By Marcella Peyre-Ferry
Contributing Writer

Get in the Christmas spirit with a holiday classic when the Act Players present performances of Charles Dickens’ ever-popular A Christmas Carol.

Barbara Miriello, the director of the shows, explained the appeal of the holiday classic. 

“It has stood the test of time,” Miriello said. “It’s a story of redemption. It also looks at relationships, family dynamics, how hurts from the past can impact the future—things that are so relevant now, even though it was written in 1843.” 

For anyone unfamiliar with A Christmas Carol, Dickens’ story follows miser Ebenezer Scrooge as he is visited by the spirit of his late business partner Jacob Marley and the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future. Looking at his own past, the trials of others today and the possibilities for the future, he comes to see the meaning of Christmas and learns how to celebrate the season with love and generosity.

Over the years, the story has been made into movies, television shows, musicals and even cartoons.  This production by ACT Players holds true to the original version in most respects as it was adapted to the stage.

“I adapted the script from Dickens primarily, not a musical, but we brought in a musical element. We have four carolers bridge some of our scenes with carols of the time,” Miriello said. 

Miriello explained that the carolers are also a device to keep the audience’s attention during scene changes. The play is using a Greek stage structure known as a periaktoi. These are triangular pillars that have an image painted on each of their three different sides. 

“We will have six of these on stage that can be turned to change the set quickly,” she said. 

When presenting the ghosts, there will also be a range of special effects. 

Miriello said, “It’s not something I’ve done, but I did some research, and we’re hoping to have some interesting effects that will come together over the next few weeks of rehearsals.” 

Miriello said that the play is appropriate for school-age children as well as adults, but parents should be aware that there are some scary elements and adult themes. 

“This was a social commentary that Dickens wrote. There are things that are not necessarily comfortable,” Miriello said. “People have to decide if their little ones will be scared. That last ghost is pretty scary. There will be fog, there will be lots of sound effects, Marley, he’s pretty scary too – he’s got his chains and he’s a suffering spirit.”

ACT Players was founded in 2004 and is now in the 20th anniversary season. At first, their productions were primarily musicals, but recently dramatic productions have been included as well. 

“By providing shows where people who don’t sing can perform, gets a whole different group of people coming out for shows that don’t require singing,” Miriello said. 

Chris Murray, who plays the role of scrooge, has been with ACT Players almost from the beginning. The all-volunteer production has 29 cast members between the ages 8 to over 70, filling 68 roles.

“We have two people who have never been with ACT before and we’ve got people that have been with ACT since the very beginning,” Miriello said. “We definitely have a mixture of people. This is the first show for at least two people that I can think of. We have people who do theater because they love it. The same with the  people behind the scenes. This is all-volunteer. We do it for the love of it.”

Miriello pointed out that this the group is a family organization, and both of her adult sons are involved in this performance.  

“That’s the way it is across this cast,” she said. “There are five families that have children in the show. If someone is onstage, maybe someone else is back stage. It’s just a community that’s lovely.”

Rehearsals for A Christmas Carol have been held at the New London United Methodist Church before final polishing at the production stage at the Avon Grove Middle School. The fact that the group does not have a permanent home presents challenges and is something Miriello hopes will change. 

“We’d love to have a permanent home,” she said. “That’s one of the things we strive for. It would make producing shows so much more seamless. That’s something that is a goal, but it’s just been tough. In spite of all that, we produce wonderful shows.”

Miriello encouraged everyone to consider attending the show. 

“A Christmas Carol has been done a lot of different ways, each a success. It’s a timeless story,” she said. “I feel like the acting on this is very true, it’s very honest. Some of the things that shaped Scrooge into what he was happened to him as a kid. I just feel like that’s a story for any time. No matter how many times you’ve seen it, you’ll learn something new. I think there’s definitely a reason for people to come out and seen it.”

ACT Players will present A Christmas Carol at the Avon Grove Middle School (formerly the Avon Grove High School) at 257 State Road, West Grove.  Performances will be held during the first two full weekends of December, Friday, Dec. 6 and Saturday, Dec. 7 at 7 p.m.;  Sunday, Dec. 8 at 2 p.m.; Friday, Dec. 13 and Saturday, Dec. 14 at  7 p.m.; and Sunday, Dec. 14 at 2 p.m.

For more information or to purchase tickets in advance, visit the website at ACTPlayers.org. Tickets will also be available at the door until the show is sold out.