Theatre in the Dark, the two-year-old Chicago theater company whose original audio play retelling of H.G. Wells’ WAR OF THE WORLDS was the breakout hit of the fall season, will follow up with live online performances of A CHRISTMAS CAROL IN THE DARK for 10 special performances from December 10th through 24th.
Company Artistic Producer Mack Gordon created and will direct this new adaptation of Dickens’ classic. It will be performed live at each of the ten performances by a cast performing from three locations across North America, with Theatre in the Dark's signature audio style recreating Ebenezer Scrooge's infamous Christmas Eve journey from darkness into light. A CHRISTMAS CAROL IN THE DARK will be perfect for those who love the spookier elements of Dickens’ story. Audiences will be encouraged to coordinate remote "listening groups" with close friends or loved ones and create dark, cozy spaces for themselves within their own homes, perhaps with ones’ favorite holiday beverage and snacks at their side.
Mack Gordon is directing the production, which will feature an original musical score by Jake Sorgen. Producing Artistic Director Corey Bradberry will play Scrooge. Gordon, Sarah Althen, and Kathleen Puls Andrade will play the dozens of other characters. Bradberry and Andrade will perform from Chicago, Gordon from Vancouver, B.C., and Althen from Philadelphia.
Top Row: Sarah Althen, Corey Bradberry.
Lower Row: Mack Gordon, Kathleen Puls-Andrade
Bradberry says, "We're so pleased to follow up the success of this fall's A WAR OF THE WORLDS with A CHRISTMAS CAROL IN THE DARK. While we would absolutely prefer to be performing for audiences in-person, as we did with our 2019 production of THREE STORIES UP, we're delighted to have the chance to broadcast actors live from Chicago, Vancouver, and Philadelphia to Chicago audiences and beyond. We hope our show brings 'that holiday feeling' to our listeners' ears and hearts at home."
The CHICAGO READER called Theatre in the Dark’s A WAR OF THE WORLDS “a stylish and compelling adaptation.” BUZZ CENTER STAGE called the company’s THREE STORIES UP “a gripping 80-minute drama” and “a must see as one of Chicago’s more creative theatre adventures.” RESCRIPTED said it “skillfully adapts the novel with captivating language that matches the production’s renowned predecessors.”
Like the company’s A WAR OF THE WORLDS, which honored the legendary 1938 Orson Welles’ national radio broadcast of THE WAR OF THE WORLDS, A CHRISTMAS CAROL IN THE DARK follows in the tradition of another classic from the Golden Age of Radio. From 1934 through 1954, the much-loved character actor Lionel Barrymore (best remembered as the evil Mr. Potter in IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE) played Scrooge in annual national radio network broadcasts of A CHRISTMAS CAROL. The production presented on December 24, 1939 was directed and narrated by none other than Orson Welles.
A CHRISTMAS CAROL IN THE DARK will be performed entirely without visuals, combining recorded sound, live Foley effects, and the human voices of actors, to tell the story. Tickets will be pay-what-you-can ($25 - $30 suggested donation) and are on sale at www.theatreinthedark.com .
