(NOTE: An additional performance has been added to the run of “The Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge.” It will be at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 17.)
By Randi Bjornstad
Apparently Ebenezer Scrooge didn’t learn his lesson the first time.
Four years after his distinctly uncomfortable visits from the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future — not to mention the chain-clanking warning from the spirit of his not-so-dear departed former partner Jacob Marley — Scrooge apparently not only has reverted completely returned to his “bah humbug” ways, he’s also filed suit against the ghosts for kidnapping and murder.
It’s up to a judge named Stanchfield R. Pearson to hear the case in a comedy called “The Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge,” which opens Dec. 2 in the Very Little Theatre’s even cozier Stage Left space with seven performances that end on Dec. 11.
(Photo by Rich Scheeland)
Left to right: actors Blake Beardsley, Shane Gunn, Daniel Squire and Marieca Hare listen as the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, played by Thomas Weaver, gives testimony in “The Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge.”
The four ghosts are defended by a lawyer named Solomon Rothschild. Bob Cratchit, Scrooge’s long-suffering clerk, Scrooge’s nephew Fred who loves Christmas, Scrooge’s sister Fan (also mother of Fred) who used to walk Scrooge home from school when they were kids and Belle, the beautiful woman who broke off her engagement with Scrooge over his avarice, all have been called as witnesses.
But not, apparently, Tiny Tim.
It’s a cliffhanger of a plot. Who will win? Will Scrooge prevail and in doing so permanently banish the Christmas ghosts? Or will he renounce once more his nasty, 1-percenter ways, this time permanently?
There’s only one way to find out.
Director Sarah Etherton says it doesn’t matter if this play is a sequel or a satire, it’s “rollicking good fun for the whole family, and spins a perfect twist.” She’s assisted for this production by Kari Welch.
The cast features James Aday as Ebenezer Scrooge, Blake Beardsley as Solomon Rothschild and Daniel Squire as Judge Stanchfield R. Pearson. Other actors include Shane Gunn, Joel Albrecht, Mary Keating, Thomas Weaver, Traci Knights, Kali Kardas and Marieca Hare.
Very Little Theatre
What: The Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge
When: 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 2-3, 8-10 and 17 with 2 p.m. matinees on Dec. 4 and 11
Where: Stage Left in the Very Little Theatre at 2350 Hilyard St. in Eugene
Tickets: $12 general admission, available at the box office from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, 541-344-7751, or online at TheVLT.com/.
