For Immediate Release For more information: contact
Delta Center for the Arts
(209) 954-5416
Delta Center for the Arts presents:
A CHRISTMAS CAROL by Charles Dickens
Adapted for the stage by Romulus Linney
(Stockton, CA) -- The Delta Center for the Arts and the Department of Drama announces its December production, A CHRISTMAS CAROL.
A Christmas Carol directed by John White will be performed December 1 - 10 in the Tillie Lewis Theatre. This version of the Dickens’ classic was written by Romulus Linney for the Milwaukee Repertory Theatre.
A Christmas Carol is a new direction in the December production providing the audiences a full-length play for families. The production will feature Harvey T. Jordan in the title role of Ebenezer Scrooge. The production is a large one with a cast of 49 actors along with Delta College’s Delta Singers singing period carols in the show.
Although December 25 is celebrated as the birth of Christ, nobody really knows the exact date. Early disciples of Christianity used the Roman celebration of Saturnalia which occurred on the December 17 and eventually extended to December 23. Early Medieval Christians didn’t think there was a problem with mixing the dates. Later Christians celebrated the twelve days of Christmas from December 24th through Epiphany on January 6th. Later, during the days of Cromwell, Christmas was condemned as blasphemy because of its pagan association. By the time Charles Dickens put his pen to parchment and began writing this potboiler (a story created only to make money), the celebration of Christmas was looked on with nostalgia.
Dickens character of Ebenezer Scrooge was not a caricature, rather a look into the mindset of early Victorian England. A Christmas Carol was a call to once again embrace the spirit of Christmas and goodwill. It is interesting to look at this classic through the eyes of our current society. Perhaps Christmas has again lost its power because it has affiliated itself with the god of retail. Decorations and shopping no longer wait until Thanksgiving; instead decorations go up in many stores the day after Halloween. An article in the San Francisco Chronicle addressed the problem with helping the poor at this time of year. Many charitable organizations are plagued with a lack of care for the unfortunate at this time of year.
Dickens wrote this story, a carol, in a series of five staves, just like music in which he put his “notes”. The story also includes experiences that the author experiences, such as when his father put the family into debt and was forced into a poorhouse. Charles Dickens himself worked in a factory to help with the family’s debt.
The story, initially titled “The Sledgehammer”, was written with a powerful message and dealt with two of Dickens favorite themes, social injustice and poverty. The first edition was illustrated by the politically radical artist John Leech. Many of our perceptions of the characters, especially Marley and the three ghosts come from Leech’s drawings. In our production you will see a fresh look at the three ghosts; they are women. Scrooge’s mother dies giving birth to Ebenezer just as his sister Fan dies while delivering Fred. The child in Scrooge has been lost inside of him; he grew up too fast. Besides a brief relationship with Belle, ruined by his father’s draconian influence, Scrooge has grown up alone. He does not have the influence of a mother or a wife. He is married to money; they are also his children. Scrooge’s childhood was replaced with numbers and finance and although he feels that his life is proper, inside he is a very pained and lonely man.
This story is the redemption of Ebenezer Scrooge and the re-birth of the child within him. He finds a affectionate companionship with Tim Cratchit, who like Ebenezer will be healed. Ebenezer will take care of the medical help necessary to heal the boy and Tim will help Ebenezer heal his soul and allow him to relish in the beauty of youth, humanity and the joy of charity. After reading this lovely Christmas ghost story the poet Thomas Hood wrote; "If Christmas, with its ancient and hospitable customs, its social and charitable observances, were in danger of decay, this is the book that would give them a new lease."
For more information please call John White at 649-8695 or e-mail jwhite@deltacollege.edu.
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