For Immediate Release
June 10, 2005
BAH, HUMBUG!
Ebenezer Scrooge to Commemorate SJTC’s 15th Season
Whether he likes it or not, one of the meanest old men in literary history is going to help commemorate a great milestone for the Saint John Theatre Company.
As part of its 15th season of plays, the Company will stage its own adaptation of Charles Dickens’ novel A Christmas Carol at the Imperial Theatre in November. It’s the illustrious and unforgettable tale of Ebenezer Scrooge, the ultimate anti-Christmas curmudgeon.
SJTC Artistic Director Stephen Tobias and local theatre veteran Bob Doherty are collaborating on the new script.
“There are many adaptations available,” says Doherty, who will also direct the play. “But neither Stephen nor I could single out one version that we particularly liked. … We are preparing an adaptation of the novel which takes into consideration the people and talent within the Saint John Theatre Company and the community at large and to suit the resources offered to us by the Imperial Theatre.”
When it came to casting the pivotal role of Scrooge, no one stood a ghost of a chance against Robert McLardy. Well-known to local theatre audiences for his many spectacular performances with the SJTC, McLardy has already agreed to play the infamous cynic.
“I always thought Robert looked more like an Ebenezer than a Robert,” Doherty jokes. “I say that on my authority as a Robert.”
Stephen Tobias agrees. “I couldn't imagine doing A Christmas Carol without him,” he says. “When we were producing The Incredible Murder of Cardinal Tosca eleven years ago, Robert played the evil Dr. Moriarity. There was one particular rehearsal when Robert was first in this Victorian style costume and I thought, ‘Wow! Would he ever make a wonderful Scrooge.’ So it's been in my mind ever since.”
The SJTC’s 2005-2006 season will also feature Donald Margulies’ Sight Unseen. Opening at the Imperial Theatre March 16, it will feature Stephen Tobias as John Waxman. A production of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, which opens May 25, will feature Brian Dobbelsteyn alongside talented teenager Alana LeBlanc.
“I'm excited at the prospect of telling three really great stories with our main-stage series,” Tobias says. “Two of the choices are great classics. The third, Sight Unseen, is a wonderful new play that’s been winning awards and having hit productions at theatres all over. I feel it's very important that we continue to bring the best new scripts to our audience.”
Subscriptions for the 2005-2006 season are on sale now. The cost is only $46 for all three shows, and there are discounts for seniors, students and matinees. Theatre fans who subscribe by June 30th get a chance to win a getaway weekend for two to this summer’s Charlottetown Festival. Subscriptions can be purchased by calling the Imperial Theatre at 674-4100 or 1-800-323-SHOW (7469).
As preparations continue for the Saint John Theatre Company’s fifteenth season, Stephen Tobias says he’s feeling a tremendous sense of accomplishment.
“I'm quite proud of the company and all it has done in the past 15 years,” Tobias says. “We have grown from being a fairly ragtag group of untrained performers and technicians to a fairly polished organization with a province-wide reputation for doing good work. And we haven't even begun yet.”
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