‘Un Cuento de Navidad’
Community Spanish-language reading of ‘A Christmas Carol’ returns for second year at Hartford Stage
Hartford Stage, known for its annual staging of “A Christmas Carol,” has added a couple of new ways to appreciate the classic Charles Dickens tale, including its second annual reading of the story in Spanish on Dec. 20.
Having canceled its live production of “A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story of Christmas” due to COVID, the theater first created a virtual substitute, “A Community Carol,” streaming online Dec. 17-21. Next comes the latest episode of Hartford Stage’s monthly podcast “Scene & Heard Live,” Dec. 16 at 5 p.m., where artistic director Melia Bensussen and her guests discuss both “A Community Carol” and the Spanish reading, and might include a small Christmas-themed performance in that program as well.
Then, on Dec. 20 at 4 p.m., the Spanish reading of “A Christmas Carol” happens.
The one-night reading occurs while “A Community Carol” is in the midst of its fournight run. The shows are separate and do not reference each other, Bensussen says, other than both drawing from the same Dickens tale. “The similarity is in the commitment to community.”
Last year’s Spanish reading was live in Hartford Stage’s usual space at 50 Church St. Also last year, the theater staged a “Los Posados” celebration (which involves dramatic portrayals of Jesus’ parents Mary and Joseph) prior to one of the performances of “A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story of Christmas.”
“The history of ‘A Christmas Carol,’ ” Bensussen explains, “is that Dickens did it himself, reading the story aloud on his speaking tours.”
“Last year we just decided to read it ourselves in Spanish. I edited the story down to under an hour and we passed out short bits of it to people in the audience, then one by one they came up to the stage. It was a wonderful intergenerational event, with parents and children and grandparents. We wanted to make clear how welcoming the theater can be.”
For its virtual version, attendees can click “Si” or “No” on a box on the online invitation at https://forms.hartfordstage.com/acc-espanol-reading/, which asks “¿Te interesaría participar como lector? (Would you like to participate as a reader?) “Bensussen says they’re looking for ways to let last-minute participants who might not have seen the invitation join in as well.
Bensussen has an international reputation as a translator and director of Spanish-language plays. The November episode of “Scene & Heard” saw her leading a discussion on “diversifying the classics,” including the Spanish “Golden Age” plays of the 16th and 17th centuries, major works which have not been widely produced in the United States.
It’s been Bensussen’s goal to produce full productions of Spanish-language plays at Hartford Stage. She notes that this year Connecticut became the first state to require all its high schools to offer course on Puerto Rican, Latino, African-American and Black studies.
The Spanish “Christmas Carol” reading, the multicultural “Community Carol” and her 2019-2020 season opener “Quixote Nuevo” have been “steps toward” the goal of offering more Spanish-language shows in a city with “a large Latinx population.”
Those plans have been put aside by COVID, but “we’re not giving up,” Bensussen says.