Get a sneak peek of Chicago’s favorite holiday tradition, The Goodman’s A Christmas Carol, newly directed by BOLD Artistic Producer Malkia Stampley and now in rehearsal. The 48th annual production features a host of new and reimagined elements, including movement by choreographer Tor Campbell, 2024 Goodman Northwestern University Fellow, and new music direction by Gregory Hirte—a famed Chicago musician who steps into this new role to mark his 25th year with A Christmas Carol. Hirte and composer Andy Hansen revisit and refresh the music, and infuse a percussive element to embrace a variety of styles and sounds. New magic and surprises add thrills—and chills—from the Ghosts of Christmas Past (Lucky Stiff), Present (Bethany Thomas), Future and Marley (Daniel José Molina). Stampley’s production features Christopher Donahue in his second year as Ebenezer Scrooge and Ella Boparai (Joffrey Ballet’s Nutcracker) making her Goodman debut as Tiny Tim. Chiké Johnson (Ashland Avenue) appears as Scrooge for 10 performances. A Christmas Carol runs November 15 through December 31 (opening night is November 23) in the 856-seat Albert Theatre. For tickets ($34 - $173, subject to change), visit the Box Office (170 N. Dearborn), call 312.443.3800 or purchase online at GoodmanTheatre.org/Carol. Visit the website for performance dates when Johnson appears as Scrooge. The Goodman is grateful for the support of PNC (Major Corporate Sponsor), ITW (Corporate Sponsor Partner) and Bold Ventures (Production Sponsor).
“What I love about tradition is that it’s ever-evolving. And that’s also what I love about A Christmas Carol,” said director Malkia Stampley. “It's been so fun working with our music director, our composer, our choreographer and our costume and props staff to celebrate the different cultures represented across the large community inside A Christmas Carol. I want audiences to leave this production asking the question, ‘What part am I playing in making Chicago or my community better? What can I do?’ Each year we may think this story has changed, but sometimes we’re the ones who change.”
Rediscover Dickens’ classic with an adaptation that “makes you believe kindness can win” (Chicago Tribune). Follow Ebenezer Scrooge, a businessman whose disdain for the holidays is transformed on Christmas Eve. Featuring a “first-rate cast and marvelous staging” (Chicago Sun-Times), this tale remains “the best Christmas story ever told” (Time Out Chicago).
Full company of A Christmas Carol (in alphabetical order)
By Charles Dickens
Adapted by Tom Creamer
Directed by Malkia Stampley
Jazzlyn Luckett Aderele...Maxine Fezziwig/Abigail/Ensemble
Ella Boparai...Tiny Tim/Want
Viva Boresi...Belinda Cratchit
Tatiana Bustamante...Belle/Ensemble
Christiana Clark...Mrs. Fezziwig/Mrs. Dilber
Amira Danan...Frida
Elleon Dobias...Musician
Christopher Donahue...Ebenezer Scrooge
Arash Fakhrabadi...Young Scrooge/Undertaker/Ensemble
Sól Fuller...Martha Cratchit//Fan/Catherine/Ensemble
Brian A. Goodwin...Musician
Jalbelly Guzmán...Felicity/Hat Seller/Ensemble
Benjamin Heppner...Musician
Gregory Hirte...Musician/Ensemble
A’mia Imani...Emily Cratchit
Anthony Irons...Ortle/School Official/Old Joe
Chiké Johnson...Alternate Scrooge
Carmelo Kelly...Gregory Cratchit/Newspaper Seller/Ignorance/Turkey Child
Chris Khoshaba...Dick Wilkins/Ensemble
Helen Joo Lee...Mrs. Cratchit
Henry Lombardo...Peter Cratchit/Boy Scrooge
Daniel José Molina...Marley/Ghost of Christmas Future
Isabelle Muthiah...Chestnut Seller/Ensemble
Jon Hudson Odom...Bob Cratchit
Robert Schleifer...Mr. Fezziwig
Lucky Stiff...Ghost of Christmas Past/Topper/Makeup Consultant for Christmas Past
Bethany Thomas...Charwoman/Ghost of Christmas Present
Austin Tichenor...Crumb
Understudies for this production include Hillary Bayley, Jordan Golding, Loren Jones, Mizha Lee Overn, Sebastian Rus and Anne Sheridan Smith.
