A close shave for Gillette
A classic Dickens tale is reimagined with a Nutmeg State twist in “A Connecticut Christmas Carol.”
Longtime Goodspeed Musicals resident music director Michael O’Flaherty has collaborated with LJ Fecho to create the new show with original music, and it opens Friday at Goodspeed’s Terris Theatre in Chester.
In this version, William Gillette is Scrooge. The actor — known for his role of Sherlock Holmes and for the castle he built in East Haddam — is portraying Scrooge on the Goodspeed Opera House stage in 1925. It’s supposed to be the last performance before the theater is shuttered for good. But, with Christmas looming, Gillette gets a visit from his late business partner (no Jacob Marley here; it’s J.P. Morgan), who tells Gillette he needs to alter the way he conducts his life. Will Gillette be able to change his ways and avoid an unpleasant fate?
Also turning up are famous Connecticut figures Mark Twain, Harriet Beecher Stowe and P.T. Barnum.
Starring as Gillette is Lenny Wolpe, whom Goodspeed audiences will remember for his turns in “Show Boat” and “The Baker’s Wife.” He’s been on Broadway in “Wicked,” “Bullets Over Broadway,” and more.
In addition to his work at Goodspeed, O’Flaherty, who wrote the music and lyrics for “A Connecticut Christmas Carol,” has been on Broadway in “By Jeeves,” “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” and “A Streetcar Named Desire.” He was the Williamstown Theater Festivals’ musical supervisor and cabaret director for 11 years.
Fecho, who did the book for “A Connecticut Christmas Carol,” is artistic director of Genesius Theatre in Reading, Penn. He also wrote the book for “Genesius — The Musical,” which was part of the 2006 Goodspeed Festival of New Musicals. He has worked for Broadway producer Alexander H. Cohen, the Williamstown Theatre Festival, Manhattan Theatre Club, among others. “A Connecticut Christmas Carol,” opens Friday and runs through Dec. 24, The Terris Theatre, 33 North Main St., Chester; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Wed., 7:30 p.m. Thurs., 8 p.m. Fri., 3 and 8 p.m. Sat., and 2 p.m. Sun.; also, selected Thursdays at 2 p.m. and select Sundays at 6:30 p.m.; tickets start at $49: (860) 873-8668.