MIDLAND It’s a Christmas Classic that most people are well-familiar with and tonight, it begins the first of many showings on stage at the Midland Community Theatre.
“A Christmas Carol” returns to the stage at MCT beginning with tonight’s show and continuing through Dec. 17.
There will be 10 shows total.
The show is under the direction of Midland Community Theatre Executive Director Tim Jebsen who first directed the play at MCT back in 1997.
“The version that we do is one written by a guy from Omaha, Neb.,” Jebsen said. “I was familiar with the show long before we did it here at MCT so I had seen the show done at other community theaters. It was exciting to be a part of it. This is my sixth time to direct it and I’m very excited. But it’s been six years since we last did it here.”
The last time MCT did a production of “A Christmas Carol” was back in 2016.
However, audiences will notice something a little bit different with this show than the previous production done on the Davis Theatre at MCT.
That’s because MCT has recently added five LED walls to the stage. The LED walls were recently unveiled to the public two weeks ago. The new technology will help for a number of possibilities with the productions at MCT and this will be the first show to utilize the new screens.
“What’s really unique about it is that it’s completely changed the show,” Jebsen said. “We’re doing the same script. We’re doing the same songs. But the way we’ve staged the show and how we’ve transitioned from scene to scene is now completely different. It’s almost been refreshing to not just be redoing the same old show that we’ve always done before and that’s a lot of fun.”
“A Christmas Carol,” based on the book by Charles Dickens, tells the beloved holiday story of Ebenezer Scrooge, an elderly miser who is visited by the ghost of his former business partner Jacob Marley who warns him that he must change his selfish ways or be fated to spend an eternity in chains.
That night, he is visited by the spirits of Christmas past, present and future who show him the joy of the season and reignite his humanity and the good that was always in him.
For Jebsen, it’s a show he’s always enjoyed directing.
“First of all, it is definitely one of those shows where when I direct it, I’m in the Christmas spirit, even in October,” Jebsen said. “When Christmas comes around, I’m even more excited about the holiday season and in a positive way. Everyone is usually tired of seeing Christmas commercials before Halloween and in the present time and want to wait until after Thanksgiving. But by doing it this early, it really puts me in that frame of mind.”
Another difference between this production of “A Christmas Carol” and the last one that MCT put on back in 2016 will include different actors including a different person playing Scrooge.
“One of the big differences is that the gentleman playing Scrooge, Jonathan Horne, has never played Scrooge with us before,” Jebsen said. “We’ve had a couple of guys in the past who used to be our stock Scrooges. They did a great job but they’re not doing it this year. In addition to the technology, you also have a bunch of new actors so it is a new generation of actors taking part in the show. It definitely feels like it is fresh and new, not just the same old show. We auditioned in early October. We started about Oct. 10. We rehearse five days a week.”
Horne talked about how excited he is to play Scrooge.
“I thought it would be 10 more years before I would be able to play Ebenezer Scrooge,” Horne said. “But I came out to audition. I was cast and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it.”
This will be Horne’s fifth show at MCT but he’s been acting around the area in different shows for over 20 years now.
“I have different degrees in theater,” Horne said who mentioned that he graduated from Texas Tech University. “I used to work at the Globe of the Great Southwest before Odessa College took it over. I executive directed at Permian Playhouse which is now Basin Theatre Works.”
He talked more about what he’s enjoyed about playing Scrooge who goes through a change in his attitude by the end of the show.
“As an actor, the journey the character takes is amazing,” Horne said. “You get a really good, solid full arc with him. He starts pretty mean and then he’s happy-go-lucky by the end. It’s a 180.”
Horne is also excited to be a part of the first production at MCT to utilize the new LED walls.
“I’ve been researching and as far as I can tell, no other community theater has something like this,” Horne said. “From an artistic standpoint, there’s nothing this theater cannot do on this stage. Instead of having to rent these horrendous backdrops, if we want to go to a different location, boom we’re there at the click of a button. It’s just amazing. I’m so excited that we get to do this and have this great opportunity to do this.”
Playing the part of Bob Cratchit is longtime MCT veteran Kevin Leoffler.
“(This production) is finally coming together,” Leoffler said. “We’ve been working together since October. We’re getting really excited to open this production.”
Cratchit is the abused and underpaid clerk of Scrooge who’s son Tiny Tim is crippled and sick.
“Bob is different than any other character I’ve played,” Leoffler said. “Bob is a family man, a poor family man who loves his family more than anything. He tries to work really hard. He tries to do what’s best for his family.”
Leoffler is also eager to get to be a part of the first show with LED walls.
“It’s exciting for all of us, especially us veterans who have been here for a long time,” Leoffler said.
Playing the part of Jacob Marley is Odessa College’s Josh Rapp.
“I’ve had a good time,” Rapp said. “This is my second time working with MCT. I just did ‘A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.’ It’s a good time. I’m the director of theater at Odessa College. It’s a good time being on stage. Working with MCT has always been a pleasure. The staff here has been great to work with.”
After weeks and weeks of practice, Jebsen and the crew are looking forward to having an audience to perform in front of.
“I think the cast is very excited to have an audience,” Jebsen said. “They’re excited to have people in the audience and have people applauding and have their family and friends in the theater. They’ve been here for the past six weeks, all the time and missing evening meals and stuff like that. You see why it takes so much hard work to get this show ready.”
This show will mark the end of another successful season at MCT.
The next play will be “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” in February.
“The biggest reflection on this season is that it felt like the first normal season,” Jebsen said. “2020 started off normal and then came to a crashing halt because of COVID and even 2021 it was constantly going but the mindset was ‘we’re going to try this, but we’re not sure if we’re going to do this.’ Whereas 2022, this past season, we felt like we were doing bigger shows, had bigger audiences and it felt more normal. That was a real joy.”
If you go
- What: A Christmas Carol.
- When: 7:30 p.m. Nov. 25, 7:30 p.m. Nov. 26, 2:30 p.m. Nov. 27, 7:30 p.m. Dec. 2, 7:30 p.m. Dec. 3, 7:30 p.m. Dec. 9, 7:30 p.m. Dec. 10, 2:30 p.m. Dec. 11, 7:30 p.m. Dec. 16, 7:30 p.m. Dec. 17.
- Where: Midland Community Theatre.
- Where to purchase tickets: tinyurl.com/4bswp5rf
