Quantcast

Here we go a-‘Carol’-ing

Here we go a-‘Carol’-ing

What the Dickens?

The classic Charles Dickens story of the miser Scrooge, Tiny Tim, and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come is cropping up all over the borough of churches, so you have five chances to catch it this weekend.

First up is a stage adaptation of “A Christmas Carol” from the Heights Players. This musical version is performed in modern dress, and with puppets stepping in to portray the spirits. You can catch it on Friday night at 8 pm at the John Bourne Theater [26 Willow Pl., between Joralemon and State streets in Brooklyn Heights, (718) 237–2752, www.heightsplayers.org], with more shows Saturday at 8 pm and Sunday at 2 pm. Tickets are $20.

On Saturday, the show becomes a feast for the ears at “A Radio Christmas Carol,” starting at 2 pm at the Brooklyn Public Library’s Brooklyn Heights branch [109 Remsen St. at Henry Street in Brooklyn Heights, (718) 623–7100, www.brooklynpubliclibrary.org]. Theater 20/20 adapts the story into a free one-hour radio play, with actors speaking the lines and foley artists providing the sound of clinking chains and moaning ghosts.

Leave the kids at home on Sunday, when you head to the mimosa matinee from Drunk Restoration Comedy, which turns Dickens into a day-drinking game. Inebriated performers will read an extremely-abridged version of “A Christmas Carol,” while the audience — and the actors — drink at certain cues. You can get boozy with Scrooge for $10 ($8 in advance) and the show starts at 2:30 pm at Littlefield (635 Sackett St. between Third and Fourth avenues in Gowanus, www.littlefieldnyc.com). Drinks will cost extra.

Then zip across town to Bushwick, for a screening of “The Muppet Christmas Carol,” starring Michael Caine as Ebenezer Scrooge, Kermit the Frog as Bob Cratchit, and Fozzy Bear, Miss Piggy, and Sam the Eagle in supporting roles. The charming film starts at 6:15 pm at the combination bar and theater Syndicated [40 Bogart St. between Thames and Grattan streets in Bushwick, (718) 386–3399, www.syndicatedbk.com]. Tickets will cost you $7.

As an alternative to the Muppets, you can catch a bit of film history. On Sunday at 7 pm, National Sawdust (80 N. Sixth St. at Wythe Avenue in Williamsburg, www.nationalsawdust.org) will screen a silent version of “A Christmas Carol” made by Thomas Edison’s own studio around 1905, and presented with music from a live chamber orchestra. Tickets to the show — a double-feature with “The Night Before Christmas” are $25.

Reach arts editor Bill Roundy at broundy@cnglocal.com or by calling (718) 260–4507.
Ghost buster: Stephen DeFluiter plays Ebenezer Scrooge in the Heights Players’ production of “A Christmas Carol,” playing on Dec. 14, 15, and, 16.
Pam Wagner