“I have always thought of Christmas time as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time; when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys.”
—Charles Dickens, in "A Christmas Carol" (1843)
Christmas wouldn’t really be the same without Charles Dickens’s classic story of Ebenezer Scrooge. After all, the story has crept into the culture of multiple generations, and the iconic character of the self-centered miser has been portrayed by a host of famous faces — George C. Scott, Michael Caine, Albert Finney, Patrick Stewart, Christopher Plummer, Kelsey Grammer, Jim Carrey, Tim Curry, Tom Hanks, and the Fonz himself, Henry Winkler. Even Dr. Seuss got in on the Scrooge action when he created his iconic character, The Grinch.
The Blinn-Bryan Theatre Troupe, or BBTT, will bring Dickens’s beloved story to life via playwright Greg Carter’s adaptation, "Fellow Passengers," November 30 through December 3.
This three-actor, narrative adaptation was originally produced in 2004 at the Strawberry Theatre Workshop in Seattle, Washington, where Carter acted as director. And, while it’s familiar, there are many unique twists.
“Most people won’t have seen this unique telling of the story,” admits Greg Wise, Blinn-Bryan Instructor of Theater. “The show takes its name from the part of "A Christmas Carol" where Scrooge invites his nephew, Fred, to dinner. Fred is Scrooge’s only living relative and almost completely opposite his uncle in his optimism and outlook.”
When Dickens wrote his original novella in 1843, England was in the midst of a variety of changes in the ways in which the everyday person celebrated Christmas. At the same time Christmas traditions such as the decorating of Christmas trees and the sending of Christmas cards were being birthed, Dickens himself was also launching a new tradition— the telling of "A Christmas Carol".
In the 179 years since, the story has been adapted numerous times, the first of which was in the year following its publication when it made its first stage production. Dickens himself adapted the story in 1857 when he began to perform public readings of it to earn a living from his “fellow passenger,” a practice he kept up until his death in 1870 at the age of 58.
"Fellow Passengers" has a few surprises in store for the audience. In one unique twist, there will be three actors playing a variety of roles, and all three actors — scripts in hand — will assume the role of Ebenezer Scrooge at some point in the show. This becomes even more intriguing when you see that the cast list includes two men and one woman.
Blinn students, Morgan Lesikar, Caleb Price, and Fabian Santana will all portray Scrooge and other characters in "Fellow Passengers," which is set in an attic that Wise describes as “a big imagination landscape play set.”
“We’ll even have a wide variety of inanimate objects from the set that take on certain iconic roles in the show,” Wise explained. “For example, a broken stool stands in for the Tiny Tim character, a lantern fills the role of the Ghost of Christmas Past, and a double bass case stands in at one point for the Ghost of Christmas Future.”
Wise, now in his thirteenth year as the Blinn-Bryan Theater Instructor, points out that, while "Fellow Passengers" is different and fresh, it is “true to Dickens and the spirit of Christmas.”
“It’s such a classic story,” Wise says. “Any fresh telling is great for involving the audience, and our production will totally embrace that”
Classic indeed. The beloved story is now available in over forty languages worldwide and has been adapted for the stage, television, film, radio, and even animation.
BBTT’s theme for all productions this year is A Year of Metamorphosis, and Wise says that “these performances will take audiences on a journey through time, space, and the imagination.”
“We always try to balance doing a variety of playwrights and time periods,” Wise explains. “The theatre is the greatest empathy machine, and I encourage everyone to come together and find common ground through these shared experiences.”
The play is suitable for all ages, and there will be several opportunities for local theatergoers to see "Fellow Passengers". Full performances will take place on Wednesday, November 30 and Thursday, December 1, at the Blinn-Bryan Campus Student Center at 6 p.m. each night. BBTT will also present a truncated version of the show as part of the First Friday celebration in Downtown Bryan at 6 p.m. on Friday, December 2 on the front steps of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in downtown Bryan. Another condensed version of the play will be performed during the annual Christmas Festival at College Station’s Stephen C. Beachy Central Park on Saturday, December 3 at 6 p.m.
Tickets are available at the door for the Blinn-Bryan campus performances, or on the Blinn-Bryan website at blinn.edu/boxoffice. The abbreviated performances at First Friday in Bryan and Central Park in College Station will offer free admission.
The Thursday night production on the Blinn-Bryan campus, as with all shows throughout the current season, will be followed by an interactive “Talk-Back” event, during which the cast, crew, and local partners will answer questions from the audience.
And for those traditionalists who may complain about changing up the telling of a Christmas classic, it may do to remember that Dickens himself liked to change things up a bit. Regarding his public readings of the story, which was admittedly his favorite, he once wrote to a friend: “I got things out of the old Carol–effects I mean–so entirely new and strong that I quite amazed myself and wondered where I was going next.”
So, does this adaptation, like the ones before it, end with Scrooge turning over a new leaf, with a fresh, optimistic outlook and a new lease on life? Audiences will have to see "Fellow Passengers" for a definitive answer, but there’s a pretty good chance of it. After all, the story is a Christmas tradition.
About the Author
Mark Taylor is a full-time educator, a part-time writer, an award-winning graphic designer and marketing consultant, and a professional vocalist, actor, and stage director. His original musicals have been performed locally across the Brazos Valley, and his articles appear in a variety of publications. He and his wife, Beverly, reside on a 14-acre property in Grimes County where they keep bees and entertain their children and grandchildren.
