Charles Dickens’ timeless classic is brought to life by the Huntsville Actors Repertory Theatre (HART) The former MTO building in Huntsville’s west end has taken on a Dickensian air of late. Inside one of the site’s large units, rehearsals are well underway for A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens’ timeless classic about the redemption of Ebenezer Scrooge.
The stage set stands ready to” be transported to the Algonquin Theatre, where the story of the cold-hearted miser who hates Christmas will unfold on Nov. 21 to 24 at 7 p.m. and again on Nov. 25 at 2 p.m. Dickens’ book was published in 1843 and the tale has become one of the most popular and enduring of all time. Director and producer of the show Catherine Cole said she has taken the script written by Israel Horowitz and adapted it.
“There are so many scripts and this one is a Broadway version. I adapted it because in every version Scrooge has a narrator. Horowitz had Marley narrating all the way through and I didn’t want that,” she said. Cole’s version is somewhat similar to the one which starred British actor Alistair Sim, whose Ebenezer Scrooge is generally regarded as the definitive portrayal of the role.
“The show opens with someone saying Marley (Scrooge’s former business partner) is as dead as a doornail and then the tale comes to life,” said Cole. “It’s bleak, it’s dark, it’s London. I didn’t want to create wall. I wanted the story to come out, so the set is quite sparse and moody.” “The ambience is created through creative lighting effects.