Trinity Rep Announces A CHRISTMAS CAROL

Trinity Rep presents its annual holiday tradition, A Christmas Carol. Noted for being a new production each year, the 2019 production has been inspired by the senses, with a focus on the sights, sounds, and smells of the holiday season. With an abundance of dancing and singing, this year the production will be directed by Kate Bergstrom. Beloved acting company member Jude Sandy will be playing the role of Ebenezer Scrooge. A Christmas Carol runs November 7 through December 29, with press opening on Tuesday, November 12 at 7:30 pm. Among the ten most-attended productions of A Christmas Carol in America each year, Trinity Rep's production has become a southern New England tradition, serving over 1.6 million people since its inception more than four decades ago. Last year's production was the highest-selling show in Trinity Rep's history. More show details are online at TrinityRep.com/carol. Tickets start at $27 and are available online or by contacting the box office at (401) 351-4242.

Sensory Friendly Plus! Production

Trinity Rep will continue offering a Sensory-Friendly Plus! performance of A Christmas Carol, on Saturday, November 16 at 2:00 pm. Designed to meet the needs of children and adults on the autism spectrum, and/or individuals with sensory processing disorders or other cognitive disabilities, this performance features modified sound, lighting, and other adjustments. Patrons are invited to make sounds, enter and exit as needed during the performance, and enjoy this holiday tradition with their family and community.

The Sensory-Friendly Plus! performance features a red warning light that will illuminate before intense sound and light effects, and includes trained ushers in the audience to offer assistance, a social story and plot synopsis sent in advance, and a safe space in the lobby for patrons to return to if they need a break from the performance. More information can be found at TrinityRep.com/sensoryfriendlyplus.

Resident Acting Company member Jude Sandy had to say of his role as Ebenezer Scrooge, "Playing Scrooge at Trinity Rep has been a dream for me ever since I was a Brown/Trinity Rep graduate student. A lot of my prep, apart from consuming every detail I can of the original story, is thinking about how I can honor Dickens and generations of Trinity Rep audiences and the Great Performances of my fellow acting company members past and present. I hope to wrap myself up in all that glorious history and communal ownership, and aim to reflect all that rich tradition living in our shared present."

Director Kate Bergstrom said of the production, "Part ghost story, part Odyssey, part party like its 1843, I envision this journey as a livening of the senses. With a full-bodied ensemble-driven world, my hope is to uncover and reveal the transcendental magic of generosity and joy implied in Dickens' call to A Christmas Carol. Telling this story is a quest for magic. Telling this story is a call for redemption, radical compassion, and hope. "

Long-Standing Tradition

Founding Artistic Director Adrian Hall first added A Christmas Carol To Trinity Rep's lineup in 1977, just four years after moving into the company's current home at the Lederer Theater Center on Washington Street. Since then the production has been a holiday staple for generations of families in Southern New England. Trinity Rep's production is set apart from other holiday productions by the fact that it is re-imagined every year by a new director, cast, and set of designers.

Cast and Creative Team

Director Kate Bergstrom, who is a graduate of the Brown/Trinity Rep MFA program in directing will be working alongside Michael Rice (music director), and Taavon Gamble (choreographer). They are joined on the creative team by Patrick Lynch (set design), Olivera Gajic (costume design), Barbara Samuels (lighting design), and Broken Chord (sound design.) In addition to Jude Sandy, Resident Acting Company members Timothy Crowe, Mauro Hantman, Stephen Thorne, and Rachael Warren will take on various roles in the production. They will be joined by third-year students in the Brown/Trinity Rep MFA Acting program including: Danielle Dorfman '20, Jack Dryden '20, Ricardy Fabre '20, Henry Hetz '20, Michael Rosas '20 and Haley Schwartz '20. Guest artists AJ Baldwin and Taavon Gamble will join the production.

The production will also feature a children's cast comprised of young local actors including: Honesto Aguinaldo (Warwick, RI), Adrian Amaya (Johnston, RI), Lily Butler (Johnston, RI), Anthony Davis (Cumberland, RI), Breyannie Davis (Cumberland, RI), Rylee Donelan (Barrington, RI), Aryielle Jean-Noel (Attleboro, MA), Elizabeth Peart (Providence, RI), Haley Pezza (East Greenwich, RI), Claudia Rufio (Plainville, MA), Vivien Thorne (Lincoln, RI), Warnsey Wiggins, Jr. (West Warwick, RI)

Other Community Partnerships

A Christmas Carol at Trinity Rep is presented by Cardi's Furniture and Mattresses with supporting sponsor Amica Insurance. The Media Sponsor for this production is iHeart Radio's stations B101 and Coast 93.3. Trinity Rep will continue to partner with the Rhode Island Community Food Bank throughout the run of the show. Since 2006, the cast of A Christmas Carol has raised money following the performances, and the audience has responded generously, giving over $525,000 to the Food Bank over the years. This production is dedicated to Stephen Hamblett and his love for the story of A Christmas Carol, and to longtime friend Nick Cardi, who embodied the spirit of Christmas in his life and work.

Special Events

Continuing Trinity Rep's tradition of offering affordable tickets for all, the theater will have discounted previews of A Christmas Carol. Thursday, November 7 is a Pay What You Can performance. Pay What You Can tickets go on sale at 6:30 pm that evening, and are limited to one per person.

Other special performances for this production include an Open Captioned performance for the show on November 10 at 12:00 pm. There will also be a Lunch and Learn on November 15 at 12:00 pm where members of the public are invited to bring their lunches and see behind-the-scenes sneak peeks of the set and other aspects of production.

Trinity Repertory Company

Rhode Island's Tony Award-winning theater, Trinity Rep has created unparalleled professional theater for and with its community since its founding in 1963. Trinity Rep strives to facilitate human connection and has been a driving force behind the creativity that fuels and defines the region for more than 50 years.

Trinity Rep is committed to reinventing the public square and inspiring dialogue by creating emotionally-stimulating live productions that range from classical to contemporary and innovative education programs for all ages and abilities. Its annual production of A Christmas Carol has brought families together for more than four decades and made memories for over a million audience members.

Subscriptions and single tickets are now on sale for the 2019-20 Season, which includes the world-premiere of The Prince of Providence by George Brant, based on the book The Prince of Providence by Mike Stanton; Fade by Tanya Saracho; August Wilson's Radio Golf; A Tale of Two Cities by Brian McEleney, based on the novel by Charles Dickens; Sweat by Lynn Nottage; and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Hugh Wheeler.

For more information on our 2019-20 Season, call the box office at (401) 351-4242 or visit Trinity Rep's website www.TrinityRep.com

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