Christmas By Elaine Warner “M
arley was dead, to begin with—there’s no doubt about that” commences the second-best-known Christmas story. Dicken’s famous “A Christmas Carol” has been read and re-read for more than 150 years. It’s been filmed
numerous times; the main character’s name has become synonymous for “miser.” And for over a quarter of a century, the tale retold by the players at the Pollard Theatre has been a highlight of Christmas festivities in Guthrie, Okla. “This is our 28th year and we’ve done “A Territorial Christmas Carol” every year but one,” Pollard Theatre artistic director Jerome Stevenson says. “After the first three or four years, it was decided to present a different play. The audience response was tepid and the next year “A Territorial Christmas Carol” was brought back and has been filling the theater ever since. The story may be old but the productions are always fresh. “Every year we try to find new nuances and this year we’re going to have different sound and lighting designs. The sets are the same and much of the cast will be the same. We don’t want to lose the familiar- ity; it’s part of many people’s Christmas tradition so we don’t want to change the things they love about it,” Stevenson says. Doing the same play so many times has given the company chances
to tweak and refine the play—sometimes out of necessity. A favorite of Pollard patrons, actor James Ong, has played Scrooge more than a dozen times. Before that, he played other characters including the Ghost of Christmas Present. This ghost is a majestic figure in a luxuri- ous green velvet robe with white fur trim.
“I was supposed to enter through a trap door in the stage but my robe caught on a nail or splinter and I was peeled like a banana. I had to play the whole scene in the nightgown underneath,” Ong says. The trap door did not appear in subsequent productions. “A Territorial Christmas Carol” puts an Oklahoma twist to Dicken’s English story. The play opens in the Cherokee Strip home of Ben and Elizabeth Moody, their first Christmas after the Land Run of 1893. Friends have gathered, but there’s a stranger in their midst—one of the guests has brought along a traveler who was stranded between trains. The other visitors had all brought gifts to exchange but the stranger is caught off-guard. He has no gift, but he offers to tell a story…. “A Territorial Christmas Carol” runs from Nov. 28 through Dec. 21
with 14 performances. Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, the play begins at 8 p.m.
Matinees on Saturday and Sunday are at 2 p.m. Prices range from $16.25 for students with ID; $24.50 for seniors 62 and up and retired or active military and spouses; regular admission is $27.25. Reservations are highly encouraged; as of Oct. 31, two nights were already sold out. Children’s matinees are being offered at 11 a.m. on Dec. 3, 4, 5, 10 and 11. Tickets are $10 and reservations are a must.
Guthrie’s Territorial
James Ong (left) as Ebenezer Scrooge and James A. Hughes (right) as Bob Cratchit in the Pollard Theatre production of “A Territorial Christmas Carol.” Photo courtesy of the Pollard Theatre
Fun Fact
Ebenezer Scrooge’s tombstone is in the cemetery of St. Chad’s Church in Shrewsbury, England. Installed for the 1984 filming of “A Christmas Carol” starring George C. Scott, the gravestone was left in place for film fans.
Territorial Traditions
Other Guthrie traditions you may enjoy include: Opening night: Nov. 29, 6 p.m. Festivities begin with a lighted parade leading down Oklahoma Street from the Scottish Rite Temple to the post office steps where this year’s Territorial Governor will be inaugurated and the Christmas tree will be lighted.
Victorian Walk: Dec. 6 and 13 from 5 p.m. until 9 p.m. Enjoy lighted shop windows with living Christmas scenes, strolling carolers and peanut vendors, all in Victorian costumes.
Historic Homes Tour: Dec. 13, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tickets ($15 for adults, $3 for children 13-18) are available at the Chamber of Commerce, 212 W. Oklahoma St., or any participating home. Take a self-guided tour to see the decorations and sip hot wassail in the historic Carnegie Library.
Byron Berline concerts: Dec. 13 and 20. Double Stop Music Hall, upstairs, 121 E. Oklahoma St., 7:30, tickets $10. Expect some Christmas music with the bluegrass.
DECEMBER 2014 27
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