Frostburg State Theatre Gets into the Holiday Spirit with “The Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge”

This holiday season, Frostburg State University’s Department of Theatre and Dance will debut “The Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge,” a clever and humorous take on the timeless classic, “A Christmas Carol.”

A year after the events of “A Christmas Carol,” Scrooge charges Jacob Marley and the Christmas Ghosts with attempted murder, kidnapping, breaking and entering, stalking, and the intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Director Mairzy Yost-Rushton said, “This tickled me. When I read it, I laughed out loud.” She continued, “It’s a great story. How could you go wrong? It makes you laugh, and it has its moments of heartfelt, touching scenes.”

“People who love ‘A Christmas Carol’ and want to come see ‘A Christmas Carol’ will not be disappointed,” she said, “because the same story is told. And people who are kind of tired of ‘A Christmas Carol’ and want to come see a good holiday play are not going to be disappointed, because it’s a very funny, sort of courtroom drama.”

“We just had the designer’s run so the student designers and the techies saw it, and they laughed a lot. It’s funny,” she said.

Yost-Rushton gave a lot of praise to the cast of the show, especially praising FSU junior Josh Mooney, who plays Scrooge, sophomore Alex Serrano, who plays Rothschild, and senior Lucy Blumberg, who plays the Ghost of Christmas Past, Bell, and Pan.

“Sometimes, I get lucky. With this cast, I got lucky,” she said

Emphasizing the key messages in the show, she said that the show is about how the “Christmas spirit should be 365 days a year living in our hearts, not just one day a year.” She explains that Scrooge sues Marley and the three ghosts “to pull them into court to force them to agree to work more than one day a year.”

She continued, “The point is made, without pounding us over the head, that there’s more than one holiday celebrating the goodness of mankind, other than the Christian one.”

“We all do know the story. It’s a story that makes you feel good,” she said.

“The Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge” will debut on Dec. 5, 2014 at 7:30 p.m. Other show times include Dec. 6 and 11 at 7:30 p.m.; December 7 and 13 at 2:00 p.m.; and December 12 at 5:00 p.m. The December 12 performance will be an “ugly sweater special.”

Tickets are $6 for students/children and $12 for the general public. Group discounts are available when booked in advance.

For more information, call the Theatre and Dance Box Office at 301-687-7462

Featured picture is from a previous production of “A Christmas Carol.”