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ALL-CHICAGO, 26-MEMBER CAST ANNOUNCED FOR THE 41ST ANNUAL PRODUCTION OF
A CHRISTMAS CAROL,
APPEARING NOVEMBER 17 – DECEMBER 30 AT GOODMAN THEATRE
**CHICAGO FAVORITE LARRY YANDO APPEARS AS EBENEZER SCROOGE FOR HIS 11TH YEAR AND PARIS STRICKLAND RETURNS FOR HER 2ND YEAR AS TINY TIM**
***SPECIAL EVENTS INCLUDE FIRST-EVER SPANISH TRANSLATED PERFORMANCE ON DECEMBER 28 AND SENSORY-FRIENDLY PERFORMANCE ON DECEMBER 29***
Here at ChiIL Mama, we're so excited to announce another stellar cast for Chicago's annual favorite, Goodman's A Christmas Carol. Kudos to all the chicago area kids who were cast out of hundreds who auditioned. We're elated that local circus arts fav, Molly Brennan is returning as the Ghost of Christmas Past and the incomparable Larry Yando is back, embodying Ebenezer Scrooge for the 11th season. This production has been a family tradition of ours for decades and it never ceases to delight. Theatre tickets make great experiential presents, so book yours, and bring the family and friends.
More than 1.5 million people have experienced A Christmas Carol, “one of Chicago's treasured Christmas traditions” (Theatermania), now returning for the 41st year at Goodman Theatre, November 17 – December 30. Under Artistic Associate Henry Wishcamper’s direction for the sixth year, the annual production “remains the greatest seasonal story of all” (Chicago Tribune) and features Chicago actor Larry Yando, who leads the 26-member cast as the irascible businessman Ebenezer Scrooge. Joining Yando is Paris Strickland, who reprises her role as Tiny Tim for the second year, along with a host of returning favorites and newcomers; a complete cast list appears below.
The young performers in A Christmas Carol, cast from hundreds of Chicagoland children who auditioned, include Asher Alcantara, 13, as Boy Scrooge; Henry Lombardo, 9, as Ignorance and Tiny Tim Alternate; Maya Reyna, 16, as Belinda Cratchit; Nelson Simmons, 11, as Turkey Child; and Margaret Chong, 11, returning as Emily Cratchit for the second year.
A Christmas Carol appears November 17 – December 30; opening night is November 25 at 7pm. Tickets ($25 - $119; subject to change) are available at GoodmanTheatre.org/Carol, by phone at 312.443.3800 or at the box office (170 N. Dearborn). A limited amount of tickets ($35) for the first-ever Spanish translated performance on December 28 at 8pm are now available with promo code SPANISH at GoodmanTheatre.org/Carol. Please Note: Regular priced tickets ($40-60) are still available for this performance. Additionally, tickets for the December 29 at 2pm sensory-friendly performance, a partnership with Autism Speaks-Chicago, are also available starting at $15 with promo code SENSORY at GoodmanTheatre.org/SensoryPerformance.
“I am incredibly excited to start rehearsals for this year’s production of A Christmas Carol,” said director Henry Wishcamper. “We’ve assembled an amazing cast that includes many terrific new actors, several returning cast members, a group of incredibly talented young performers—and, of course, Larry Yando, who gives one of the greatest performances I’ve ever seen as Ebenezer Scrooge. This year’s cast promises to capture the magic, spectacle and power that has made the Goodman’s production of A Christmas Carol one of Chicago’s most beloved holiday traditions while breathing new energy and fresh perspectives into one of the best stories ever told.”
Dickens’ holiday classic is the iconic tale of greedy businessman Ebenezer Scrooge, whose sizable bank account is only matched by his disdain for the holidays. One Christmas Eve, Scrooge is visited by four ghosts who take him on a spectacular adventure through his past, present and future, helping him rediscover the joys of life, love and friendship. Former cast members include stage and screen notables Jessie Mueller, Joe Minoso, Del Close, Harry J. Lennix, Felicia P. Fields, Raul Esparza, Sally Murphy and Frank Galati.
Bank of America is the Major Corporate Sponsor, Macy’s is a Corporate Sponsor Partner and Sensory-Friendly Performance Sponsor, Allstate Insurance Company and KPMG LLP are the Corporate Sponsor Partners and the Chicago Tribune is the Media Partner.
