicz (Young Performers' Director); Ted Kitterman (Assistant Musical Director); Asya Angelique Mounger (Assistant Costume Coordinator); Isabel Tipton (Assistant Sound Designer); Kevin McClintock (Assistant Media Director); Kenneth Foster (Assistant Lighting Designer) and Carol Mayo Jenkins (Dialect Coach). The preview for "A Christmas Carol" is Wednesday, November 27 followed by Opening Night Friday, November 29. The show runs through December 22. UT faculty/staff, senior citizens, children and students receive discounts. A special Gift of Theatre 3-show package is available for sale for $69. With a dual mission to train the next generation of theatre artists and to provide top quality professional theatre, the Clarence Brown Theatre at the University of Tennessee Knoxville is one of only 12 academic LORT (League of Resident Theatre) institutions in the nation. Under the artistic direction of Calvin MacLean, the CBT season runs from August through May and features eight productions ranging from musicals to drama.

The 2013-2014 Season continues with: A Christmas Carol, The Whipping Man, The Trip to Bountiful, Wrens and Spamalot. For more information or tickets, call the CBT Box Office at 865-974-5161 or visit us online at clarencebrowntheatre.com.

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