Dickens Done Two Ways at the Westchester Sandbox Theatre

If you want to get your Scrooge on this holiday season, you will have two great opportunities at the Westchester Sandbox Theatre, starting next weekend. The intimate, local venue will be producing two different Dickens' adaptations—A Christmas Carol and Mrs. Bob Cratchit's Wild Christmas Binge.

The former is a family-friendly adaptation of the famous Christmas classic, according to theatre Artistic Director Jason Summers, but with a strong emphasis on the spirit characters.  

"In [my] adaptation of A Christmas Carol ... there is a focus on the supernatural side, while still telling the same story," Summers said.

Summers noted that much of the original dialogue from the book is used in the play, but that the imagery represented on stage is more supernatural.  

"Overall, there is a much more haunted quality to this adaptation than others," he said. "For example, Jacob Marley is always on Scrooge's mind, so much so that the actor playing Marley also plays Scrooge's maid in drag. And though it is meant to be funny, it also shows that everywhere Scrooge looks he sees Marley."

In an early scene, one of the vendors -- a watchmaker -- gives Scrooge a steam-powered clock as payment for what he owes him.

"That vendor later becomes the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, and the clock serves as a symbol of the future that becomes dramatized by the arrival of a time machine," Summers said.

"We have some neat set pieces, small and well-built that have a great effect on the audience in such a small space," he said, referring to the theater's 74-seat capacity.

Summers added that, despite the focus on the ghostly spirits, the production is very family-friendly and that kids will find this fantastical version interesting and engaging without being frightening.

"There is a line in the show when the Ghost of Christmas Past throws a lot of snow and Scrooge has to ask him to stop making a mess in his living room," he said, continuing, "There is a lot of humor so as not to be overly dramatic or scary. You can laugh at Scrooge for being afraid of these ghosts."

Thea Barovick,  a fifth grader at Chatsworth Avenue School in Larchmont, plays a lot of different roles in both shows. "A Christmas Carol  has a lot of ghosts, but they are more funny than scary," she said.  "Well, the lights are a little scary!"

Barovick relishes being able to sing some carols in this production. While she has participated in four WST Young People's Theater productions, this is her first time appearing in its Mainstage series. "I am so glad Jason invited me to be in these shows," she said.

Despite the fact that the presentation is an hour and a half with intermission, Summers believes children will not lose interest.

"I think this is the strongest adaptation for audiences of families," he said."There is a cinematic feel to the show, with scenes fading in and out, that really pulls you along nicely."

The majority of A Christmas Carol cast does double-duty in the evening performances of the farcical  Mrs. Bob Cratchit's Wild Christmas Binge. Summers said that author Christopher Durang was always interested in the character of the much put-upon Mrs. Cratchit, but that not enough of the original story was told from her perspective.

"Mrs. Cratchit ends up highjacking the performance," Summers said. "Mr. Cratchit keeps bringing home all these poor children, and she puts them down in the root cellar. It is an exaggeration of the suffering that is the earmark of the Cratchit existence. Everything in this adaptation is over-the-top and punctuated, played for humor rather than sincerity." This spoof is not recommended for children.

A Christmas Carol is playing December 18, 19, 24, 29, 30 and 31 at 2pm; tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for children. Mrs. Bob Cratchit's Wild Christmas Binge runs December 18, 19, 23 and 30 at 8pm; tickets are $20 for adults.

The Westchester Sandbox Theatre is located at 931c East Boston Post Rd. in Mamaroneck. For tickets, call 914-630-0804.