christmas carol | reid farrington, nyc

Remember THE PASSION PROJECT? Can you imagine that same creative mind tackling A CHRISTMAS CAROL? Wish I could be in New York!

Created and directed by acclaimed theater artist Reid Farrington, this exciting work takes the form of a Victorian-era phantasmagoria, conjuring up ghosts of the past, present, and future by integrating media and live theater with the well-known holiday classic.

Haunting images from seventy different film versions of A Christmas Carol are projected on moving screens using a modern-day version of the magic lantern. Film clips collide and combine with live performers on stage, eerily blurring the distinction between performance and video projection.

Through complex staging and choreography, the show mashes together over one hundred years of film history. Performers slip in and out of characters from the Alastair Sim, George C. Scott, and Bill Murray versions of A Christmas Carol, as well as The Muppets and Mr. Magoo variations (and many more) to create an imaginative and new interpretation of the beloved Dickens story.

Last call! A handful of tickets remain for the final 4 performances of Reid Farrington's A Christmas Carol. Get yours now

The audience reactions to this show have been overwhelmingly positive, we had to share some of our favorite quotes that were posted to the Readers' Review tab on the NY Times:

"...one of my favorite aspects of the show is that the actors do not just play the characters from "A Christmas Carol", but also take on the roles of the storytellers - one might see the Narrator/Bob Cracthit as playing Dickens himself. More importantly, the storytellers do not seem to agree on just exactly how to tell the story (perhaps a product of how many different versions are used in the show). The result is a delightful conflict between not just the characters of Dickens' story, but also between the actors who are telling the story; it's a narrative within a narrative, and helps to tie the whole show together (as well as to lighten the mood). Overall I found the show to be both thoroughly enjoyable as well as wonderfully critical of the same tired old Christmas themes.
It's also worth mentioning that, in the context of Occupy Wall Street and this year's presidential race, the story of A Christmas Carol seems particularly relevant!" - Sam Newman, NY, NY

"The evening is a rollercoaster ride through one of the most familiar of tales. Through the repetition and the incredible work by the actors, we are reminded of childhood memories and forced to remember the artful language and insight into the human spirit which has made this a mainstay of the holiday season. Props to Mr Forkner, Mr Loar and Ms Nicoll for their amazing work." - LEE, Brooklyn, NY

"After my annual trip at Art Basel Miami Beach, where I was exposed to hundreds of pieces of visual art--some of them good, most of them bad-- Mr. Farrington's A Christmas Carol was a refreshing experience that renewed my faith in the transformative potential of Performance Art. He is an incredible visual artist, blurring the lines between theater and film, taking full advantage of modern technology in a completely original way. The show was great and I look forward to his next project." - jackay227, NY, NY

The final 4 performances are this week: Thursday at 8 / Friday at 8 / Saturday at 8 / Sunday at 4
All performances take place at Abrons Arts Center - 466 Grand St. at Pitt St. on the lower east side