Iconic Holiday Story Plays November 3, 2022 – January 1, 2023
PROVIDENCE, RI: Trinity Repertory Company returns to live performances with its 46th annual holiday production of A Christmas Carol. Noted for being a new production each year, the 2022 production will be directed by Aileen Wen McGroddy, a recent graduate of the Brown/Trinity Rep MFA Program in Directing, and features longtime company member Phyllis Kay as Ebenezer Scrooge. A Christmas Carol runs in the Chace Theater from November 3, 2022 through January 1, 2023, with press opening night on Wednesday, November 9, at 7:30 pm. Tickets start at $27 and are available online at trinityrep.com/carol or by contacting the ticket office at (401) 351-4242.
“I am particularly excited to have Aileen at the helm of A Christmas Carol this year,” Trinity Rep Artistic Director Curt Columbus said. “Her work is always filled with music, joy, and wonder, which makes her perfectly suited to deliver a beautiful holiday present to audiences with this story. I’m also beyond thrilled to have Phyllis Kay in the role of Scrooge in our production. Phyllis is one of the great treasures of the Trinity Rep acting company. Her brilliant sense of humor and her incredible heart will make this a Carol for the ages.”
A LONG-STANDING TRADITION
Founding Artistic Director Adrian Hall first added A Christmas Carol to Trinity Rep’s lineup in 1977, just four years after moving into the company’s current home at the Lederer Theater Center on Washington Street. Since then, the production has become a holiday tradition for generations of families in Southern New England. Trinity Rep’s production is set apart from other holiday productions by the fact that it is reimagined every year by a new director, cast, and set of designers in order to be relevant and timely for contemporary audiences. Nearly two million people have seen the show since its inception more than four decades ago.
CAST AND CREATIVE TEAM
Aileen Wen McGroddy is a Chinese-Irish-American theater director, educator, and producer of live events. Her work is imaginative, inclusive, and playfully experimental, coming from a robust background in physical theatre and a deep commitment to hospitality. She became a person in New York, a theater-maker in Chicago, and graduated with an MFA in Directing from Brown/Trinity Rep in 2022, where she directed the fall 2021 production of The Late Wedding. Aileen is a 2050 Fellow at New York Theatre Workshop and the BOLD Resident Director at Northern Stage.
“In this year’s production of A Christmas Carol, I’m exploring what makes people return to this story each holiday season,” Aileen said. Dickens’s London is rife with inequality, plagued by greed, and harshly unforgiving to those struggling to survive. A world like that creates a person like Ebenezer Scrooge, who lives the values that this environment taught her: She moves through the world armored, heart bolted tight with grief and fear. While Scrooge is an extreme case, I think we all protect ourselves from the discomforts and vulnerabilities of living in an unequal society. This story asks us to consider what we might gain if we were to fully open ourselves to the people we share the world with – to meet their needs, to listen to their words, to appreciate their gifts, and to let ourselves be seen.”
Aileen will work alongside choreographer Shura Baryshnikov, music director Andrew Smithson, set designer Tatiana Kahvegian, costume designer Camilla Dely, lighting designer Keith Parham, and sound designer Caroline Eng.
Phyllis Kay joined Trinity Rep’s resident artistic company in 1991 and has appeared in 13 other productions of A Christmas Carol in an assortment of roles. This year’s production will be her first time portraying Scrooge. This is also the first time since 2003 that a woman has been cast in the role at Trinity Rep.
Joining Phyllis on stage are fellow company members Angela Brazil and Rachael Warren; Brown/Trinity Rep MFA students Michael Hisamoto ‘23, Claire Koenig ‘23, Jenny Nguyen Nelson ‘23, and Luis Ra Rivera ‘23; Brown/Trinity Rep alumni Jihan Haddad ‘22 and Gunnar Manchester ‘22; and guest performers Jeff Ararat, Jenna Lea Scott, and Dereks Thomas. The production will also feature a children’s cast comprised of 12 young local actors including: Jianni Amaral (Cranston, RI), Eleanor Brown-Araujo (Cranston, RI), Malik Cross (Providence, RI), Deyehla Debrito-Zuendoki (Attleboro, MA), Charlotte Hall (Easton, MA), Emily Mallon (Seekonk, MA), Samuel Memery (Cranston, RI), Cameron Miller (Pawcatuck, CT), Kiera Nagle (Pawtucket, RI), Owen Richard (Ledyard, CT), Victoria Ruiz (Cranston, RI), and Giselle Vides (Providence, RI).
HEALTH AND SAFETY
Trinity Rep is dedicated to keeping our artists, staff, and audiences safe, and will monitor the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic throughout the season. Details about Trinity Rep’s current health and safety protocols can be found at trinityrep.com/health.
