Completing its limited engagement at the Nederlander Theatre, A Christmas Carol plays its final performance January 1. Tony winner Jefferson Mays, Susan Lyons, and Michael Arden created the solo adaptation of the Charles Dickens' tale with Mays playing every character.
Previews began November 8 for the run which officially opened November 21. Mays (The Music Man, Oslo) takes on the roles of Ebenezer Scrooge, Marley's ghost, Tiny Tim, and more to tell the story of how one cantankerous and unfeeling man was changed to spread charity and good cheer.
Mays has previously taken on a similar challenge in Doug Wright's I Am My Own Wife—Mays played over 40 characters, earning a Best Actor Tony Award in 2004 for the performance—as well as A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder.
READ: How Jefferson Mays and Michael Arden Turned A Christmas Carol Into an Eerie Ghost Story
Tony-nominated director Arden helms the work originally conceived with Tony-nominated designer Dane Laffrey. The creative team features Tony-nominated lighting designer Ben Stanton, Tony-nominated projection designer Lucy Mackinnon, sound designer Joshua D. Reid, hair and makeup designer Cookie Jordan, puppet designer John Kristiansen, casting director Stephen Kopel, and associate director and production stage manager Justin Scribner.
READ: Why Charles Dickens Wrote A Christmas Carol (Hint: It Wasn't to Spread Holiday Cheer)
A Christmas Carol made its world premiere in 2018 at Los Angeles’ Geffen Playhouse. In winter 2020, a film version, produced by Hunter Arnold, was released to benefit partner theatres during the height of the pandemic shutdown.