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<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial><STRONG>For Immediate Release<BR><EM>November 4,
2010</EM></STRONG></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>(<A
title=http://greatlakestheater.org/interact/AChristmasbrCarol/HumbugHighlights/tabid/356/Default.aspx
href="http://greatlakestheater.org/interact/AChristmasbrCarol/HumbugHighlights/tabid/356/Default.aspx"><FONT
title=http://greatlakestheater.org/interact/AChristmasbrCarol/HumbugHighlights/tabid/356/Default.aspx
face=Arial><FONT
title=http://greatlakestheater.org/interact/AChristmasbrCarol/HumbugHighlights/tabid/356/Default.aspx
size=2><FONT
title=http://greatlakestheater.org/interact/AChristmasbrCarol/HumbugHighlights/tabid/356/Default.aspx
color=#0000ff><STRONG>Click here</STRONG></FONT> </FONT></FONT></A><FONT size=2
face=Arial>to download high resolution production photos<SPAN
class=313291821-11112009> for publication</SPAN>.)</FONT><BR><BR><FONT
size=6><STRONG>A CHRISTMAS CAROL</STRONG><BR></FONT><FONT size=2><FONT
face=Arial><STRONG><FONT size=4>Cleveland’s Favorite Holiday
Tradition<BR>Returns to the Ohio Theatre at
PlayhouseSquare.</FONT></STRONG><BR><BR>CLEVELAND, OH - The stage of the Ohio
Theatre, PlayhouseSquare will glow with good spirits and time-honored tradition
when <STRONG>Great Lakes Theater Festival (GLTF) presents its annual production
of Charles Dickens' classic <EM>A Christmas Carol</EM>, running December 3 - 23,
2010</STRONG>. The production has delighted more than 550,000 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 twenty-second annual
production of <EM>A Christmas Carol</EM> is sponsored by <STRONG>Parker
Hannifin</STRONG>. The Festival’s 2010-11 season is presented with support
from <STRONG>The Cleveland Foundation</STRONG> and the <STRONG>Ohio Arts
Council</STRONG>. GLTF is also generously funded by the citizens of
Cuyahoga County through <STRONG>Cuyahoga Arts and Culture</STRONG>. <EM>A
Christmas Carol</EM>’s media sponsor is <STRONG>Soft Rock 102.1 F.M</STRONG>.
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>Victoria Bussert</STRONG>, will stage former GLTF Artistic Director
Gerald Freedman’s 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 third season in the role of miserly <STRONG>Ebenezer
Scrooge</STRONG>. <BR><BR>“It’s exciting for us as a company of artists to
revisit this great classic holiday story,” said Victoria Bussert, 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 <EM>A Christmas Carol</EM> 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, Victoria Bussert’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.
<STRONG>In all, more than 60 Dickens characters are brought to life on
stage.<BR></STRONG><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-second annual
production of <EM>A Christmas Carol</EM> commences on Friday, December 3rd 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, Wednesday and Thursday matinees and a 3:00 p.m. curtain time for
Sunday matinees. An audio-described and sign interpreted performance is
scheduled for Sunday, December 5th at 3:00 p.m.<BR><BR><STRONG>Single tickets
for Great Lakes Theater Festival’s production of <EM>A Christmas Carol</EM>
range in price from $28-$60 (student tickets $26 – any performance / any
seat)</STRONG> and are available by calling <STRONG>(216) 241-6000</STRONG>, by
ordering online at <STRONG><A
href="blocked::http://www.greatlakestheater.org/">www.greatlakestheater.org</A></STRONG>
</FONT><FONT face=Arial>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>.<BR><BR>Since 1962, Great
Lakes Theater Festival has brought the pleasure, power and relevance of classic
theater to the widest possible audience. The first resident company of
PlayhouseSquare, Great Lakes Theater Festival has called the Theatre District
home since 1982.<BR><BR><STRONG>FOR MORE
INFORMATION:</STRONG></FONT></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">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="blocked::http://www.greatlakestheater.org/"><SPAN
style="COLOR: purple">www.greatlakestheater.org</SPAN></A></SPAN></FONT><SPAN></DIV></DIV></SPAN>
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