By Kathy L. Collins
The Village Players present A Christmas Carol…Scrooge & Marley with the traditional Village Players’ Opening Night Dinner Theatre on Friday, December 5 beginning at 7 p.m. at the historic James McCabe Theatre in Valrico. La Septima will serve a delicious buffet meal. Tickets for the Opening Night Dinner Theatre are $25. Reservations are required. Call 643-8292 or 480-3147 for reservations.
All proceeds from the Opening Night Dinner Theatre help to fund the renovation process currently undergoing at the historic James McCabe Theatre.
The Village Players will present A Christmas Carol…Scrooge & Marley on Friday, December 12 and 19 and Saturday, December 6, 13 and 20 at 8 p.m. There will be a matinee on Sunday, December 14 at 3 p.m. Tickets for the regular shows are $15 for general admission, $13 for students, seniors and military with ID, and $12 for groups of 10 or more.
A Christmas Carol…Scrooge & Marley is based on the classic A Christmas Carol written by Charles Dickens and adapted for stage by playwright Israel Horovitz. A Christmas Carol…Scrooge & Marley is the last show of the 2014 play season and a great way to celebrate the holiday season.
Gail Pierce who first directed A Christmas Carol…Scrooge & Marley 25 years ago has again accepted the challenge in 2014.
Pierce said, “I wouldn’t dare change a classic piece of literature, but I have taken on a whole new visual aspect of this show. There are so many set changes that it would require leaving some of the changes out or the audience in the dark. The way I’ve chosen to direct this show, time passes with a blink of an eye, thunder, smoke or just a simple gesture. This works beautifully if you have great actors on stage and I am lucky enough to have them.”
For more information on A Christmas Carol…Scrooge & Marley and the upcoming season of the Village Players or how to support them, visit www.villageplayersvalrico.com.
The James McCabe Theatre was built in 1915 and will be celebrating its 100 year anniversary of the historic building next year.
