A Christmas classic will be re-imagined when Capital City Productions presents "A Christmas Carol" throughout December.
Director Brandon Sankpill built the musical from scratch, selecting music from shows in Capital City Productions' 2018 schedule and writing the script with his brother. The show is scheduled through Sunday, as well as Dec. 14-17 and Dec. 21-23.
Set in a poor section of London during the industrial revolution, Charles Dickens' classic tells the tale of miserly Ebeneezer Scrooge and his encounters with three ghosts who change his outlook on life and soften the cold heart of a broken man.
Its story and lessons still resonate today. So Sankpill moved the setting to modern New York to put a different twist on the play.
Sankplill said the musical tells the same classic story, but through a different lens.
"'A Christmas Carol' is a Christmas classic," Sankpill said. "So we're taking our take on it."
In part, Capital City Productions decided to take this route because Sankpill didn't like other versions of the show available. He said some shows ran about three hours, and he just wasn't happy with their prospects.
Sankpill, his brother, Nick, and other leaders of the theater decided to take the story of "A Christmas Carol," which is in the public domain, and write the show themselves.
"A Christmas Carol" closes out Capital City Productions' 2017 season. Songs from others shows in its 2018 season are scattered throughout the show, partly to pay tribute to those shows. Songs from shows like "9 to 5," "Shrek the Musical" and next year's "Christmas My Way" fit in during appropriate moments for characters, scenes and settings, Sankpill said.
The show also features an original song by local musician Audra Sergel when Scrooge sees he and Tiny Tim will die if he continues along his current path, Sankpill said.
Tickets for evening shows for Fridays and Saturdays cost $38 and feature a holiday dinner buffet with roasted turkey, pit ham, a peppermint cheesecake dessert and more. Other evening and matinee show tickets with dessert only cost $23 and feature peppermint cheesecake topped with whipped topping and candy crumbles.
Evening shows start at 7:30 p.m., while afternoon shows begin at 2 p.m. Doors for dinner shows open an hour early. Doors for dessert-only shows open 30 minutes before.
Tickets can be purchased at capitalcityproductions.org or by calling 573-681-9612.