Tag Archives: A Christmas Carol

Tonight, the Pocket Sandwich Theatre played host to one of our most special audiences.  A foster care organization bought out the theater and brought in some of the children for whom they care.  Most of them had never seen a stage production before.  Some were experiencing Charles Dickens’ classic tale for the very first time.

After the final bow, we were greeted with hugs and smiles.  While they expressed gratitude for our performance, we were the ones who were treated with one of our best audiences so far.  Thanks to everyone who made this evening possible.

Two weekends of performances are now behind us.  However, we’re only getting started.  We start up again on Tuesday and over the next two weeks we’ll put on 16 performances, concluding our run on December 23.  The shows are packed and selling out early so make your reservations soon before this year’s production becomes little more than legend!

After several weeks of rehearsals, the actors are ready.  Last night, we performed to a preview audience of friends and family.  Tonight, we take to the stage in front of a sold-out crowd eagerly awaiting this year’s installment of a wildly popular Christmas tradition: Ebenezer Scrooge.

Presented for the 27th consecutive holiday season at Pocket Sandwich Theatre, this musical adaptation of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol is the house’s biggest draw of the year.  Judging from the preview audience reaction, this year’s production promises to be one of the best yet.  As performers, we had a blast playing to the crowded room.  There was laughter, there were tears, there was singing both on stage and off.

I’m privileged to be working with such a young, energetic cast of 27 actors performing 50 roles!  This has been a fun rehearsal process and the show looks great.  I hope you find time during your hectic holiday schedule to come, sit down, relax and enjoy the show.

Directed by Jeff Vance and with David H.M. Lambert starring in the title role for the 15th year, Ebenezer Scrooge runs for 23 performances beginning tonight through December 23.  Food and beverage service available before all shows.  Reservations are strongly recommended.  Box Office: (214) 821-1860.

Our Tiny Tim turned nine years old yesterday and we celebrated her birthday at rehearsals for Ebenezer Scrooge.  After rehearsing the opening number our director, Jeff Vance, halted everything and announced we would be adding a new unrehearsed song at that point in the show.  We then broke out into a chorus of “Happy Birthday to You” and cake was presented.  Needless to say, our Tiny Tim was surprised and delighted.

With only one week of rehearsal left, opening night is fast approaching.  We open the day after Thanksgiving and run through December 23.  I just made reservations for my family and found that seats are already filling up.  This will be a long run of sold-out shows, I can tell.  If you haven’t made your reservations yet, I suggest you contact Pocket Sandwich Theatre as soon as possible.  Seats are going fast!

Currently I am in rehearsals for Ebenezer Scrooge, a musical based on Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.  I am playing two parts in this show: Bob Cratchit and Mr. Fezziwig — two completely different characters, both equally fun to play.  This will be the 27th consecutive holiday season the Pocket Sandwich Theatre has hosted this highly successful production.  Having lived with the show over the last month, I can understand why it has become a holiday staple in the Dallas market. 

This adaptation is one of the most charming musicals I’ve encountered.  Every tune is catchy, which explains why you’ll catch me obliviously humming the score if you run into me on the street.  All the important story points are present with dialogue pulled directly from the novel.  The darker moments are blended with well-timed comedic relief.

The cast has been one of the most entertaining with whom I have had the pleasure of working.  Ranging in age from as young as 8 to as old as — *ahem* — myself, every member brings a youth and exuberance that feeds an atmosphere of creative energy.  It is also the largest cast with which I have worked; seeing all of us on stage in the small space is an event unto itself.

I have the pleasure of working with Amy Wells who plays both Mrs. Cratchit and Mrs. Fezziwig (she’s a bit put out that no one seems to know her character’s first name, not even, apparently, Mr. Dickens who never mentions it in the novel).  The Cratchit kids are all endearing.  The youngest, our Tiny Tim, has taken to affectionately taunting me with her “crutch-fu” skills.  And David H.M. Lambert reprises the title role for the 15th time and he truly embodies the character.  Working against his Scrooge generates an authenticity that should prove engaging to this year’s audience.

With little more than two weeks to go before we open, it is exciting to see the pieces come together.  This weekend, the set used in the current Pocket Sandwich melodrama, Sweeny Todd — Fiend of Fleet Street, comes down and our set goes up which, no doubt, will require some re-blocking next week.  The rehearsal process has been a great deal of fun and I look forward to sharing that fun with an audience.

The show opens Friday, November 28 and runs through Tuesday, December 23, 2008.   This is Pocket Sandwich Theatre’s most popular show so reservations are strongly recommended if you wish to come (and I hope you will).  Food and beverage service is available before all shows.  Visit www.pocketsandwich.com for more details or call the box-office at (214) 821-1860.