A Christmas Carol: A Story of Hope gives hope to Westchester County
A Christmas Carol: A Story of Hope has come to town! The new adaptation of Charles Dicken’s A Christmas Carol, premiered at Yorktown Stage, a community theater in Yorktown Heights, NY.
The show was performed on Nov. 26 to 28 and will be taking a month-long hiatus. It will return just in time for the end of the holiday season; the show will run on Dec. 26 and Dec. 30.
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The music and lyrics were written by Martin Harich and Matej Smutny, the book adaptation was written by Veronika Hindle, and the show was co-directed by Hindle and long-time Yorktown Stage artistic director August Abatecola.
Figure 1: The Yorktown Stage Marquee
(Visual Journalism / Brooke Vogel)
Set in London, 1843, the timeless tale follows Ebenezer Scrooge, a corrosive old man who cares about his business and wants nothing to do with Christmas. According to the playbill, “the story celebrates the importance of kindness, family, friends, and community.” The message of the story is to never give up hope. Abatecola reflected on the brief rehearsal process and how the cast and crew brought this message to life.
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This is the first mainstage that the theatre has put on since the beginning of the pandemic. There have been multiple teen and kid workshops, but the last mainstage slated for the stage was The Sound of Music in April of 2020.
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Not only were patrons from all around Westchester County were able to enjoy this holiday experience, but family members from outside of the county as well. Marsha Raab flew in all the way from Florida to see her family for Thanksgiving. What she didn’t know is that she would get dinner and a show. She said that the last show she had seen was at the King’s Theatre in Florida over two years ago.
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“I love it, I love being back in a theater,” Raab said. “Being here with my family makes it even more special.” Raab said that the set was stunning and that she was shocked that a community theater would have such an intricate design. The set was designed by Dave Benson and took over four months to build.
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The new music, which includes songs like “Humbug,” “Where Has It Gone,” and “Hope Gave Me Wings,” is very upbeat and contemporary, which reflects on our society today. However, Harich and Smutny made sure to not stray too far from the original to the point wherethe message is lost.
A Christmas Carol: A Story of Hope runs for approximately one hour and 45 minutes, with a 15-minute intermission. More information on the show and purchasing tickets can be found at yorktownstage.org
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Figure 2: To save paper, the playbill is one page with a QR code. This link will send you to the rest of the playbill with more information including biographies, headshots, and more (Visual Journalism / Brooke Vogel)