(PRINCETON, NJ) -- McCarter Theatre Center announces the return of the beloved holiday tradition, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.  Returning to the McCarter stage for the first time since 2019, the spectacular classic production is adapted and directed by Lauren Keating. Performances at the Matthews Theatre begin December 7-24.  

This annual holiday tradition invites the audience to follow Ebenezer Scrooge - played for the first time at McCarter by a female actor (Dee Pelletier, playing the role of Scrooge as a male character) - on a magical journey through Christmas past, present and future ushering us into the spirit of the season with all the joy, wonder and generosity Scrooge discovers.  

“We can’t wait to welcome all of you back to this magical holiday journey once again, and we are thrilled to welcome Lauren Keating!” says Sarah Rasmussen, Artistic Director.  “Growing up, A Christmas Carol at McCarter was Lauren's family tradition, so having her join us as a director and adaptor for this beautiful production feels meant to be. The care and love that Lauren has put into reflecting the rich diversity of our communities and engaging audiences in an imaginative experience is really inspiring. We are thrilled to have her return home to direct this spectacular classic.”  She adds, “Lauren eloquently talks about Scrooge as being one of the great roles in the theatrical canon - that the emotional journey of Scrooge is epic!  In the grand tradition of a great role simply being played by a great actor, we are thrilled to both honor the traditional character of Scrooge – with the same costumes and the ‘grouchy to gratitude’ journey -- while also opening the role to the talents of an amazing female actor, Dee Pelletier.”

LAUREN KEATING (adaptor/director) is honored to make her McCarter debut with A Christmas Carol. Keating is an adaptor/director of new and classic theatrical work, narrative film, and site-specific events. She made her off-Broadway debut to New York Times acclaim with Josh Koenigsberg’s Al’s Business Cards. Regional credits include Emily Mann’s adaption of Antigone (Cleveland Play House), a record-breaking production of A Christmas Carol (Guthrie Theater), The Art of Gaman (City Center) and Small Mouth Sounds (Jungle Theater). Adaptations include Wedekind’s LULU, Ionesco’s Rhinoceros, Shakespeare’s Comedy of Errors and Hamlet, and Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya. She has developed work with writers such as Sarah Burgess, Dipika Guha, Michael Mitnick and Lauren Yee with the Public Theater, Ars Nova, Berkeley Rep, Dixon Place, and the Playwrights Center, among others. She is a Time Warner Foundation Fellow, a TCG Leadership University Fellow, a Drama League Fellow, and a Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab member. She is proud member of the Alliance of Women Directors and an NYU/Tisch alum. Her film credits include Power Out (short) and The Feminist Cooking Show (web series). She resides in Central Jersey with her wife and daughter.

DEE PELLETIER (Ebenezer Scrooge) Theatre NYC & Regional: The Minutes and August: Osage County (Broadway), Washington Square (Axis Theatre Company), A Doll’s House, Part 2 (Pendragon Theatre), Women Without Men (The Mint Theater Company), The Soap Myth (Laura Pels Black Box), BUG (Barrow Street Theatre), The Baroness (Scandinavian American Theater Company), Third (Hangar Theatre), Good People (Geva Theatre & Indiana Repertory Theatre), Grace, or The Art of Climbing (The Denver Center), Cymbeline, Hamlet, Hedda Gabler (Shakespeare Theatre Company), The Syringa Tree, (Kitchen Theatre Company & Vermont Stage Company) TV: “Orange Is the New Black,” “Instinct,” “Star Trek: Discovery,” “Madam Secretary,” “Elementary,” “Girls,” “Law & Order.” Co-Curator of Plays For Us. Training: Trinity Rep Conservatory. Member of The Actors Center.

Additional casting for A Christmas Carol includes: Alex Brightwell, Legna Cedillo, Esther Chen, Gisela Chipe, Kenneth De Abrew,  Grayson DeJesus, Julie Ann Earls, Polly Lee, Matt Monaco, Stephen Conrad Moore, Vilma Silva, Rhea Yadav, Julie Ann Earls, Sara Jane Giacomini, Marcus Montgomery, Desmond Elyseev, Yoko Huang, Zendaya Holliman, Zuraiya "Zuzu" Holliman-York, Brooke Gendel Naznitsky, Alesiandra Nikezi, Sam Roman, Addison Seiler, and Charlotte Ward Taylor.

A Christmas Carol features Choreography by Emily Maltby and Music Direction by Erika R Games. 

Design and Production Team includes: Daniel Ostling (Scenic Designer), Linda Cho (Costume Designer), Paul M. Kilsdonk (Lighting Designer), Palmer Hefferan (Sound Designer & Composer), Carissa Thorlakson (Wig Designer), Nadia Guevara (Assistant Director), Julie Felise Dubiner (Dramaturg), Nathan C. Crocker (Dialect & Vocal Coach), Alexandra Mannix (Associate Lighting Designer), Emily Wilson (Assistant Sound Designer), Alison Cote (Production Stage Manager), and Carolyn Reich (Assistant Stage Manager).

Tickets are available for purchase online.

An independent not-for-profit performing arts center located between New York City and Philadelphia – and on the campus of Princeton University – McCarter is a multi-disciplinary creative and intellectual hub offering theater, music, dance, spoken word, and educational programs for all ages that inspires conversations, connections and collaborations in our communities. We lead with our values of justice and joy, and we seek beauty in belonging. Celebrated for developing new work and winner of the 1994 Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre, world premieres include Christopher Durang's Vanya, Sonia, Masha and Spike (Tony, Best Play), Tarell Alvin McCraney's The Brother/Sister Plays, Emily Mann's Having Our Say. Renowned artists who have appeared at McCarter include: Alvin Ailey, Yo-Yo Ma, Audra McDonald, David Sedaris, The Moth, Terence Blanchard, Roseanne Cash, the rock band Lake Street Dive, Shawn Colvin, more. McCarter connects with the community year-round via various community reading event opportunities, digital programming, on-site classes and in-school residencies. McCarter and Princeton University share a long history of unique partnerships and creative collaborations.