Christmas Event : Dickens by Candlelight

This was a fun opportunity for me to play the piano Dec. 19-21  (4x) here in Orlando.  A friend  invited me to play Christmas carols at this year's  production of Dickens by Candlelight.  

My husband and I attended on Sunday evening with two guests.   The director and his wife are old friends of mine from our former church, Terry and Robin Olson.  Robin wrote this adaptation of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol which has been performed just about every year since 1997.  It is a delightful show and the three players did an excellent job.  Our friends both have performed in previous productions.  I love this photo of them.  :)

After being greeted at the door,  folks begin their evening by sipping hot wassail in the lobby. This year's production was held in the Dr. Phillips Performing Arts Centre on Orange Avenue (by Lightstyle). If you are an Orlando resident, you may remember it as being the old utilities building.

Then there is a caroling time with the audience.  The three performers lead the singing (I played for this part).  We sang Joy to the World, O Come All Ye Faithful and The First Noel.   There is also a question and answer time about why the play is divided into staves rather than acts (do you know?), about why A Christmas Carol is subtitled A Ghost Story of Christmas, and an interesting fact about Dickens himself presenting  one-man performances of the story in friends' homes.  I had never heard that before either.  For the last carol, the lights go out--a little tricky for me playing music from just the light of candles.  :)

Here is everyone singing carols on Sunday night. 

Next everyone enters a large room where tables are set with fine china for a proper English tea with homemade cookies.  Very lovely.  We had table #6 below.  

We sip and chat for about 15 minutes or so, then the show begins with the three playing all the parts, walking throughout the room and interacting with the audience at various times.

The three players:  Monica, John and Morgan

All in all, a lovely evening.  If you missed it this year, be sure to attend this special evening in 2011.  Merry Christmas.  And by all means, read the book if you never have... a classic Christmas story of redemption.