This holiday season, Wagon Wheel Professional Theatre will bring a wonderful musical rendition of A Christmas Carol to the stage. 

The production, which runs Dec. 1-17, will feature professional actors Alan Menken (Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, Disney’s The Little Mermaid, Little Shop of Horrors) and Lynn Ahrens (Ragtime, Seussical, Once on This Island).

They will bring to life the familiar tale of Ebenezer Scrooge, played by Brett Frazier.

“I really enjoy, especially during the holidays, to be able to put on these types of magical shows that are really immersive experiences for the audience,” artistic director Scott Michaels said. “It’s a joy for me to work on, and I know our audiences really love them, too.”

Musical Version

Even if you’ve seen A Christmas Carol at Wagon Wheel in the past, you won’t want to miss it in the present. 

“We’ve done it twice now, but it’s been about eight years since we’ve done it,” Michaels said. “So, it’s been a while.”

One of the unique aspects of this rendition is that it will be a musical. 

“You’re transported to the (Charles) Dickens’ style era, to the streets of London, where you’re a part of this musical version of the show,” Michaels said. “The play is everywhere, but there are only a few musical versions of this show, and this is a fully sung musical based on the music from Alan Menken.

“The score is really fun, so it’s great for our young audiences. It’s fast-paced, there’s musical dance numbers, and there’s some comedy within the show itself. So, it’s really a fun family version of the show.”

In addition to having the rare opportunity to see A Christmas Carol performed as a musical, Wagon Wheel audience members are going to have the chance to see some high-caliber professionals. 

“For our Christmas shows, we do professional auditions through submissions,” Michaels said. 

In addition to professional talent, local youth performers will be in this show.

“All of the youths in the cast come out of our youth programming at our conservatory,” Michaels said. “It’s where the young talent is cultivated. It’s where they get their training, and it makes the audition process a lot easier. 

“We get to know them and it makes it easier to entrust the kids with being in these professional shows that we’re hiring professionals from all over the country to be a part of.”

In the Round

Audience members familiar with Wagon Wheel Theatre know it is one of only a handful of theaters in the country with a stage build “in the round.” This means that, rather than the typical theater layout where the audience is seated in front of the stage, the audience surrounds a circular stage and experiences the show from a variety of angles. 

“I love this show in the round!” Michaels said. 

“Working in the round is a totally immersive theater experience. Things are coming down the aisles and ghosts are everywhere for the (Jacob) Marley sequence. It’s a super-cool experience for the audience to feel like they’re a part of the show.”

And, of course, this means there are no bad seats at the Wagon Wheel, since you are never more than 12 rows from the stage. 

“Doing anything in the round, there’s always a challenge of how you’re going to pull off all the sets, the locations, and the costume changes,” Michaels said.

“A challenge for me, that’s exciting with this show, is how fast paced it is, going from one scene to the next. We have to make sure everything is happening like a well-oiled machine, Costume changes need to happen on time and we have to make sure that set pieces are where they need to be as they’re coming on and off very quickly.

“As the director, one of the most important things for me is to highlight the transitions in the show. It’s important to keep up the energy and excitement of the show during the transitions to keep our audience engaged in the performance.”

Giving season

Keeping with the theme of generosity present in this show, Wagon Wheel Theatre is having a “Spirit of Giving” campaign to kick off their seasonal fundraising efforts.

“We’re doing a past, present, and future campaign for our nonprofit organization to kind of kick off our fundraising for the holiday season,” Michaels said. “So, we’re kind of encouraging everyone that’s been here in the past or present, or who might be coming in the future, to help ensure that we’re able to be around for another 69 years.” 

Funds donated to this campaign go directly toward helping Wagon Wheel Theatre continue to bring amazing shows and educational opportunities to local audiences and youths. 

“The opportunity to see theater of this caliber in our area is so special, so we want to make sure we’re able to keep giving this gift to children in our community and audiences for years to come,” Michaels said.

Decorate gingerbread house

New this year, the Wagon Wheel will be hosting Gingerbread and PJ’s prior to each Sunday matinee. 

Attendees will have the opportunity to decorate gingerbread houses, listen to music, and enjoy snacks and hot chocolate for an additional $100.

“This is something we’re trying new this year,” Michaels said. “We have a building next door to the theater that we will be decorating like a winter wonderland. There’s going to be tables set up with stuff for people to make gingerbread houses with right before the show. There’s going to be hot cocoa, and we’re working on some other surprises that may appear. Santa may be making an appearance!

“There will be prizes for those choosing to compete in the gingerbread house competition, but the main point is to have something fun to do for the whole family before the show.”

A Christmas Carol will be a wonderful event for audience members of all ages. 

As Dickens himself said, “It is good to be children sometimes, and never better than at Christmas.”