HUNTINGTON THEATRE COMPANY
ANNOUNCES DIGITAL OFFERING OF A
CHRISTMAS CAROL
FEATURING TONY WINNER JEFFERSON MAYS
“Raise the Curtain” packages and
tickets to A
Christmas Carol are
now available for purchase and for
holiday gift-giving
(BOSTON) – Huntington Theatre
Company announces it has joined producer Hunter Arnold and
a consortium of theatres across the US to present a special filmed version of
Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol this holiday season,
featuring Tony Award winner Jefferson Mays. Tickets are available
on the Huntington’s website (huntingtontheatre.org), and the film will be available for streaming from
November 28 through January 3.
In this special production of A
Christmas Carol, the timeless tale of Ebenezer Scrooge comes to thrilling
new life as Tony Award winner Jefferson Mays (I Am My Own
Wife, Oslo, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder on Broadway) plays
over 50 roles in a virtuosic, master class of a performance.
Staged exclusively for this film and
captured live at New York’s United Palace, this rousing streaming event
conjures the powerful spirits of Christmas and brings all the magic of live
theatre home for the holidays.
Directed by one of Broadway’s most
imaginative directors, two-time Tony Award nominee Michael Arden (Deaf
West’s Spring Awakening, Once on this Island on Broadway), adapted
by Mays, Susan Lyons (director of I Am My Own Wife on
Broadway), and Arden, and conceived by Arden and Tony Award nominee Dane
Laffrey (I Was Most Alive with You, God of
Carnage, and Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner at the
Huntington, Once on this Island on Broadway), the filmed
version is based on the highly acclaimed 2018 production which made its world
premiere at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles.
When it played the Geffen Playhouse in
2018, A Christmas Carol was called “a stunning adaptation”
by The Hollywood Reporter, and Charles McNulty of the Los
Angeles Times raved that “Jefferson Mays not only got me to see A
Christmas Carol, something I’ve vowed never to do again. But he got me to
rave about it. For true theatre lovers, there can be no better gift this
season.”
Adaptor and actor Jefferson Mays says, “A
Christmas Carol was my first experience of living theatre. 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.”
Director and adaptor Michael Arden says, “My
theatre 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 theatres 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.”
Producer Hunter Arnold says, “Due to
COVID-19, the country’s theatres have lost over 80% of their income, a number
that is devastating to our community. These theatres, the work they produce,
and the artists and workers they support are a fundamental part of our society.
We must fight for their survival.”
The creative team for A Christmas
Carol includes Dane Laffrey (scenic and costume
design), Maceo Bishop (director of photography), Ben
Stanton (lighting design, Man in the Ring and Love’s
Labour’s Lost at the Huntington), Lucy Mackinnon (projection
design, Ripcord at the Huntington), Joshua D.
Reid (sound design), Cookie Jordan (hair and makeup
design), James Ortiz (puppet design), and Nikki M.
James (assistant director). A Christmas Carol is
produced by Hunter Arnold with George Bamber, Kayla
Greenspan, Carl Daikeler, Roberto Quiroz Mata,
and Tom Kirdahy serving as Executive Producers for the film.
Huntington Theatre Company is a partner
through a joint project between Arnold's TBD Pictures, La Jolla Playhouse, and
On The Stage. Other partner theatres currently include Actors' Playhouse,
Geffen Playhouse, George Street Playhouse, Iowa Stage Theatre Company, La Jolla
Playhouse, Sankofa Collective, Shea's Performing Arts Center, South Coast
Repertory, Springfield Contemporary Theatre, Theatre Tallahassee, and
Vermont Stage.
TICKETS FOR A CHRISTMAS CAROL:
Tickets are $50 per household, with select
discounts for students and others, and are available online at huntingtontheatre.org/christmas-carol or by phone at 617 266 0800. (At least $20 per
full price ticket will benefit the Huntington Theatre Company.) Closed-captioning will be available.
Ticket buyers will receive an email from the
streaming company On The Stage with a viewing link, and beginning November 28
at 9pm through January 3, viewers will have 24 hours to watch the performance
once the link has been activated. The performance can be watched on any device
or cast to a television.
SPECIAL OFFER: The first 25 people to
purchase the “Raise the Curtain” package (details below) will receive
complimentary access to the digital streaming production of A Christmas
Carol this holiday season.
“RAISE THE CURTAIN” PACKAGE
In order to help sustain the company when
live theatre is not possible and revenue opportunities are limited, the
Huntington has created the “Raise the Curtain” package as a way for theatre
lovers to show their support. For $199, purchasers of the “Raise the Curtain”
package receive 2 FlexPass tickets to be used to redeem seats to any available
Huntington performance in the future, as well as a Huntington tote bag ($69 per
package for 35 Below and students). “Raise the Curtain” packages will make
great holiday gifts for theatre fans and supporters.
As a special offer to launch the program,
the first 25 people to purchase the “Raise the Curtain” package will receive
complimentary access to the digital streaming production of A Christmas
Carol this holiday season (tickets to A Christmas Carol are
regularly $50).
