Need something to do Thanksgiving weekend in Modesto? Take in a few ghosts

A story about social injustice, poverty and hate might not seem particularly festive, yet it remains one of the holiday season’s most beloved tales to tell.

And so it is with “A Christmas Carol,” the next presentation from Modesto Performing Arts, arriving right after Thanksgiving to welcome the yuletide.

MPA presents the time-honored tale from Charles Dickens from Nov. 24-26 at the Gallo Center for the Arts. It’s a proven hit for the Modesto company, which has produced “A Christmas Carol” periodically over the past 25 years, the latest of which was in 2015, according to founder Paul Tischer, who directs the play.

“Nearly every theater in the country performs it. Kind of like ‘The Nutcracker’ for ballet companies,” he said.

But beyond the popularity, “the story is beautiful,” Tischer said in an email interview.

The Victorian-set tale of miserly businessman Ebenezer Scrooge and his haunting arranged by deceased partner Jacob Marley includes ghosts and apparitions, as well as joy and merriment.

Scrooge ignores the needs of those suffering around him in poverty – including his own employee Bob Cratchit, whose young son Tiny Tim suffers from crippling illness.

Marley’s apparition visits Scrooge the night before Christmas and promises him a final chance to save his soul. Three ghosts visit Scrooge that night – specters of Christmases past, present and future – to show him where he lost his way and the finality that awaits without a change of heart and deed.

“A lot of the social conditions that are talked about in the story are still applicable today,” Tischer said, “poverty, hate, social injustice. What I like about the story is that it is possible for even the most curmudgeon and hateful person to be redeemed.”

It’s also the story of the loving Cratchit family, he said, and young Tiny Tim, “whose outlook on life is always positive and hopeful.”

Audiences always respond to Tiny Tim’s most famous line at the end of the play, Tischer said, “God bless us, everyone.”

“You can’t help but smile with a little tear in your eyes and know that, at least for the moment, everything is going to be okay,” he said. “And audiences leave the play uplifted and truly in the Christmas spirit.”

The MPA production will be a faithful retelling of the Dickens novella – first published in 1843 and among his most popular works – with scenery and costumes reflecting the Victorian period.

“I’m a great believer in being faithful to the original intentions of a writer,” Tischer said. “The story is perfect as it is. I’m not going to update the story or change the locale or rewrite the dialogue or story to make it more ‘meaningful.’ You don’t mess with perfection.”

And while there are musical version’s of “A Christmas Carol,” Tischer said he prefers – for now – to avoid the extra details that go into that sort of production, including having a full orchestra.

“But,” he added, “maybe one of these days.”

A cast of 40 makes up the MPA production, lead by Jimmy Gonzales as Ebenezer Scrooge and Marty Cox as the late Jacob Marley. The ghosts of Christmases past, present and future will be played by Ray Leverett, David Finley and Carma Mize, respectively.

Cast as Bob Cratchit is Dean Medek with Camden Van Lewen as Tiny Tim.

Tischer said that many of the troubling social conditions in the story remain applicable today, as does the final promise of redemption.

“Despite all the troubles in the world, then and now,” he said, “there is still hope.”

This story was originally published November 16, 2017 at 2:56 PM with the headline "Need something to do Thanksgiving weekend in Modesto? Take in a few ghosts."