SPECIAL PERFORMANCES
Continuing Trinity Rep’s tradition of offering affordable tickets for all, the theater will hold a Pay What You Wish performance of A Christmas Carol on Thursday, November 3. Pay What You Wish tickets go on sale at 2:00 pm the day of the performance, and are limited to one per person. Other special performances for this production include Open Captioned performances on November 30, December 1, 2, 3, 4 at 7:30 pm; and December 3 and 4 at 12:00 pm. The Sensory Friendly Plus! performance of A Christmas Carol, designed to meet the needs of guests with sensitivities to light and sound, will be held on November 19 at 12:00 pm. Through Trinity Rep’s Project Discovery program, schools can arrange for students to experience this live production with tickets to a student matinee performance, a study guide that can be used in the classroom to prepare for the play, and a post-show discussion with the production team. The Project Discovery performance dates for A Christmas Carol are November 10, 16, 17, 22, and 30; and December 1, 7, 8, 14, 15, 20, and 21 at 10:30 am. Visit trinityrep.com/project-discovery for more information and to book your school.
A Christmas Carol at Trinity Rep is presented by Cardi’s Furniture and Mattresses with supporting sponsor Amica Insurance. Trinity Rep’s 2022-23 Season is sponsored in part by the Rhode Island State Council on The Arts (RISCA). 110 Grill is Trinity Rep’s Opening Night Sponsor, and Southwest Airlines is the Official Airline of Trinity Rep.
TRINITY REPERTORY COMPANY
Rhode Island’s Tony Award-winning theater, Trinity Rep has created unparalleled professional theater for and with its community since its founding in 1963. Trinity Rep strives to facilitate human connection and has been a driving force behind the creativity that fuels and defines the region for more than 50 years.
Trinity Rep is committed to reinventing the public square and inspiring dialogue by creating emotionally-stimulating live productions that range from classical to contemporary and innovative education programs for all ages and abilities. Its annual production of A Christmas Carol has brought families together for more than four decades and made memories for nearly two million audience members.
Trinity Rep’s 2022-23 Season runs through June 2023, and includes productions of The Inheritance, A Christmas Carol, By The Queen, The Inferior Sex, and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. For more information, visit Trinity Rep’s website at www.TrinityRep.com.
AT A GLANCE
A Christmas Carol
By Charles Dickens
Original Music by Richard Cumming
November 3, 2022 – January 1, 2023
Director – Aileen Wen McGroddy
Music Director – Andrew Smithson
Choreographer – Shura Baryshnikov
Set Designer - Tatiana Kahvegian
Costume Designer - Camilla Dely
Lighting Designer – Keith Parham
Sound Designer – Caroline Eng
Stage Manager – Marcus Carroll
Assistant Stage Manager – Anaïs Bustos
Cast: Featuring company members: Phyllis Kay as Ebenezer Scrooge, Angela Brazil as The Ghost of Christmas Present, and Rachael Warren as Jacob Marley. Including MFA students Michael Hisamoto ‘23, Claire Koenig ‘23, Jenny Nguyen Nelson ‘23, and Luis Ra Rivera ‘23; and MFA alumni Jihan Haddad ‘22 and Gunnar Manchester ‘22. Featuring guest artists Jeff Ararat, Jenna Lea Scott, and Dereks Thomas. Featuring the children’s cast: Jianni Amaral, Eleanor Brown-Araujo, Malik Cross, Deyehla Debrito-Zuendoki, Charlotte Hall, Emily Mallon, Samuel Memery, Cameron Miller, Kiera Nagle, Owen Richard, Victoria Ruiz, and Giselle Vides.
A Christmas Carol Opening Press Night | Wednesday, November 9 at 7:30 pm
Invitations and RSVP instructions coming soon
Pay What You Wish – November 3 at 7:30 pm
Open Captioned Performances – November 30, December 1, 2, 3, 4 at 7:30 pm; December 3 and 4 at 12:00 pm.
Sensory Friendly Plus! Performance – November 19 at 12:00 pm.
Website – www.trinityrep.com/carol
Ticket Office – (401) 351-4242; 201 Washington Street, Providence, RI 02903
Group Sales – (401) 453-9238; discounts for groups of 20 or more.
Ticket Prices – Starting at $27
Season Sponsor – Rhode Island State Council on the Arts (RISCA)
Production Sponsor – Cardi’s Furniture and Mattresses
Production Supporting Sponsor – Amica Insurance
Official Airline of Trinity Rep – Southwest Airlines
Opening Night Sponsor – 110 Grill