Continuing its holiday tradition, the Riverside Community Players will present Charles Dickens’ classic and timeless tale, A Christmas Carol, December 8-10, as part of its award-winning Family Series.

The charming and thought-provoking story, which is rumored to be Dickens’ own favorite, centers on the penny-pinching Ebenezer Scrooge. On Christmas Eve, Scrooge is visited by the ghost of his former business partner, Jacob Marley, who urgently warns Scrooge to change his mean and miserly ways.  Skeptical that the apparition is anything more than “a bit of undigested potato,” Scrooge casually dismisses the warning and falls asleep.  During the night, three spirits visit Scrooge and guide him through his past, his present and his probable future, forcing him to take a good look at how he has squandered the relationships in his life in the pursuit of wealth.  As a result of their efforts, Scrooge ultimately undergoes a transformation that warms the heart and lifts the spirit.

This production of A Christmas Carol is adapted and directed by RCP Board President, Kathryn Gage, who has been a member of the organization for over twenty-five years.  She earned her Master of Fine Arts in Theatre from UC Riverside, and served as technical director for numerous productions at RCP over the years.  Her adaptations of A Christmas Carol and A Tale of Two Cities have both been presented as part of the Dickens Festival.  As a director, Kathryn has been at the helm of critically-acclaimed productions of Grace and Glorie, Art, Crossing Delancey, and The Rainmaker.  In March of 2007, she will direct The Teahouse of the August Moon, which promises to be an exciting part of Riverside’s Sister-City Sendai Celebration.

Taking on the role of Ebenezer Scrooge is eighteen-time Inland Theatre League Award winner Joe Musil.  Although this will be the first time that Joe has portrayed the miser, he certainly is no stranger to A Christmas Carol.  He previously portrayed Bob Cratchit (Scrooge’s browbeaten clerk) six times for Performance Riverside in musical and non-musical versions of the show.

In order to stay as close to the original text as possible, Gage’s adaptation includes a Narrator who ties scenes together and who weaves in and out of scenes as various characters.  Wayne Astin is the delightfully versatile actor who fills the bill.  Last season he portrayed Marley’s Ghost in the production, but this year he re-visits the role of the Narrator, which he performed in 2003.  He is sure to be a crowd-pleaser again.

Other talented cast members who will play multiple roles are long-time RCP member and Chester Hess Award winner, Rory Dyer, Caitlin Arend, Mike Cluff, Mark Evans, Ray Felix, Robin Litt and Mason Williams.  Patrice Blankenship will play the Ghost of Christmas Past, and Alex Ryan will play Tiny Tim.

Riverside Community Players’ intimate theatre-in-the-round, which seats just fewer than 200 people, is located at 4026 Fourteenth Street, between Market Street and Brockton Avenue.  Performances are on Friday, December 8 at 7pm, Saturday, December 9 at 2pm and 7pm, and Sunday, December 10 at 2pm.  Tickets to the show are only $8.  The box office number is (951) 686-4030. Children under the age of five are not permitted, and there is no late seating.  Weekday morning performances are available for school groups.  For information on school group shows, please call (951) 369-1200.  For news about upcoming events, go to www.riversidecommunityplayers.com.