Full Company of A Christmas Carol
By Charles Dickens, Adapted by Tom Creamer, Directed by Henry Wishcamper
Asher Alcantara……………………Boy Scrooge/Peter Cratchit
Justin Amolsch……………………Musician, French Horn
Breon Arzell……………………….Dick Wilkins
Kareem Bandealy………………...Narrator/Jacob Marley
Jasmine Bracey…………………..Ghost of Christmas Present
Molly Brennan…………………….Ghost of Christmas Past
Ali Burch…………………………...Frida
Ariana Burks………………………Martha Cratchit/Fan
Margaret Chong…………………..Emily Cratchit
Andrew Coil……………………….Musician, Fiddler
Thomas Cox………………………Bob Cratchit
Allen Gilmore……………………..Scrooge Alternate
Henry Lombardo…………………Ignorance/Tiny Tim Alternate
Lily Mojekwu……………………...Mrs. Cratchit
Andy Nagraj……………………....Ortle
Maya Reyna………………………Belinda Cratchit
Sadieh Rifai………………………Belle
Barbara Robertson……………...Old Joe/Schoolmaster
Madeline Ruhl……………………Musician, Flute
Malcolm Ruhl…………………….Music Director, Accordion
Christopher Sheard……………...Young Scrooge
Nelson Simmons…………………Turkey Child
Paris Strickland…………………...Tiny Tim
Penelope Walker…………………Mrs. Fezziwig/Mrs. Crumb
Jonah D. Winston………………..Mr. Fezziwig
Larry Yando………………………Ebenezer Scrooge
Creative Team
Todd Rosenthal……………….....Set Designer
Heidi Sue McMath……………….Costume Designer
Andrew Hansen………………….Composer
Richard Woodbury……………….Sound Designer
Malcolm Ruhl……………………..Music Director
Keith Parham……………………..Lighting Designer
Tommy Rapley ……………..........Choreographer
Kate DeVore………………………Dialect Coach
Alden Vasquez…………………...Production Stage Manager
Jonathan Nook…………………...Stage Manager
Flying effects are provided by ZFX Inc.
ABOUT GOODMAN THEATRE
AMERICA’S “BEST REGIONAL THEATRE” (Time magazine), Goodman Theatre is a premier not-for-profit organization distinguished by the excellence and scope of its artistic programming and civic engagement. Led by Artistic Director Robert Falls and Executive Director Roche Schulfer, the theater’s artistic priorities include new play development (more than 150 world or American premieres), large scale musical theater works and reimagined classics (celebrated revivals include Falls’ productions of Death of a Salesman and The Iceman Cometh). Goodman Theatre artists and productions have earned two Pulitzer Prizes, 22 Tony Awards, over 160 Jeff Awards and many more accolades. In addition, the Goodman is the first theater in the world to produce all 10 plays in August Wilson’s “American Century Cycle;” and its annual holiday tradition A Christmas Carol, which celebrates its 41st anniversary this season, has created a new generation of theatergoers. The Goodman also frequently serves as a production partner with local off-Loop theaters and national and international companies by providing financial support or physical space for a variety of artistic endeavors.
Committed to three core values of Quality, Diversity and Community, the Goodman proactively makes inclusion the fabric of the institution and develops education and community engagement programs that support arts as education. This practice uses the process of artistic creation to inspire and empower youth, lifelong learners and audiences to find and/or enhance their voices, stories and abilities. The Goodman’s Alice Rapoport Center for Education and Engagement is the home of such programming, most offered free of charge, and has vastly expanded the theater’s ability to touch the lives of Chicagoland citizens (with 85% of youth participants coming from underserved communities) since its 2016 opening.
Goodman Theatre was founded by William O. Goodman and his family in honor of their son Kenneth, an important figure in Chicago’s cultural renaissance in the early 1900s. The Goodman family’s legacy lives on through the continued work and dedication of Kenneth’s family, including Albert Ivar Goodman, who with his late mother, Edith-Marie Appleton, contributed the necessary funds for the creation of the new Goodman center in 2000.
Today, Goodman Theatre leadership also includes the distinguished members of the Artistic Collective: Brian Dennehy, Rebecca Gilman, Henry Godinez, Dael Orlandersmith, Steve Scott, Chuck Smith, Regina Taylor, Henry Wishcamper and Mary Zimmerman. David W. Fox, Jr. is Chair of Goodman Theatre’s Board of Trustees, Denise Stefan Ginascol is Women’s Board President and Megan McCarthy Hayes is President of the Scenemakers Board for young professionals.
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