Schoolhouse Arts Center Performs “A Christmas Carol”

By Emma Bennett

“Marley began it all … by being dead.”

“A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens has been a fireside tale for more than a century. Originally published in 1843, everyone knows the timeless tale of Ebenezer Scrooge, the ghosts that visit him on Christmas Eve, and his everlasting “humbug!”.

From the page to the stage old Ebenezer’s spirit transformed, tucked into a little nook in Standish,

Scoorge visits the  Bob Crachit Family

Maine. It was the 15th of December when Schoolhouse Arts finished their 8th show of “A Christmas Carol”, ending with a grand finale to this winter production. Three months of preparation went into making this the most attended winter show in ten years at Schoolhouse. Record-breaking!

There are currently more than two dozen versions of the story, but this one brought an entirely new take to the original. It gave a little more of Scrooge’s background, creating an emotional attachment between the audience and the character but still imbuing a comical aspect of each character in the story. The audience was amused and moved all at once.

The credit goes to this amazing cast. Greg Pomeroy, who played Scrooge in the show, did a fantastic job capturing Scrooge’s qualities, while also nailing every single joke, not to mention learning pages and pages of lines!

Jeff Christo, as Marley’s ghost and Fezziwig, couldn’t have been more frightening and hilarious at the same time. Then there’s Randy Hunt as Bob Cratchit who stepped into his character’s shoes just like that and made it look easy. There are many others to congratulate: Caitlin Cashman as the Ghost of Christmas Past, Francesca Jellison as Ghost of Christmas Present, Wes Pierson as Tiny Tim, and every single narrator, Christmas Caroler and others who heard the call to round out this production.

I had a great experience being on stage with my Dad - who played Frederick, Scrooge’s nephew. I’m lucky I get to share this with him.

Thanks to TJ, our director, Zoe Peterson, our stage manager, and everyone who helped out backstage with lights and props, we made it a memorable experience.

This was my first time performing at Schoolhouse and I had the best time sharing these past few months with these caring, understanding, and talented people.

Schoolhouse may not have a giant stage or be able to have a large audience, but it holds a lot of heart. Though it may be old, its soul lies on the stage, through everyone that performs on it.