OpenStage Theatre and producer Hunter Arnold unofficially kicked off the holiday season early by announcing that a special filmed version of Dickens’ beloved holiday classic A Christmas Carol starring one of the finest stage actors of our time, Tony Award® winner Jefferson Mays, will be released worldwide on Saturday, November 28. This streaming video event will benefit OpenStage Theatre as well as other community, amateur and regional theaters across the country which have been devastated by the pandemic. Directed by two-time Tony Award nominee Michael Arden, adapted by Mays, Susan Lyons, and Arden, and conceived by Arden and Tony Award nominee Dane Laffrey, the filmed version is based on the wildly acclaimed 2018 production which made its world premiere at Los Angeles’ Geffen Playhouse.
Jefferson Mays said, “A Christmas Carol was my first experience of living theater. My mother and father would read it out loud every year. My father would tell the story with clarity and humanity, while my mother, eyes ablaze, would transform into the characters, from the tortured Jacob Marley, to little Fan and the entire Cratchit family. Both, in their ways, created magic. And now here we are, aspiring to bring this magic to people across the country during this challenging time.”
Michael Arden said, “My theater career began when I was a 10-year-old Texan playing Tiny Tim in the Midland Community Theatre production of A Christmas Carol. In a time when theaters and arts workers across the country are in great need, bringing a story that celebrates the power of creativity, community, and our shared humanity is humbling.”
Hunter Arnold said, “Due to COVID-19, the country’s theaters have lost over 80% of their income, a number that is devastating to our community. These theaters, the work they produce, and the artists and workers they support are a fundamental part of our society. We must fight for their survival.”
OpenStage Theatre is a partner through a joint project between Arnold’s TBD Pictures, La Jolla Playhouse, and On The Stage. Other partner theaters currently include Actor’s Express, Actors’ Playhouse, Apple Hill Playhouse, Bucks County Playhouse, Bunbury Theatre, The Cape Playhouse, Centerstage, Coachella Valley Repertory Theatre, Detroit Public Theatre, Dorset Theatre Festival, Dreamcatcher Repertory Theatre, Geffen Playhouse, George Street Playhouse, Greenbrier Valley Theatre, Huntington Theatre Company, Iowa Stage Theatre Company, KC Melting Pot, Koger Center for the Arts, La Jolla Playhouse, Lake Dillon Theatre Company, Mad Cow Theatre, The MAD Factory, Midland Community Theater, New Stage Theatre, ORMACO, Oklahoma City Repertory Theatre, Paper Mill Playhouse, Peoria Players, Pittsburgh Public Theater, Portland Center Stage, Red Mountain Theatre Company, Sankofa Collective, Sharon Playhouse, Shea’s Performing Arts Center, South Coast Repertory, Spokane Civic Theatre, Springfield Contemporary Theatre, Theatre Tallahassee, Theatre Tulsa, and Vermont Stage.
TICKETS AVAILABLE NOW AT https://www.openstage.com/events/48th-season-2020-2021/a-christmas-carol/
PRODUCTION PHOTOS of the Geffen Playhouse production by photographer Chris Whitaker.