Lee Maslankowski’s adaptation of A Christmas Carol restored the often told tale right back to its source in Charles Dickens’ 1843 novel. In the 167 years since this story first appeared, it has been homogenized and cut to fit the conventions of the time resulting in widespread misperceptions and simplifications of its true meaning. Most people are only familiar with second-hand retellings and the reality of triteness and cliché against this story are most likely due to poor adaptations.

With this in mind, Lee endeavored to create a version that is both faithful and fresh. The dialogue is quite different from Dickens' text, with new emphasis and psychological shadings that are meant to reinforce Dickens' original message yet some of the most well loved and well placed lines are left in tact as Dickens wrote them. With careful replacement of focus and substitution or omission of dogmatic lines, the message is crystal clear and the eye-rolling conventional quips are gone. Scrooge has often been mistakenly presented as an evil man with no redeeming characteristics who suddenly gets converted… overnight! That perception has been fostered in so many film and animated versions produced over the years that it often results in a rather boring fable for children.

However, this instant redemption, what critics call “Scrooge Syndrome,” can be overcome. There must be motivation for Scrooge's miserly behavior and he must be permitted to change little by little, so the final conversion isn't totally unbelievable. Ebenezer Scrooge isn't the one-dimensional, evil person commonly portrayed. He's got a very hard shell on the outside to protect his squishy soft interior. He holds terrible, anti-social attitudes, but has them for a reason. Ebenezer has worked very hard to build that shell.

The “Evil Scrooge”approach ignores Dickens' themes of memory and forgiveness. Scrooge knows the difference between right and wrong, but feels contempt for those that don't share his values of thriftiness and practicality. Lee’s adaptation gave Scrooge a sense of humor and accentuated the humor in every situation while maintaining vigilance to the original Dickens “drama”. With a sense of humor comes humanity and therefore, a possibility of redemption. The various ghosts serve as guides through Scrooge’s life and through clever but not malicious hocus-pocus psychoanalysis, pave the way for his eventual salvation. They offer him the chance to see just what his life really touches.

There are a number of metaphors in this interpretation. Most importantly, Christmas celebrates, among other things, childhood, anticipation and mystery. With that in mind, Lee transformed the story into a script with surprises everywhere and left the audience always guessing “what’s next,” even though the material was familiar. This script endeavored to charge the cast to dive headlong into their roles and leave behind all the gloomy and moralistic “Carols” they had seen before. “The play was a miraculous birth, not a fatalistic funeral”. Blue Ridge Community Theater was proud to present the debut performance of this original adaptation and we packed the stadium this holiday season with delighted and cheering audiences.

THE Cast:

Ebenezer Scrooge - Bradley Benboom

Jacob Marley - Dan Reda

Bob Cratchit - Cody Hill

Mrs. Cratchit - Kim Flemming

Ghost of Christmas Past - McKayla Barraiult

Ghost of Christmas Present (Nov. 6-8) - Rick LaRosa

Ghost of Christmas Present (Nov. 13-29) - Richard Lumpkin

The Narrator - Bill Canady

Fred - Julian Smith

Belle - Stacey Miller

Kate / Fan - Hannah Johnson

Tim Cratchit / The Goosefetcher - Matthew Jaffie

Mrs. Lough - Anne Record

Mr. Poole - Charlie Poss

Mrs. Lamb - Dura Montgomery

Young Scrooge - Michael Ponton

Older Belle - Sue Canady

Gravedigger / Holy Man - Paul Estey

Gravedigger - Ben Painter

Very Young Scrooge / Ignorance - Braden Jenkins

Want - Ashlyn Jenkins

BEHIND THE SCENES

Director - Tina Maslankowski

Stage Manager - Kelly Hornsby

Technical Operators - Justin

Hornsby, Melanie Hornsby

Light & Sound Design - Lee Maslankowski

Box Office - Elizabeth Hunt

Ushering/Greeting - Brenda & Walt Austin (Co-Chairs)

Concessions - Beth Inman (Chair)

Housekeeping - Janet & Bill Trlica

Costumes - Barbara Bryant, Patty LaRosa, Stacy Miller, Pat Baker,
Tina Maslandowski, Patricia Webb, Anne Record, Janet & Bill Trlica, Cast

Make-Up - Betty Ratcliffe, Bradley Benboom

Props - Kim Flemming, Mike Lacy, Tina Maslankowski

Set Design - Lee & Tina Maslankowski

Set Painting - Kim Flemming, Betty Ratcliffe, Linda Denison,
Pat Baker, Lee & Tina Maslankowski

Set Construction - Joe Webb, Bob Jennus, Albert Kraft,
Bill Marsh, Charlie Poss, Ed Ratcliffe,
Bill Trlica, Boo Bryant, Gene Ivey, Bill Jefferson

Cover/Poster Art & Design - Steve Martin

Playbill - Jackie Smith, Steve Smith, Joe Webb

Headshots - Tim Griffin

Advertising/Publicity - Betty Larsen, Mike Lacy

Design Committee - Rick LaRosa (Chair), Corrie Grado, Angela Oyer,
Joanna Jones, Leland Wykoff, Kathleen Holt, Bill Marsh,
Dan Reda, Tina Maslankowski, Patricia Webb

Tuesdays at Two Admin. Volunteers - Sue Canady & Kathi Ivey (Co-Chairs),
Corrie & John Grado, Betty Larsen, Sandy & Wayne Jaffie,
Barbara Morris, Bill Canady, Janet & Bill Trlica, Chris Konicki,
Sue & Bill Marsh, Gene Ivey, Wanda & Bill Jefferson,
Angela Oyer, Betty Ratcliff, Patricia Webb

Wednesdays at One House Volunteers - Kathleen Holt (Chair)
Street Theater - .Dixie & Dan Fitzgerald (Co-Chairs)

Fundraising - .Joe Webb, Patricia Webb, Leland Wykoff

Cornerstone Capital Campaign - Gene Ivey

SPECIAL THANKS

Special thanks to all of our volunteers who so generously shared their time and talents, and to Tim
Griffin at A Memory Captured, Patty LaRosa, Fran-tiques in Blairsville, Sycamore Crossing Antiques,
Bill & Sue Canady, Bill Jefferson, Bill Marsh, Kathy Thompson, Wayne & Sandy Jaffie and Bobby

a christmas carol

by Charles Dickens, adapted by Lee Maslankowski

november 6 - 29