When Charles Dickens first penned his “ghostly little tale” of the Christmas Eve redemption of a man all but lost to the evils of self-absorption and greed, little did he realize that “A Christmas Carol” would become one of the world’s most enduring holiday fables. Today, the Nebraska Theater Caravan has brought that fable to life with a touring production of Charles Jones’ authentic adaptation of Dickens’ original tale. “It’s very true to the book,” says the tour’s road manager, Eric Bricking. “We haven’t taken a lot of creative liberties.” At the same time, he added, there are “a lot of little extras” that the audience should enjoy, such as authentic-looking snow and period costumes, a soundtrack rife with holiday hymns like “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” and “Away in a Manger,” and even a spinning bed. “The bed does move and carry Scrooge through his encounters with the ghosts,” Bricking explained. “It’s a pretty neat thing, the way the bed moves around the stage.” But that’s just one of the memorable aspects of this production, he added. “When the curtain goes up it’s supposed to look like a Christmas card that’s come to life,” he said. “That’s a pretty stunning visual, to see the curtain open and everybody just spring into action.” The costumes, too, have been carefully planned out and fitted for each performer. “The costumes are worked on for months ahead of time,” Bricking said. “There are probably at least three or four different versions of each costume you see on stage. This is the 36th year of the tour, so they’ve built quite the wardrobe. “The production value of this show is very high,” he added. The cast and crew includes roughly 40 people, from the cast of 23 actors to the four pit musicians to the eight permanent crew members, tour manager and chaperone. “There are 39 of us in total, not including the motor coach driver,” Bricking said.
Of course, with that many people to manage, not to mention all the props, lights, sound and other machinery that go into the making of each show, Bricking’s job is a full-time one. “You’ve got to be pretty organized to make it happen, and not lose anybody along the way,” he admitted. So far, that hasn’t occurred - probably because he’s familiar with all facets of the production. “My first year with the tour was 2004, and I was in the show (as an actor),” he said. “Then I acted as agent for the show for a couple of years, and this is my seventh time as road manager.” The cast will be presenting two full shows in Detroit Lakes Saturday, one at 3 p.m., and another at 7:30. While presenting two shows back to back can be taxing, “it’s not as difficult as you might think,” Bricking said. “The tough part is getting to the venue and getting ready,” he said. The process of prepping the stage, lighting and effects, as well as getting everyone in costume and wired for sound, can take anywhere from four to five hours. “Once it’s all set up and loaded in, just being there and doing it all again is not that big of a deal,” Bricking said. “Usually everybody has enough energy for two shows, especially if we’ve been able to sleep in.” The down side of that, of course, is that the cast and crew end up spending most of the day at the venue, and get very little time to explore the community before they have to head on down the road to the next tour stop. “Sometimes you only see the back stage of the theater, and then it’s right back to the hotel and back on the road,” he said. This year’s tour will include 20 stops, in Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Texas, New Mexico and Colorado. It will be the tour’s first visit to Detroit Lakes - though hopefully, not the last. Tickets for both the 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. shows are $28 for adults, $14 for students, though for every adult ticket purchased at full price, you can get a second student ticket for free as part of the theater’s new “BOGO” ticket package. Tickets may be purchased online at www.dlccc.org, by phone at 218-844-7469, or at the Holmes Theatre Box Office, 806 Summit Ave., Detroit Lakes (box office hours are 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday through Friday, though it will also be open for two hours prior to Saturday’s matinee and for two hours prior to the evening performance. Follow Detroit Lakes Newspapers reporter Vicki Gerdes on Twitter at @VickiLGerdes.When Charles Dickens first penned his “ghostly little tale” of the Christmas Eve redemption of a man all but lost to the evils of self-absorption and greed, little did he realize that “A Christmas Carol” would become one of the world’s most enduring holiday fables.Today, the Nebraska Theater Caravan has brought that fable to life with a touring production of Charles Jones’ authentic adaptation of Dickens’ original tale.“It’s very true to the book,” says the tour’s road manager, Eric Bricking. “We haven’t taken a lot of creative liberties.”At the same time, he added, there are “a lot of little extras” that the audience should enjoy, such as authentic-looking snow and period costumes, a soundtrack rife with holiday hymns like “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” and “Away in a Manger,” and even a spinning bed.“The bed does move and carry Scrooge through his encounters with the ghosts,” Bricking explained. “It’s a pretty neat thing, the way the bed moves around the stage.”But that’s just one of the memorable aspects of this production, he added.“When the curtain goes up it’s supposed to look like a Christmas card that’s come to life,” he said. “That’s a pretty stunning visual, to see the curtain open and everybody just spring into action.”The costumes, too, have been carefully planned out and fitted for each performer.“The costumes are worked on for months ahead of time,” Bricking said. “There are probably at least three or four different versions of each costume you see on stage. This is the 36th year of the tour, so they’ve built quite the wardrobe.“The production value of this show is very high,” he added.The cast and crew includes roughly 40 people, from the cast of 23 actors to the four pit musicians to the eight permanent crew members, tour manager and chaperone.“There are 39 of us in total, not including the motor coach driver,” Bricking said.
Of course, with that many people to manage, not to mention all the props, lights, sound and other machinery that go into the making of each show, Bricking’s job is a full-time one.“You’ve got to be pretty organized to make it happen, and not lose anybody along the way,” he admitted.So far, that hasn’t occurred - probably because he’s familiar with all facets of the production.“My first year with the tour was 2004, and I was in the show (as an actor),” he said. “Then I acted as agent for the show for a couple of years, and this is my seventh time as road manager.”The cast will be presenting two full shows in Detroit Lakes Saturday, one at 3 p.m., and another at 7:30.While presenting two shows back to back can be taxing, “it’s not as difficult as you might think,” Bricking said.“The tough part is getting to the venue and getting ready,” he said.The process of prepping the stage, lighting and effects, as well as getting everyone in costume and wired for sound, can take anywhere from four to five hours.“Once it’s all set up and loaded in, just being there and doing it all again is not that big of a deal,” Bricking said. “Usually everybody has enough energy for two shows, especially if we’ve been able to sleep in.”The down side of that, of course, is that the cast and crew end up spending most of the day at the venue, and get very little time to explore the community before they have to head on down the road to the next tour stop.“Sometimes you only see the back stage of the theater, and then it’s right back to the hotel and back on the road,” he said.This year’s tour will include 20 stops, in Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Texas, New Mexico and Colorado.It will be the tour’s first visit to Detroit Lakes - though hopefully, not the last.Tickets for both the 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. shows are $28 for adults, $14 for students, though for every adult ticket purchased at full price, you can get a second student ticket for free as part of the theater’s new “BOGO” ticket package.Tickets may be purchased online at www.dlccc.org, by phone at 218-844-7469, or at the Holmes Theatre Box Office, 806 Summit Ave., Detroit Lakes (box office hours are 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday through Friday, though it will also be open for two hours prior to Saturday’s matinee and for two hours prior to the evening performance.Follow Detroit Lakes Newspapers reporter Vicki Gerdes on Twitter at @VickiLGerdes.
