CENTENARY STAGE COMPANY TO OPEN “A CHRISTMAS CAROL” ADAPTED BY STEPHEN TEMPERLEY. | Explore Warren

 

CENTENARY STAGE COMPANY TO OPEN “A CHRISTMAS CAROL” ADAPTED BY STEPHEN TEMPERLEY.

HACKETTSTOWN, NJ: A Christmas Carol adapted by Stephen Temperley and based on the story by Charles Dickens returns to Centenary Stage Company’s Sitnik Theatre this holiday season. Nineteenth-century London comes to life with this adaption made specifically for Centenary Stage Company.

Performances will take place November 26 through December 12 in the Sitnik Theatre of the Lackland Performing Arts Center at 715 Grand Avenue, Hackettstown, NJ on the campus of Centenary University. Tickets range from $25.00 - 29.50 for adults with discounts available for seniors, students, and children 12 and younger. If you are unable to attend in-person, a live stream is also available for December 5 at 2 p.m. for $10.00. For more information, go to centenarystageco.org or call Centenary Stage Company’s box office at (908) 979-0900.

This adaptation of A Christmas Carol by Stephen Temperley was crafted specifically for Centenary Stage Company’s Sitnik Theatre and premiered last year during the holiday season. Probably the most popular piece of fiction that Charles Dickens ever wrote, A Christmas Carol was published in 1843. Charles Dickens, through the voice of Scrooge, continues to urge us to honor Christmas in our hearts and try to keep it all year round. This adaptation is not a musical, but rather a play with musical elements. 

Best known for one of the most produced plays in the US, Souvenir, Stephen Temperley’s extensive resume includes work both on and off the stage in the US and UK. Souvenir was produced on Broadway at the Lyceum Theatre and directed by Tony Award winner Vivian Matalon. Additional works of Temperley’s include Money/Mercy (Chelsea Theatre Center), That Kind of Woman (Dodger Productions), In the Country of the Free (the Mint Theatre), The Pilgrim Papers (Berkshire Theatre Festival), Songbook, Dance with Me, and A Christmas Carol, which all debuted at Centenary Stage.

As an actor, Temperley has worked extensively in regional theatres in the US as well as UK’s West End, on TV and in repertory. On Broadway, Temperley was part of the original company of Crazy for You; and off-Broadway in the Todd Rundgren musical, Up Against It, at the Public. Most recently, Stephen Temperley completed a run of his one-man show Nine Day Wonder as part of Centenary Stage Company’s 2021 Fringe Festival.

Musical Direction and Original Music was composed for this production by Kevin Lynch. Formerly a staff accompanist at The Julliard School in New York, NY, Lynch is a cum laude Latin honors graduate of William Paterson University where he studied music education with a concentration in classical piano and voice. Previous Music Directing/Conducting credits include Savage the Musical with 2019 NYMF, Les Misérables, and Mary Poppins at MPAC, Into the Woods, Disenchanted, and his original one-act play NEXT. Previous Centenary Stage Company credits include A Christmas Carol (2020), Beauty and the Beast, and Jesus Christ Superstar.

The cast of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, adapted by Stephen Temperley with music composed by Kevin Lynch, consists of professional actors, Centenary University students and alumni, and Centenary Stage Company staff. 

Performance dates and times for A Christmas Carol adapted by Stephen Temperley are Thursdays, December 2 and 9 at 7:30 p.m.; Fridays, November 26 and December 3 and 10 at 8 p.m.; Saturdays, November 27 and December 4 and 11 at 8 p.m.; Sundays, November 28, December 5 and 12 at 2 p.m.; with special addition matinee performances at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, December 1 and Saturday, December 4.

Tickets range from $25.00 – 29.50 with discounts available for seniors, students, children 12 and younger, and Thursday evening performances. The preview performance of A Christmas Carol by Stephen Temperley on Friday, November 26 at 2 p.m. will also have a special $10.00 ticket offer for Hackettstown Residents with proof of address.

The Centenary Stage Company box office is open Monday through Friday from 1 – 5 p.m. and two hours prior to all performances Centenary Stage Company can also be found across social media platforms; Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, and Instagram.  Like and follow to receive the latest in CSC news and special offers.

Centenary Stage Company remains committed to the health and safety of our community and adheres to all requirements set forth by the State of New Jersey.  For more information regarding CSC COVID-19 policies and policy updates, visit centenarystageco.org/faq.

The 2021-22 season of performing arts events at the Centenary Stage Company is made possible through the generous support of the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, the NJ State Council on the Arts, the Shubert Foundation, the Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation, the Sandra Kupperman Foundation, the John and Margaret Post Foundation, and CSC corporate sponsors, including Platinum Season Sponsor The House of the Good Shepherd, Silver Sponsors Hackettstown Medical Center Atlantic Health System, Home Instead Senior Care (Washington), and Fulton Bank, Visions Federal Credit Union, and Centenary Stage Company members and supporters.