Creative Team
Choreographer...Tor Campbell
Composer...Andy Hansen
Music Director...Gregory Hirte
Fly Director...Andrea Gentry
Voice & Dialect Coach...Michelle Lopez-Rios
Assistant Director...Michael Cotey
Assistant Choreographer...Jalbelly Guzmán
Line Producer...Lena Romano
Costume Designer...Heidi Sue McMath
Lighting Designer...Keith Parham
Associate Lighting Designer...Brian Elston
Set Designer...Todd Rosenthal
Sound Designer...Pornchanok “Nok” Kanchanabanca
Assistant Sound Designer...Hannah Kwak
Script Production Assistant...Jojo Wallenberg
Young Performer Supervisors...Gabriel Anderle and Hope X. Still
Casting is by Lauren Port, CSA. Jennifer Gregory is the Production Stage Manager. Beth Koehler and Duncan McMillan are the Stage Managers. Additional adaptive work by Neena Arndt.
ENHANCED AND ACCESSIBLE PERFORMANCES
Visit GoodmanTheatre.org/Access for more information about The Goodman’s accessibility efforts.
ASL-Interpreted: December 5 at 7:30pm – An ASL interpreter signs the action/text as played.
Audio-Described: December 6 at 2pm; Touch Tour; 12:30pm – Action audibly enhanced via headset.
Spanish-Subtitled: December 7 at 7pm – Spanish-translated dialogue via LED sign.
Open-Captioned: December 7 at 2pm – LED sign presents dialogue in sync with the performance.
Sensory-Friendly: December 28 at 2pm – Lights and sounds are softened; sensory items available.
ABOUT THE GOODMAN
Since 1925, The Goodman has been more than a stage. A theatrical home for artists and a gathering space for community, it’s where stories come to life—bold in artistry and rich in history, deeply rooted in the city it serves.
Led by Walter Artistic Director Susan V. Booth and Executive Director John Collins, The Goodman sparks conversation, connection and change through new plays, reimagined classics and large-scale musicals. With distinctions including nearly 200 world or American premieres, two Pulitzer Prizes, 22 Tony Awards and nearly 200 Joseph Jefferson Awards, The Goodman is proud to be the first theater to produce all 10 plays of August Wilson’s “American Century Cycle.” In addition, the theater frequently serves as a production partner—with national and international companies to Chicago’s Off-Loop theaters—to help amplify theatrical voices.
But The Goodman believes a more empathetic, more connected Chicago is created one story at a time, and counts as its greatest legacy the community it’s built. Generation-spanning productions and programs offer theater for a lifetime; from Theater for the Very Young (plays designed for ages 0-5) to the long-running annual A Christmas Carol, which has introduced new generations to theater over five decades, The Goodman is committed to being an asset for all of Chicago. Education and Engagement programs led by Clifford Director of Education and Engagement Jared Bellot and housed in the Alice Rapoport Center use the tools of theater to spark imagination, reflection and belonging. Each year, these programs reach thousands of people (85% from underserved communities) as well as educators, artists and lifelong learners across the city.
The Goodman stands on the unceded homelands of the Council of the Three Fires—the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi Nations—and acknowledges the many other Nations for whom this land now called Chicago has long been home, including the Myaamia, Ho-Chunk, Menominee, Sac and Fox, Peoria, Kaskaskia, Wea, Kickapoo, and Mascouten. The Goodman is proud to partner with the Gichigamiin Indigenous Nations Museum (Gichigamiin-Museum.org) and the Center for Native Futures (CenterForNativeFutures.org)—organizations devoted to honoring Indigenous stories, preserving cultural memory, and deepening public understanding.
The Goodman was founded by William O. Goodman and his family to honor the memory of Kenneth Sawyer Goodman—a visionary playwright whose bold ideas helped shape Chicago’s early cultural renaissance. That spirit of creativity and generosity endures today. In 2000, through the commitment of Mr. Goodman’s descendants—Albert Ivar Goodman and his late mother, Edith-Marie Appleton—The Goodman opened the doors to its current home in the heart of the Loop.