Rosebud's Christmas Carol shares timely message
Rosebud Theatre's artistic director believes the pandemic is the right time to showcase Charles Dickens' Victorian classic A Christmas Carol.
Morris Ertman has chosen Alberta actor Nathan Schmidt to be the storyteller in Rosebud's A Christmas Carol, which runs from Nov. 6 to Dec. 23 with limited capacity dining and viewing.
“Both Theatre Calgary and The Citadel did lavish yearly versions of A Christmas Carol. They were popular because it is a story that is the yearly reminder we all need,” says Schmidt, explaining “most of us go all year long without taking time to stop and realize we are all fellow passengers on what can be a difficult journey.”
“The pandemic is a good reminder of that because it is such a struggling time we're living in. We need more than ever to find empathy and compassion for each other. This is the message of A Christmas Carol.”
Ertman directed this solo version of A Christmas Carol last year for Vancouver's Pacific Theatre, which has loaned Rosebud its beautiful see-through panels of Victorian-style etchings.
“Those etchings are really my costars in this show,” says Schmidt, who will give voice and characterization to more than a dozen characters from Dickens' beloved classic. “I play a Victorian storyteller who gives his version of Dickens' story, becoming the major characters in the story, including the ghosts. I think if Dickens came back to life, this is how he would tell the story to a gathered crowd.”
Those crowds at Rosebud will be considerably smaller because of pandemic restrictions. With social distancing in effect, Rosebud can only accommodate 60 people for each performance.
Instead of its usual buffet, Rosebud will offer a four-course plated service with a protein option guests choose upon arrival.
Seating in the theatre will be spaced so there is an empty row in front and behind each cohort and two seats between them, and there will be staggered entrance times into the theatre.
Guests must wear masks except when seated at their tables and in their seats, and all staff members will be masked.
Schmidt says A Christmas Carol is a story of coming together as the ghosts remind Scrooge he needs other people in his life and that he was meant to be a benefactor and not just a taker.
Schmidt points out that “one of the slogans that has emerged during the pandemic is that we are all in this together and that is what
Scrooge learns through his night of ghostly visitations.”
“The messages in Dickens' story will have so much more immediacy for us these days.”
Call 1-800-267-7553 for tickets.