The Historic Village at Allaire announces its first-ever off-site Theatrical Fundraiser for the 501c3 non-profit organization.
A Christmas Carol performed by Gerald Charles Dickens, the great-great grandson of literary icon, Charles Dickens. Gerald, an actor and producer hailing from Oxford, England, will be performing his captivating rendition of this heartwarming holiday tale.
Gerald Dickens bears more than a passing resemblance to his famous ancestor, who originally toured the U.S. in 1867 reading his literary works before spellbound audiences. The historians report that A Christmas Carol was his favorite piece to perform. According to Gerald, his great-great grandfather adored theater and initially wanted to be an actor but pursued writing as a career for practical purposes. For many years Gerald says that he himself “avoided anything to do with Dickens like the plague.” But in 1993 when a friend asked him to do a reading of A Christmas Carol on its 150th anniversary of publication to help raise money for a historical restoration project, he couldn’t turn him down. To his surprise, he enjoyed doing it and has been delighting audiences around the world with his rendition ever since.
During his energetic one-man show, Gerald Dickens conjures A Christmas Carol with just a table, wing chair and hat rack accompanying him on stage. As he leaps, sobs, and laughs, 26 characters of the classic tale are brought vividly to life. Gerald has created different postures and voices for each character, achieving this so adeptly that the audience has no doubt about “who is who,” so to speak. Hance M. Sitkus, Executive Director of Allaire Village states, “We are so honored to have Gerald Charles Dickens perform for Allaire Village in Monmouth County. He has not been in this area performing for over 20 years. It’s a magical show and reflects perfectly the time period when Allaire Village existed in the 1800s!”
This fall Gerald Dickens returns to the U.S. for his 2023 tour that will take him to both coasts with many stops in between. He will transform theaters, churches, hotels, and museums into scenes straight out of the classic holiday tale, much as Scrooge was transformed from a dispirited miser to a joyous soul after his Christmas Eve encounter with ghosts from the past, present and future.
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