FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — It’s the end of an era at TheatreSquared in Fayetteville as the cast and crew of A Christmas Carol prepare for the last year of the traditional production.
This stage adaptation of the Charles Dickens classic has been showing at TheatreSquared every holiday season for the last five years and has grown to be a community favorite.
“We adapted it ourselves,” said TheatreSquared Artistic Director Bob Ford. “It's very special. It's not A Christmas Carol that you'll see anywhere else in the country, and we really believe deeply in the message of generosity and transformation, especially around the holidays, but all year round.”
Ford said some things have stayed the same each year, like the show’s Victorian-style library set, but others have changed.
“Every time, there are small to even medium modifications and changes, so even if you've seen the show before, you're going to get to say, ‘Oh yeah, I remember that moment,’ and then you're going to go, ‘Oh, that's so cool. I never saw that before,’” Ford said.
Steven Marzolf, Director of A Christmas Carol, said closing the door on this tradition is bittersweet. For the final year, he hopes audiences will continue to soak in the heartwarming message.
“Certainly a sense of community, joy, the possibility of transformation and change, which I think is really important right now,” Marzolf said. “There's something about that sense of community. It's why I love theatre so much – you have 200 and some odd people sitting in this theater with the actors on stage, and it's like a little communal celebration that we're having together, and what better time to do that than over the holidays?”
Marzolf and Ford said TheatreSquared is setting the stage for a new holiday title next year, which is planned to be announced in the spring.
A Christmas Carol opens Nov. 20 and runs through Dec. 24. Tickets range from $20-$66 and can be purchased on TheatreSquared’s website.