[NEohioPAL]Largely Literary's "Christmas Carol" in Solon

[Mark Dawidziak]

Acclaimed version of "A Christmas Carol" moves to Solon
Here They Come A-Carol-ing

    The Largely Literary Theater Company's acclaimed three-person
version of Charles Dickens’ "A Christmas Carol" will make its first
appearance at the Solon Center for the Arts this weekend. Performances
will be Dec. 9 and 10, Friday and Saturday, at 7 p.m.
    This is the company's second of three productions in the Solon
Center for the Arts' Page to Stage series, co-presented by the Friends
of the Solon Center for the Arts and the Friends of the Solon Library.
Tickets are $12 for adults, $10 for seniors and students.
    The Solon Center for the Arts is located at 6315 SOM Center Road.
For information or reservations, call 440-337-1400 or go to
www.solonarts.org.
    The Largely Literary Theater Company presented "The Tell-Tale Play,"
its two-act collection of poems and stories by Edgar Allan Poe, in
October at the Solon Center for the Arts. In June, the Solon Center will
be the home for the professional world debut of the company's two-act
collection of Mark Twain material, "The Reports of My Death Are Greatly
Exaggerated."
    Adapted and directed by Cleveland Plain Dealer television critic
Mark Dawidziak, the Largely Literary Theater Company's version of "A
Christmas Carol" stresses fidelity to Dickens’ story and language. "All
three are excellent actors who make this staging of 'A Christmas Carol'
a most intimate experience," the Akron Beacon Journal said of the
production. "This adaptation of 'A Christmas Carol' taps into Dickens’
heavy theme of darkness, which is often glossed over in other
adaptations."
    The production also was acclaimed as "a wonderful version" by the
Dickens Fellowship, the 100-year-old organization dedicated to the study
of the author's life and works. And Cleveland Scene said "this quiet,
faithful take" on Dickens’ story "is restrained, reserved, and
charmingly quaint."
    The basic concept is that the audience has gathered to hear Dickens
give one of his popular readings of the story about miserly Ebenezer
Scrooge. Dickens (played by Dawidziak) appears on stage, opens the book
and starts reading. As the "reading" progresses, a second actor (Tom
Stephan) appears as Scrooge as the story literally comes to life around
Dickens. The third actor, Sara Showman, plays almost all the other
roles: men and women, ghosts and mortals.
    This is the fourth year that the Largely Literary Theater Company
has toured its production of "A Christmas Carol." It has been staged at
such venues as the Cleveland Library, Coach House Theatre and Stan Hywet
Hall in Akron, Lakeland Community College, the Cuyahoga Falls Library
and the Nordonia Hills Branch Library.
    After the evening shows in Solon and a Sunday performance in
Columbus, the company will move "A Christmas Carol" to to downtown
Akron's Greystone Hall & Theatre for 8:30 p.m. performances on Dec. 16
and 17.
    General admission will be $15 for the shows at Greystone, located at
103 S. High Street, with several convenient parking options adjacent to
the building. A dinner-and-show package is available for $45. Seating
for the Old English dinner will be at 7:30 each night, with seasonal
favorites served in Greystone’s winter wonderland setting. For
information and reservations, call 330-761-1950.
    The Largely Literary Theater Company was founded in 2002 by
Dawidziak and Showman to stage this version of "A Christmas Carol."
Specializing in faithful adaptations of classic literature, the
company's dual mission is to promote interest in reading and live
theater.