God bless us, every one

A Christmas Carol unlike you’ve ever experienced...
“Storytelling at its absolute finest.” - Pittsburgh City Paper
“... a truly transformative evening” The Pittsburgh Current
"A Christmas Carol at Carnegie Stage Gets Dickens Right" PGH Lesbian Correspondents

Written by: Brianne Mueller

We’re approaching week three of our run of A CHRISTMAS CAROL and it’s been a wonderful whirlwind experience. The newest version of this classic Charles Dickens tale -- performed and adapted by Mark Coffin, and directed and co-adapted by Heidi Mueller Smith -- is unlike any theatrical journey to have ever graced a stage in Pittsburgh, let alone in Carnegie.
Mark Coffin - A Christmas Carol
Photo by Heather Mull


The 1843 novella written by Charles Dickens has been adapted from page to stage countless times and has practically become synonymous with the American Christmas season. Unlike its many predecessors, Coffin manifests all 16 or so characters in his one-man version of the play.

During the holiday season we often reflect on the events of the past year and take stock of what really matters to us. After the shocking events at the Tree of Life Synagogue, we’re reminded that our time together is the most valuable asset we have, and there is no Christmas tale that illustrates this better than that of Ebenezer Scrooge and his ghosts.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Women Count at at off the WALL

WOMEN COUNT In case you missed the theatre industry’s gender parity movement, here’s a recap: women have been writing plays for millennia and landing productions for centuries.   Over time, they’ve also come to play key roles onstage and backstage.   But female theatre artists of all kinds still find themselves bonking their heads on a glass ceiling known as the “glass curtain.”   Even today, female playwrights, directors, and designers are atypical.   Shakespearian gender-swapping has been mooted as a partial solution; however, such theatrical “novelty” only serves to distract from the main issue – the absence of contemporary dramas reflecting the complexity of women’s lives.   Cross-gender casting fails to question the over-representation of dead and living male playwrights.   It does not address the fact that half our contemporary creative world is missing. In an essay in howlround.com, Jenny Lyn Bader writes: “We live in a world dominated by...
Read more

GHOSTS: A SET IN THE MAKING (PART 1)

Image
In this two-part blog, I’m going to focus not on the play itself, but on the set. Why? Because quite simply the set is astonishing! If you’ve been keeping up with our blogs, you already know that our current production Ghosts is set in the early 1880’s, that it was written by Norwegian playwright Henrik Isben and that though it is a revered classic today, it was considered absolutely scandalous in its time. The exposed secrets and immoralities conflicted with society’s moral taboos. If you’d like to learn more about the history of the play, the storyline, the characters or director, please peruse our recent posts. Scenic Design: Rich Preffer In the meantime, let’s take a look at the set. The set design, by Rich Preffer, captures the essence of the play. The mood. The character. The unsaid meanings and implications. The set itself includes a cage like structure, including a canopy structure, which encompasses the entire set. Looking at the set, you at once feel both the sense of h...
Read more

Celebrating family and friends in 2019

Image
Thank you for making 2018 so special As 2019 starts to gear up, we’re left remembering the many moments we’ve shared with you in 2018. It was a great year and we hope to make 2019 even better! We sincerely offer our most heartful ‘thank you’ to our creative partners, patrons, employees, and collaborators – Carnegie Stage and off the WALL surely wouldn’t be the same without every single one of you who make up our humble little community. From the bottom of our hearts, we’re happy to have you as part of our family. Erika Cuenca - Virginia Wall Gruenert Byhalia, Mississippi, May 2018 If you’d like to join the Carnegie Stage/off the WALL family, consider donating – no amount it too big or too small… and every little bit helps! With your help we are able to pay EVERY single person who works for us – there are no volunteers; only paid employees. We believe all working artists deserve to make a living doing what they love. To help support our cause, consider donating monthly or a...
Read more