By Dylan Marsh
EAGLE TIMES STAFF
CLAREMONT — A gift is arriving a little early this holiday season. From November 18 through 20, the Claremont Opera House will be hosting Perseverance Productions’ rendition of the beloved Charles Dickens tale, A Christmas Carol.
These three dates mark the beginning of a national tour of the production and will be the second year that the Claremont Opera House has had the opportunity to have this company start their tour here.
For those folks who were able to see last year’s production or anyone familiar with the material, as many are, there are still a number of surprises in store. Director Clayton Phillips has written his own adaptation of A Christmas Carol and has included live music as well as traditional Christmas carols into the production. Phillips is a well known theater director, mounting a number of plays and musicals around New Hampshire and abroad after working for a number of years on Broadway. Phillips says that while working with Tony Award winning director Hal Prince, it was Prince that told him he ought to try his hand at directing.
“I basically went back to the Dickens book and reread the novel. I decided to look back at it and get back into the heart of what Dickens was writing about. It is about redemption and what we all know but there are these lovely little stories about family, faith and about what Christmas really is and I tried to pull that out. It still has a fair amount of humor in it but with a lot more weight,” Phillips said of his reimagining of the beloved work of fiction.
Much of the cast for this year’s production are returning members from last year. A testament to not only the material but the cast and crew involved as well. As they prepare for their tour they have been utilizing the Claremont Opera House to rehearse, while cast and crew have taken up residence in Springfield, Vt.
“The cast and crew have been here since November 3rd rehearsing. The biggest challenge though is that we really don’t have enough lodging in the area and so they have been staying in Springfield. We are hoping in the future to be able to collaborate with local developers here to continue to bring this type of event to town and offer productions lodging,” Executive Artistic Director for the Claremont Opera House, Andrew Pinard said.
After the tour effectively begins the amount of time they’ve spent in the area will be the longest they will spend in one place for some time. Lowell Williams, producer and owner of Perseverance Productions said “we usually only stay in one place for one night. It’s a real joy to get to stay in the same hotel for two nights in a row.” Going on to say later “I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t love it and I’ll probably do this forever.”
Andrew Pinard and the Claremont Opera House would also like to thank the Claremont Savings Bank for being a sponsor of the production. Anyone that wishes to purchase tickets to the show can find them on the Claremont Opera House website.
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