LISTING INFORMATION
A CHRISTMAS CAROL IN THE DARK
Directed and adapted by Mack Gordon from the novella by Charles Dickens
Live online performances
December 10 - 24, 2020
Press Opening Friday, December 11 at 8 pm CST
Thursdays – Saturdays at 8 pm CST, Sundays at 7 pm CST, with additional performances December 22 and 23 at 8 pm CST
Ticket prices pay-what-you-can ($25 - $30 suggested donation)
Tickets on sale now at www.theatreinthedark.com
Phone for info only (no ticketing): 312.285.0314
BIOS
COREY BRADBERRY (Scrooge, Stage Manager) is a Chicago director and performer, as well as a founding producer with Theatre in the Dark. He directed THREE STORIES UP (2019) and led the pivot to virtual audio productions, directing THREE STORIES UP: LIVE! ON THE AIR and A WAR OF THE WORLDS (2020). Corey is a Kennedy Center National Directing Fellow and received the City of Atlanta Office of Cultural Affairs’ Emerging Artist Award prior to graduate school. Corey has assistant directed with major theatre institutions including the Alliance Theatre, the Kennedy Center, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta History Center, and Chicago’s Second City; in addition to projects with smaller companies including Theatrical Outfit, Flying Carpet Theatre Company, and Artemisia. He has held teaching positions with the Alliance Theatre, University of Southern Mississippi, Kennesaw State University, the Swift School, Stagedoor Manor, and Atlanta Children’s Theatre. He is a graduate of the Second City Advanced Directing program, holds an MFA in Directing (Theatre), a BA in Theatre & Performance Studies, and has trained with the Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theatre. www.coreybradberry.com
MACK GORDON (Brain & others, Director, Adapter) is a founding producer with Theatre in the Dark and the author of the company's inaugural production, THREE STORIES UP. Mack has been writing plays for ten years. His work has been published in DISCORDER MAGAZINE, CARTE BLANCHE, and Speakeasy Theatre’s PULL ANTHOLOGY. His plays have been produced by ITSAZOO Productions (DEBTS, FIVE RED BALLOONS), Western Canada Theatre (THE BALLAD OF THE BURNING LADY), Upintheair Theatre (VISITORS), Alley Theatre (THREE STORIES UP) and Level-Headed Friends Productions (SIX FINE LINES; SHAKE THE SHEETS!; DEAD CELEBRITIES). He is a three-time writing contributor to Sum Theatre's Pull Festival and a four-time Jessie Richardson Theatre Award nominee. As an actor, Mack has worked with Chicago Dramatists as well as such Canadian companies as Bard on the Beach, The Arts Club, Carousel Theatre, Green Thumb, The Firehall Arts Centre, Pacific Theatre, and many others. www.mackgordontheatre.com
SARAH ALTHEN (Legs & others) is a stage, film, and voice actor. Before the pandemic prompted her to move back to her hometown of Reading, Pennsylvania, she spent nearly four years living and working in Chicago. There, she was a company member of BYOT Productions, home to Chicago’s only monthly 24-hour theatre festival. Other Chicago credits include a wide range of plays, workshops, and short films; most notably, she starred in BULLETS MADE OF WILDFLOWERS, which was selected for 2020’s National Film Festival for Talented Youth. She is currently working out of her home studio as a commercial voiceover artist. In addition to performing, Sarah has a passion for non-profit work. She is the clothing center coordinator at New Journey Community Outreach, where she organizes free clothing distributions for the low- and no-income population in Reading, PA. She also writes web copy for her local United Way chapter. She holds her B.A. in creative writing from Franklin & Marshall College.
KATHLEEN PULS-ANDRADE (Heart & others) is a professional working actor, improviser, voiceover, and writer with numerous voiceover and on camera credits. She has appeared in CHICAGO MED, BOSS, DANNY’S WISH, SHERYL STILL SINGLE, BERNIE, MORTAL KOMBAT 11, WATCHDOGS and more. Her original solo comedy, JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE UTERUS™: ADVENTURES INFERTILITY!, a poignant comedy based on her own roller coaster experiences with infertility, premiered in Chicago and was featured on the PBS special HEALTH SECRETS: WHAT EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW hosted by Paula Zahn. Kathleen also created an original audio blog, JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE UTERUS™, especially for FertilityAuthority.com.
Post COVID, Kathleen will be seen in BIBLE BINGO, CHRISTMAS BINGO, EASTER BUNNY BINGO (and all of the hilarious sequels to LATE NITE CATECHISM), hysterically scripted/improvised Bingo “Games” based on bingo halls that every church seems to have. She’ll appear at the Royal George Theatre in Chicago, all over the U.S, and Canada.
Kathleen is represented exclusively by Grossman and Jack (Chicago) for Voiceover, and Big Mouth Talent (Chicago) for On Camera. For more, visit gingrworks.com.