We caught up with Charley Shafor, managing artistic director of Middletown Lyric Theater to find out more about what audiences can expect from “A Christmas Celebration.”
Q: Can you tell us a little bit more about what a reader’s theater style production is and how it will play out on stage?
Charley Shafor: Many times, reader’s theater is just as exciting as traditional theater. It just depends on the tale. Charles Dickens wrote this from a book, and I don’t think he ever expected for it to expand the way that it has. There are interesting characters already, and it’s his dialogue that we are using within it. And, with the people that we have chosen for the characters, the story really comes to life. I think it comes across just as exciting as you’re listening to a tale unfold.
Just like when your mom or your dad read you a story at night, that’s what we do, and that’s the difference between reader’s theater and a live production. We are there to tell the story as exciting and as vividly as we can without all the bells whistles that a full production would have. It can be very exciting. We have nine or ten people portraying the many different roles in the show.
Q: The production or the story line will be based on “A Christmas Carol,” but there will be other elements to the show, like holiday music and other special surprises. What can we expect?
A: For “A Christmas Carol,” we have taken traditional music from the period, which is basically any Christmas song you’ve ever heard at church, or on a Bing Crosby album, and we’ve interwoven some of that music into to the show, so it’s not just us performing reader’s theater. In addition to telling the story, we’ll also have moments where there’s a little bit of music involved, along with other special surprises.
Q: Can you walk us through the format of the show?
A: For “A Christmas Carol,” what we’re doing is we’ve taken the story and made it a little bit more narrative. There will be a narrator, who will set the scene for us, but we go through the whole story. We’ve condensed it down to 40-45 minutes. The music will be interspersed within the story. We may also have a surprise guest join us on stage for a reading. So, there are all kinds of little things that will be happening within the show.
Q: “A Christmas Carol” is a timeless story. How will this production be different?
A: Jeff Smith, the person who took the Dickens book and translated it into a stage production for us, uses Dickens’ words, and that’s not often done. Many times, it’s translated, or people try and do other things with it. He’s taken the story and really brought it to the stage that way, so it stays real to the time period.
Then, as far as the story itself, I think it’s a great time to remember the good in people, the humanity in people, and why you have to do certain things. You can change and you can think differently. We can also draw parallels between “A Christmas Carol” and what’s happening now with the pandemic and have a great conversation about what it’s like to be a good person in a world filled with chaos right now, and I think Scrooge did that. He manages to do that.
He had to look back at his own life, what was presented to him, how he lived and how other people were being forced to live. Then, he had to decide what he could do to make the world a better place. When this was written, it could be as easy as Scrooge giving a turkey to the Cratchit family or giving Bob Cratchit a raise. Today, it could be as easy as wearing a mask or paying attention to what’s going on.
How to go
What: A Christmas Celebration
When: Dec. 18 at 8 p.m. and Dec. 19 at 3 p.m.
Where: Sorg Opera House, 63 South Main Street, Middletown
Cost: General seating, tickets are $20 (plus applicable online ticketing fees)
More info.: Visit www.sorgoperahouse.org. Tickets are available at www.cincyticket.com. Seating will be assigned upon arrival to comply with social distancing guidelines. Face coverings are required. Free parking is available behind the building, off of Broad Street, and off of First Street.
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