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<P><FONT face=Arial><FONT size=2><STRONG>For Immediate
Release</STRONG><BR>November 11, 2009</FONT></FONT><FONT size=2
face=Arial><BR><BR></FONT><STRONG><FONT size=5 face=Arial>Great Lakes Theater
Festival Presents<BR></FONT></STRONG><FONT face=Arial><FONT size=2><STRONG><FONT
size=5>Cleveland’s Annual Holiday Classic<BR><EM>A Christmas
Carol</EM></FONT></STRONG><BR><BR>CLEVELAND, OH - The stage of the Ohio Theatre,
<STRONG>PlayhouseSquare</STRONG> will glow with good spirits and time-honored
tradition when <STRONG>Great Lakes Theater Festival (GLTF) presents its
twenty-first annual production of Charles Dickens' <EM>A Christmas Carol</EM>,
running December 4 - 23, 2009.</STRONG> The production has delighted more
than 525,000 people in its history, making it one of Northeast Ohio’s most-loved
and best-attended holiday events.<BR><BR>Great Lakes Theater Festival’s
forty-eighth season is presented with generous support from <STRONG>The
Cleveland Foundation</STRONG> and the <STRONG>Ohio Arts Council</STRONG>.
In addition, the Festival is generously funded by the citizens of Cuyahoga
County through <STRONG>Cuyahoga Arts and Culture</STRONG>. <EM>A Christmas
Carol</EM>’s media sponsor is Soft Rock 102.1 F.M. WDOK. GLTF’s Season
Media Sponsors are Cleveland Scene, The Plain Dealer, WCLV 104.9 FM, WCPN 90.3
FM ideastream and WKSU 89.7 FM.<BR><BR>Director <STRONG>Andrew May</STRONG>,
will stage former GLTF Artistic Director <STRONG>Gerald Freedman’s</STRONG>
heartwarming adaptation of <EM>A Christmas Carol</EM>. The production
features a multi-generational cast of actors, singers and dancers <STRONG>led by
longtime Festival company member Aled Davies</STRONG>, returning for his second
season in the role of miserly Ebenezer Scrooge. <BR><BR>“It’s exciting for
us as a company of artists to revisit this great classic holiday story,” said
Andrew May, who will stage this season’s production. “We are blessed with
an immensely talented cast and a wonderful adaptation that we can’t wait to
share. I am overjoyed to return to direct a piece of theater again this
season that has meant as much to this company and to this community as has A
Christmas Carol for over two decades.”<BR><BR>GLTF Producing Artistic Director
<STRONG>Charles Fee</STRONG> remarked, “The combination of Gerald Freedman’s
inspired and moving adaptation, Andrew May’s dynamic gifts as a director, our
remarkable design team and our talented company are sure to delight audiences,
whether they’re attending for the first time or returning to experience this
holiday tradition again with friends and family.”<BR><BR><STRONG>Freedman's
adaptation of <EM>A Christmas Carol</EM> is presented as a story within a
story.</STRONG> The fictitious Cleaveland family gathers in its Victorian-era
parlor on Christmas Eve to read Mr. Dickens' book. As Mrs. Cleaveland reads the
story to her family, her youngest child, Master William, re-imagines familiar
faces as characters in the story: the Cleaveland’s crotchety manservant becomes
Scrooge; Father becomes Bob Cratchit; Mother becomes Belle, and the Cleaveland
children become the Cratchits, with Master William becoming the beloved Tiny
Tim. In all, more than 60 Dickens characters are brought to life on
stage.<BR><BR><STRONG>The Festival’s production incorporates theatrical special
effects</STRONG> to retain a strong sense of the supernatural,
<STRONG>emphasizing the novel's origins in folk tales and myth</STRONG>.
Designers for the GLTF production blend exceptional stagecraft with dramatic
effects that evoke the magical and mysterious aspects of a classic ghost
story.<BR><BR><STRONG>Great Lakes Theater Festival’s twenty-first annual
production of <EM>A Christmas Carol</EM> commences on Friday, December 4th at
7:30 p.m. at the Ohio Theatre, PlayhouseSquare</STRONG>. Curtain times for
all evening performances will remain at 7:30 p.m., with a 1:30 p.m. curtain time
for Saturday, Tuesday and Wednesday matinees and a 3:00 p.m. curtain time for
Sunday matinees. An audio-described performance is scheduled for Sunday,
December 6th at 3:00 p.m. A sign-interpreted performance is scheduled for
Sunday, December 13th at 3:00 p.m.</FONT></FONT><FONT size=2><FONT
face=Arial><BR><BR><STRONG>Single tickets for Great Lakes Theater Festival’s
production of A Christmas Carol range in price from $28-$59 (student tickets $26
– any performance / any seat)</STRONG> and are available by calling
<BR></FONT><FONT face=Arial><STRONG>(216) 241-6000</STRONG>, by ordering online
at <STRONG>www.greatlakestheater.org</STRONG> or by visiting the
<STRONG>PlayhouseSquare Ticket Office</STRONG>. <STRONG>Groups of ten or more
receive discounts and should call (216) 241-5490 x302 to make
reservations</STRONG>.</FONT></FONT><BR><BR><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Since 1962,
Great Lakes Theater Festival has brought the pleasure, power and relevance of
classic theater to the widest possible audience in Northern Ohio. The first
resident company of PlayhouseSquare, Great Lakes Theater Festival has called the
Theatre District home since 1982.<BR><BR># #
#<BR></FONT><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><BR>Todd
Krispinsky<BR>Marketing and Public Relations Director<BR>Great Lakes Theater
Festival<BR><?xml:namespace prefix = ns0 ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"
/><ns0:Street><ns0:address><?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:address
w:st="on"><st1:Street w:st="on">1501 Euclid Avenue, Suite
300</st1:Street><BR></ns0:address></st1:address></ns0:Street><ns0:place><ns0:City><st1:City
w:st="on">Cleveland</st1:City></ns0:City>, <ns0:State><st1:State
w:st="on">Ohio</st1:State></ns0:State> <ns0:PostalCode><st1:PostalCode
w:st="on">44115</st1:PostalCode><BR></ns0:PostalCode></ns0:place>(216) 241-5490
x317 / (216) 241-6315 Fax<BR><A href="http://www.greatlakestheater.org/"><SPAN
style="COLOR: purple">www.greatlakestheater.org</SPAN></A><BR><BR><SPAN><STRONG>Stay
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