Huntington Theatre Company has joined producer Hunter Arnold and a consortium of theatres across the U.S. 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, adapted by Mays, Susan Lyons, and Arden, and conceived by Arden and Tony Award nominee Dane Laffrey, 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.”
“A Christmas Carol was my first experience of living theatre,” says Mays. “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.”
“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,” says Arden. “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.”
“Due to COVID-19, the country’s theatres have lost over 80% of their income, a number that is devastating to our community,” says Arnold. “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.
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 9 p.m. 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.
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 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.
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.
For more information, visit huntingtontheatre.org/christmas-carol/.