Ebenezer, America’s favorite miser, is alive and, well, streaming this coronavirus season

Annapolis has long had a love affair with Ebenezer Scrooge, the immortal miser from Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.”

Or rather, the Ebenezer Scrooge of the stage that is a mainstay of the holiday theater in Annapolis.

For those of you who have somehow managed to miss the significance of surplus population and Fezziwig, here’s a summary.

Dickens penned this short work of fiction in 1843 and spent the rest of his life reading it to packed audiences in England and theUnited States. Three spirits haunt the curmudgeonly Scrooge, offering him a shot at redemption as the Ghosts of Christmas Past and Present and the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come.

The first two fail to motivate a change, but when the ominous third arrives to a terrified Ebenezer—“I fear youmore than any spectre I have seen” — the job gets done. Scrooge kneels before his lonely tombstone and sees the only ones moved by his passing are those haggling over possessions stolen from his deathbed.

Awakening the next morning, his compassion and generosity are rekindled. Ding dong, get the big turkey and cue Tiny Tim.

We’re all familiar with the shadow of death after nine months in the coronavirus age: 271,000 Americans, among them 4,673 Marylanders and 285 Anne Arundel residents, dead. This season, the inspiration from the arts may be of greater need than at any point in our collective Christmases pasts.

Two theater companies are rising above the challenges of the virus to offering productions of Dickens’ tale of redemption in one night, Annapolis Shakespeare Company and Colonial Players. Annapolis Shakespeare is taking the bold step of staging its production of Scrooge’s story in a live performance at its West Street stage. Audiences will be limited, masks and social distancing rules in effect.

More, the company offers this caveat on its website: “ASC holds the right to provide an equal substitution for live in-person performances in the case of a force majeure.”

Force majeure is a fancy French phrase for coronavirus, Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman andGov. Larry Hogan. If any of those forces combine to end theatrical performances in the next fewweeks, well, the theater is doing right by being transparent.

Another production, the cabaret Holiday Swing, opens Dec. 11 with the Unified Jazz Ensemble for eight performances.

If going to the theater is not for you, then you can buy a ticket to the streaming options of “A Christmas Carol” premiering on Dec. 21 and 22. Visit annapo lisshakespeare.org for information.

The second retelling is offered this weekend by the Colonial Players, a community theater group known for the local production by RickWade and Dick Gessner. This year, the company is presenting a version of theplay originated by Dignity Players and featuring just three actors.

It will be livestreamed fromAnnapolis’ city television studio on the Colonial Players YouTube channel, with tickets on sale for individuals and households. Sales end two hours before each performance. For information, visit thecolonialplay ers.org.

The endurance of “A Christmas Carol” this year is remarkable for a couple of reasons.

It’s not clear howmuch of the arts will survive another six months of coronavirus restrictions or however long it takes for the vaccines to be widely distributed. Both of the county’s main cultural arts centers, Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts in Annapolis and Chesapeake Arts Center in Brooklyn Park, remain dark this holiday season. However, they have offered online and outside programs while meeting coronavirus restrictions.

Towatch theseworks safely, but in the shadowof death, should be a transformative experience for anyone wise enough to see them.

Stay safe. Wear a mask. Support the arts.