O ne of the season’s most widely recognized and beloved stories is coming to the stage of two local venues.
“Scrooge & Company,” a dramatic reading of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” will be staged at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 18, in the Claire O’ Brien Room of the Slate Valley Museum in Granville, N.Y., and at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 19, at the Poultney High School library.
“A dramatic reading is not just reading from a script but the elements of theatrical gesture and movements that adds humor and excitement to the reading,” Director Gary Meitrott said. “The characters are brought to life with the interaction and emotional clarity you would find on stage.”
The key local actors bringing those characters to life are: Bill Cruikshank, Burnham Holmes, Danielle Houston, David Mook, and Anna Whooley.
“It really is a unique thing for us to be able to offer to the community. It’s a great way to kind of go outside our regular sphere of activity and work together with another organization that does so much in this area throughout the year,” said Slate Valley Museum Director Kathryn Weller.
“We’re helping to support the Shakespeare Company by providing the venue. It’s a chance for our audience to maybe get to know about them and let people who know about the company to maybe come and experience the Slate Valley Museum — it works out well for both of us,” Weller said.
She said the space would be set up to allow patrons to experience the performance in an intimate way.
The performances will be free and open to the public, but a good will donation will gladly be accepted with proceeds to be used to establish the Dick Wright Fund in support of the drama program at Poultney High School.
“Dick Wright was a cast member during the inaugural production in 2003. He was in every production of Shakespeare on Main Street, and ‘A Christmas Carol’ until his death in 2007,” said Kitty Galante, board member of the Poultney Theatre Company.
Special thanks for their assistance with this year’s presentation are extended to Christine Rose, Kathryn Weller, and Tom Fitzgerald.
The Poultney Theatre Company is supported in part by a grant from the Hills and Hollows Fund of the Vermont Community Foundation.
For information on “A Christmas Carol,” call 287-4270.
