A Christmas Carol - OHIO THEATER Archive Photos
For more than 40 years, CAPA has put on an original production of A Christmas Carol at the Ohio Theatre. After a brief hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, CAPA’s A Christmas Carol is back, thanks to a collaboration with the Short North Stage.
Delighting audiences while preserving the integrity of the classic tale is a difficult task, but experience makes it easier, says Edward Carignan, director of this year’s production and artistic director for Short North Stage.
“We learned so much from the first year. The writer, composer and I worked really hard to create something that felt new and fresh,” Carignan says. “This year, we’ve rewritten the script and the score. I’m redoing a lot of the staging so it will feel new from last year.”
Introducing newer elements to an already iconic production can be tricky, but Carignan has a plan for that. Inspired by the cast and crew’s shared background in music, he decided to incorporate more musical elements throughout the show.
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Sample Photos from “A Christmas Carol” - Friday 11-24-23
“It’s still the traditional story that everyone knows and loves, but it has a lot of new arrangements of Christmas carols, traditional songs and musical interludes,” says Carignan. “It’s also helped by a score that keeps it entertaining throughout. It’s not a musical, but it’s a play with music.”
Carignan says that he, along with the cast and crew, hopes audiences enjoy the show as much as they enjoyed putting it together with CAPA.
“They’ve been such wonderful partners in creating this from scratch because they have so many resources and wonderful local talent, and so do we,” he says. “We have wonderful access to actors and to stage managers, scenic artists and costume artists. We’ve been trying to bring all those contacts here to Columbus to build something new that Columbus can truly call its own.”
Don’t Miss Out!
Winter is full of plenty of fun shows and activities to enjoy, so make sure you check out these productions as well.
The Hip Hop Nutcracker by CAPA, Nov. 24
A Drag Queen Christmas by Murray & Peter, Nov. 27
A Magical Cirque Christmas by CAPA, Nov. 30
Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical by Broadway in Columbus, Dec. 3-8
Home for the Holidays by Jazz Arts Group, Dec. 4-8
Holiday Pops by Columbus Symphony Orchestra, Dec 6-8
The Nutcracker by BalletMet, Dec. 12-28
A Christmas Carol by The Contemporary Theatre of Ohio, Dec. 12-22
The Rock Orchestra by Candlelight, Dec. 13
Light, Bright and Gay by Columbus Gay Men’s Chorus, Dec. 14-15
Holiday Spectacular by the New Albany Symphony Orchestra, Dec. 21-22
Maggie Lardie is an editorial assistant at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
