A Christmas Carol was running on my first day as a new staff member of the Charleston Stage family back in December of 2001, and this year marks my 7th year here and my 5th visit from the Ghosts of Christmas Carols Past, Present and Future. Nothing illustrates the three spirits quite as much as this year’s scenery.
Christmas Carol’s Past is making its appearance onstage this year from almost 20 years past. The beautifully painted back drop in the Cratchet’s house was created by Colleen Balance for a staging of A Christmas Carol in the early 90s. The inspiration for the brand new incarnation of Scrooge’s nephew Fred and his wife Caroline’s house comes from the design of the production in 1989 that hung in our beloved Dock Street Theatre. For Christmas 2004, I designed and built the full stage street scene with the candle lit windows that appears at the end of the show. The next year we added the new bedroom for Scrooge as well as the flying spirits and the full stage drop that is the background for so many magical moments onstage. A year later, in 2006, brought the addition of the arches of Fezziwig’s warehouse and Scrooge’s Mosolium in the Graveyard.
The Ghost of Christmas Carol’s Present appears this year with the brand new School room and its magic window, Fred’s home and fireplace and the new frosty office of Scrooge and Marley as well as the frame for the whole show, the 4 painted scenes of winter sky and snow covered trees that provide the visual setting for the whole show.
The Ghost of Christmas Carols Yet to Come has already started making appearances in our minds as we plan and design for the next time we visit Scrooge, but I am not going to spoil it by sharing any surprises just yet.
Merry Christmas!!
(Street scene with candle lit windows created by Stefanie Christensen)