Why spend more time on the Edens Expressway than in the theatre this season when the brings their professionally staged production of the perennial Charles Dickens classic, A Christmas Carol, to the Lake Forest-Lake Bluff communities.
Adapted for North Shore audiences, the all-new adaptation of Peter DuLaurier’s acclaimed script opens at 8 p.m. Friday (Nov. 25), and promises to deliver another high caliber, powerful work of insight and complexity Citadel has become known for.
“This is a fully staged production of the heartwarming tale of Scrooge, Tiny Tim, and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future,” says Citadel’s artistic director, Scott Phelps.
Charles Dickens himself used to read the tale of Scrooge and Tiny Tim to theater audiences, a practice emulated in previous North Shore presentations.
In the classic tale, the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge is visited by the ghost of his past business partner Jacob Marley, who comes to warn him of the consequences of living a life of greed and materialism. For audiences young and old, the holidays are the perfect time to remember this heartwarming message.
Pat Murphy directs the professional cast that stars the well-known Chicago actor and Equity member Frank Farrell as Scrooge. The young members of the Cratchit family are all current or former students of the Academy at Citadel Theatre, including a brother-sister team, Constantine and Angelique Alexos, both students at , making their Citadel main stage debut.
To enhance the holiday experience, local church, school, and other choirs will sing Christmas Carols a half hour before curtain time. Several area restaurant partners, including , Southgate Café, , and Froggy’s French Café support “dinner and a show” by offering a complimentary glass of wine, gift card, or discount to guests dining with that evening’s Citadel theatre ticket.
A Christmas Carol will run Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., and Sundays at 3 p.m. until Dec. 30, in Citadel’s comfortable and convenient new home in the West Campus Theatre, 300 S. Waukegan Road, Lake Forest.
In addition, there will be a 1 p.m. matinee on Dec. 15, and 3 p.m. matinees on Nov. 26 and Dec. 10. (No performances Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.)
For more information and tickets, visit citadeltheatre.org or call the box office at (847) 735-8554.
