Craig Wallace Returns to Lead Ford Theatre's A CHRISTMAS CAROL

Ford's Theatre announces that acclaimed Washington actor Craig Wallace will return to Ford's to reprise the role of Ebenezer Scrooge for the company's holiday production of A Christmas Carol. Performances of the classic Charles Dickens story begin November 21, 2019 and continue for a six-week engagement through January 1, 2020. This "musically high-spirited" and "infectiously jolly" (The Washington Post) production is adapted by Michael Wilson and directed by Michael Baron.

Join the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future as they lead Ebenezer Scrooge on a journey of transformation and redemption. The production captures the magic and joy of Dickens's Yuletide classic with abundant caroling, spooky stage tricks and cheerful dancing for the holiday season.

"Part of why I love doing A Christmas Carol is because it allows me to watch audiences explore with Scrooge the play's important themes of friendship, compassion and being thankful. This 176-year-old play is a timeless reminder of our responsibility to our fellow citizens and the true spirit of Christmas," said Craig Wallace.

For the 11th year in a row, the company of A Christmas Carol will devote time and energy to raising money for a Washington charity dedicated to eradicating homelessness, hunger and poverty. Their efforts coupled with our audience's generous support have raised more than $836,600 for local charities including Homeless Children's Playtime Project, House of Ruth, N Street Village, Bread for the City, Covenant House Washington, Food and Friends, Martha's Table, Miriam's Kitchen, So Others Might Eat and Thrive DC. This year's Washington charity recipient will be announced by November 15.

A Christmas Carol is made possible by our 2019-2020 Season Sponsor: Chevron. This production also is made possible by the Lead Underwriter: Charter Communications and additional Underwriters: Exxon Mobil Corporation, The Home Depot, National Retail Federation and United Technologies Corporation.

THE DIRECTOR

Michael Baron made his Ford's Theatre directorial debut with the 2009 production of A Christmas Carol. He also served as associate director of the 2008 Ford's production of The Civil War. Baron has directed more than 95 productions at theatres across the country. His D.C.-area directorial credits include The Little Dog Laughed for Signature Theatre and James and the Giant Peach and A Year with Frog and Toad (2012 Helen Hayes Award) for Adventure Theatre. Baron is currently Producing Artistic Director of the Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma where he has directed Fun Home, Disney's When You Wish, I Am My Own Wife, Assassins, Fiddler on the Roof and Dreamgirls, among others. Baron holds an M.F.A. from Trinity Repertory and has taught at American University, Brown University and College of the Holy Cross. He is a board member for the National Alliance for Musical Theatre.

THE CAST

Craig Wallace was most recently featured at Ford's as Troy in August Wilson's Fences and in productions of Death of a Salesman, The Guard, Driving Miss Daisy, Necessary Sacrifices and others. Additional recent credits include Mosaic Theater Company's Satchmo at the Waldorf, All the Way at Arena Stage and How I Learned to Drive at Round House Theatre, among others.

The Ford's production also includes Stephen F. Schmidt as Jacob Marley, Rayanne Gonzales as the Ghost of Christmas Present, Justine "Icy" Moral as the Ghost of Christmas Past, Gregory Maheu as Bob Cratchit and Yesenia Iglesias as Mrs. Cratchit. They are joined by actors Jonathan Atkinson, Michael Bunce, Ashley D. Buster, Maria Egler, Kristen Garaffo, Rick Hammerly, Joe Mallon, Da'Von T. Moody, Christopher Mueller, Awa Sal Secka, Bueka Uwemedimo and Emily Zickler.

The young cast of A Christmas Carol (roles rotate every other performance) includes Caleb Wilson and August McFeaters as Tiny Tim, with Natalie Cavender, Susana Lopez-Chavarriaga, Alice Clark, Madison K. Fields, Matthew Fields, Sawyer Andrew Makl, Ravi Mampara, Keyla Niederstrasser, Ariel Russell, Anoushka Sharma, Rowan Tarmy and William Young.

THE DESIGNERS

Designs for A Christmas Carol include Scenic Designer Lee Savage's striking iron work, which evokes London's Covent Garden marketplace. The cast is outfitted in Alejo Vietti's festive Victorian costumes. The design team also includes Lighting Design by Rui Rita, Original Music and Sound Design by Josh Schmidt, Choreography by Shea Sullivan, Wig Design by Charles G. LaPointe, Choral Direction by Jay Crowder, and Dialects and Vocal Direction by Rachel Hirshorn-Johnston.

SPECIAL PERFORMANCES AND EVENTS

Audio-described performances of A Christmas Carol are December 3, 2019, at 7:30 p.m. and December 28, 2019, at 2:00 p.m. Sign-interpreted performances are December 8, 2019, at 7:30 p.m. and December 12, 2019, at 7:30 p.m. A Sensory-Friendly performance is scheduled for December 14 at 2:00 p.m. A captioned performance is scheduled December 22, 2019, at 2:00 p.m.

Beginning November 29, all performances of A Christmas Carol will be captioned via the GalaPro App. GalaPro is available from the App Store or Google Play, and allows patrons to access captioning on demand through their phone or tablet device. Patrons set their phones to airplane mode and connect to the local GalaPro Wifi network before the performance begins. More information at https://www.fords.org/visit/accessibility/galapro-captioning.

Free Tickets to First Performance

Ford's Theatre Partners with TodayTix to give out free tickets for the first performance of each mainstage production in our theatrical season. One-hundred and fifty tickets for the November 21 performance will be available via the TodayTix app lottery beginning November 14. The TodayTix app is available in Apple App Store, the Google Play or Amazon AppStore. Visit www.fords.org/free for lottery entry details.

Photo Credit: Suchman Photo

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