photographs by Barry Wisdom / If you've consistently heard good things about Sacramento Theatre Company's almost-annual musical production of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol," but have just never made it down to the company's main stage at 1419 H St., you may want to make an extra-special effort to catch this year's 25th anniversary mounting. After the current run, which officially kicks off Saturday, Dec. 1, and closes Dec. 23, STC will be pulling a "Disney" and locking away playwright Richard Hellesen's adaptation (with music by the late David DeBerry) for five years. The next opportunity local audiences will have to enjoy the show that's become an STC tradition is 2017. Returnin

Ben Scrooge is the Founder and CEO—Billionaire Boy Wonder—of Humbug , a video game company that his now deceased partner, Jake Marley, helped put on the map. But Ben is not a happy guy, a bit of a… Scrooge as an 18-year old video game magnate? If you’re having trouble imagining it, that’s okay; I’d much prefer you buy a ticket and see it played out on stage. It’s well worth the ticket price! I, too, was a skeptic. No more. Karen Pollard has conceptualized and carried out a clever modernization of the Christmas classic—a dash of Rent here, a dollop of High School Musical there--without straying so far from the original as to be disconcerting. The staging and choreography are fairly int

Add The Sacramento Theatre Company to your list of holiday activities this year: “A Christmas Carol,” which runs through Dec. 24 at the Wells Fargo Pavilion, captures the magic and joy of Christmas. The Dickens classic, adapted by Richard Hellesen, is the most consistently produced Christmas show that STC runs and has been a part of the holiday programs on and off for the last 24 years. For more than150 years Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” has been a classically loved and widely acclaimed story of the evolution of a Ebenezer Scrooge from a selfish and sour man to a generous and hospitable fellow. This heart-warming tale of redemption is a Christmas production that has reminded audie

All Photos: Barry Wisdom Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” is possibly the most popular Christmas story ever written, with the exception of the Nativity story itself. Long before radio, television and the multimedia assault we have today, live theatres – from professional to the smallest community – were producing adaptations of Dickens’ novel. For decades the theatre-going public has continued to embrace “A Christmas Carol,” giving the theatres producing it a nearly surefire hit. Many theatre companies depend on their holiday classics the way retail stores depend on the holiday shopping season.  Sacramento Theatre Company now alternates “A Christmas Carol” with its other popular ho

Ah, the Christmas season for live theatre. The time to pull out the old chestnuts, the audience favorites that pay the bills for the rest of the year. For Capitol Stage, this is “Every Christmas Story Ever Told [And Then Some!].” The irony here is that this play is about cast member rebellion over having to perform the same play year after year. The stage lights go up. Cast member Eric opens the book, blows the dust off and begins reading: “Marley was dead, to begin with.” Cast member Gary enters as Marley’s ghost. It is painfully obvious that Gary is not happy. “Eric ... I can’t do this.” Eric continues to try to keep the play going, but to no avail. Soon Eric and Gary are joined by cas

Hands are busy inside the costume shop at Sacramento Theatre Company. Six women are making new costumes and altering dozens of others for the upcoming production of “A Christmas Carol.” The musical adaptation of the Charles Dickens story is returning to the theater's Mainstage for the first time in three years. On a recent morning, a sewing machine whirred noisily as stitchers Nila Coats, Kathy Grimes, Joan Kelly and Brandy DeAguero quietly pinned fabric and finished seams. Nearby, draper Eleanor Fluharty snipped skirt and bodice sections as she stood at a cutting table. The theater has experienced tough financial times the last two years. But that's had a gilded lining: Instead of usin

Despite the sweltering temperatures, it will be Christmas in June this weekend in Old Sacramento. On a 40-city interactive train tour,"Disney's A Christmas Carol" train will be pulling into Old Sacramento Friday through Sunday as a promotion for the upcoming "Disney's A Christmas Carol," which is scheduled to open in November and stars Jim Carrey. Carolers, Christmas decorations and fake snow will transform the train tracks near the California State Railroad Museum into a winter wonderland for families and children of all ages. Those who hop aboard the train will be treated to several different exhibit cars highlighting the making of the movie and featuring props and costumes from the f