South Coast Repertory has commissioned award-winning playwright Amy Freed to develop a new adaptation of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” the Costa Mesa theater announced Friday evening, Dec. 12.
SCR Artistic Director David Ivers will direct the new show, which will replace the current version of “A Christmas Carol” that has attracted thousands of play-goers annually for the past 45 yearsand Managing Director Suzanne Appel announced the commision before Friday’s performance of “A Christmas Carol,” which is running through Dec. 28.
“Amy Freed is the perfect choice to adapt SCR’s next iteration of Charles Dickens’ beloved holiday masterpiece,” Ivers said in a written statement released by the theater. “Among her many achievements, Amy is a Pulitzer Prize finalist, and her plays have been produced across the globe, with many having their world premieres right here at SCR. She is unequaled in her love and understanding of language, structure and character.”
Playwright Amy Freed has been commissioned by South Coast Repertory to develop a new adaptation of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” to serve as the theater’s annual holiday production. (Photo courtesy of South Coast Repertory)Freed and Ivers will spend the next few years developing the play, which will involve researching Dickens’ original text, watching other successful “Christmas Carol” productions around the U.S. and workshopping the script, production design and other elements. The playwright “will bring a distinctive, humorous and intelligent voice to one of literature’s most enduring stories, along with ability to contextualize it for a 21st century audience,” the theater said in its announcement.
Patrons will be able to experience readings of the play as it’s being developed and to give feedback.
“We plan to include our most important collaborator of all, our audiences, in keeping the experience true to Dickens’ classic novel and making it contemporary for today’s audiences,” Appel said in a statement.
No premiere date has been announced for the new show. SCR will continue to stage its existing version of “A Christmas Carol” for the next several years while the new play is being developed.
Freed has a long association with SCR, which has previously commissioned six of her works, starting in 1997 with “Freedomland,” a finalist for the 1998 Pulitzer Prize in drama. Other Freed plays to originate at the Costa Mesa theater include “The Beard of Avon” (2001), “Safe in Hell” (2004), “You, Nero” (2009), “The Monster Builder” (2017) and “Shrew!” (2018). All except “The Monster Builder” premiered at SCR. Among her accolades are the Charles MacArthur Award for Outstanding New Play and the National Arts Club’s Kesselring Prize for outstanding playwriting.
“What a pleasure it is to return to SCR — a great American theater and my artistic home,” Freed said in a written statement. “SCR’s confidence in me has enabled me to develop and debut six plays. The invitation to write a new version of ‘A Christmas Carol’ here, for a renewal and celebration of Dickens’ literary and popular masterpiece, is like working for Fezziwig.”
South Coast Repertory’s annual production of “A Christmas Carol” is extremely popular, drawing 15,000 patrons over the course of its run. (Photo by Scott Smeltzer, South Coast Repertory)“A Christmas Carol” premiered at SCR in 1980 and starred Hal Landon Jr. as the miser Ebenezer Scrooge for its first 40 years. The holiday production is hugely popular, drawing 15,000 people throughout its annual run, according to the theater. Veteran SCR actor Richard Doyle has played Scrooge the past five seasons.
In 2019, philanthropists Julianne and George Argyros and their Argyros Family Foundation donated $5 million to SCR to fund the development of a new “Christmas Carol,” with a planned premiere in 2021. However, the COVID-19 pandemic scuttled those plans, with no definitive word on a new version of the holiday play coming until Friday’s announcement.
While replacing a beloved show can be a fraught process, Ivers said patrons should be happy with the final result.
“i have known Amy for many years, acted in her shows and found her love for ‘A Christmas Carol’ inspiring,” he said. “Audiences can expect a production faithful to Dickens and aided by SCR’s excellent roster of artists and exceptional execution of design. And I promise, “SNOW.”
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