Rutherford Stage
Wednesday, November 12, 2025 11:06 am

Rutherford Stage has announced the leading actors for their upcoming production of "A Christmas Carol," by Charles Dickens, faithfully adapted for the stage by Diane McEnnerney.

Co-Directed by Laura Link and Michael McKinney, the cast will feature over 120 local actors of all ages, and will be narrated by Zaida Cilone, Sarah Searcy, Jonathon Sanford, and Anya White.

The play begins with Ebeneezer Scrooge (Bart Trotman) and his clerk, Bob Cratchit, (Sam Banfield) hard at work in Scrooge's counting-house. Fred, Scrooge's cheerful nephew, (Matthew LaSelle) pays him a visit and invites Scrooge to join him and his new bride (Carleigh Williams) for Christmas dinner, which Scrooge refuses. Two gentlemen arrive (Stephen Hughes and Tobias White) collecting money for the poor and homeless, but Scrooge rebuffs them, preferring that the poor should go to prisons or workhouses. Scrooge then frightens away a young boy (Christopher Voltz) who enters the office caroling.

After heading home for a solitary Christmas Eve, Scrooge is visited by the Ghost of Jacob Marley (Chuck Williams), who has come to offer Scrooge a chance at different path than the one he finds himself bound to in death. Marley tells Scrooge that he will be visited by three Spirits.

The First Spirt, or the Spirit of Christmas Past (Kip Arrowood) shows Scrooge scenes from his own past. He sees himself as a lonely boy (Aidan McEnnerney), and as a young student (Eli Sturgill) visited by his sister Fan (Layla Langley), then as a young man (Nathaniel Alemar), working for Fezziwig (Jay Mills), and sees his former fiancé, Belle (Emma Harwell) as she leaves him due to his love of money above all else. He then sees Belle as a grown woman (Carrie Laughridge) with her husband (Jordan Shinn) and happy family before returning to his bed.

The Second Spirit, or Spirit of Christmas Present (Isaac Hutchins) takes Scrooge on a journey through London showing him scenes of Christmas joy. The Spirit sprinkles his Christmas cheer on two angry shoppers (Chelsea Jordan and Tabatha Robinson). They visit the home of Bob Cratchit and see his family living in poverty. Bob's wife (Angel Johnson), and children Martha (Teresa Lugo), Peter (Elijah Hunsinger), Belinda (Grace Johnson), and Rebecca (Savannah Jenkins) are celebrating Christmas, despite their struggles, and despite their youngest child, Tiny Tim's (Charlie Knobil) illness. The Spirit then carries Scrooge around the whole world, showing that Christmas is known and celebrated everywhere, ending at Fred's house where a lively holiday party takes place. Finally, the Second Spirit shows Scrooge two poor specters, Ignorance (Xavier McCarthy) and Want (Kaliana Fowler) before returning him to his bed.

The Third Spirit, or Spirit of Christmas Yet to Come, (Jay Mills) is a hooded and silent figure who leads Scrooge through scenes related to an unknown man's death. Scrooge learns of a man that nobody much knows, and who has no one to attend his funeral. A man whose valuables are stolen by the Charwoman (Heather Banfield), the Laundress (Angie Malan), and the Undertaker's Man (Jaison Malan) and sold to Old Joe (Jason Sanford) for a few coins. The Spirit revisits the Cratchits house where Scrooge learns that Tiny Tim has also died and sees a grieving family. The Third Spirit's visit ends in a graveyard, where Scrooge is appalled to see that the lonely man with no one to grieve for him is himself.

Waking up on Christmas morning, Scrooge is overjoyed that it is Christmas Day, and that the visions of the future can still be altered. Ebeneezer Scrooge is a changed man, feeling joy for the first time, embracing a life of benevolence, and embracing his fellow man.

"A Christmas Carol" will be presented on Friday, December 12 at 7pm and on Saturday, December 13 at 3pm at The Foundation Performing Arts Center at Isothermal Community College. Tickets are $15 for adults and $12 for students and seniors. Tickets are available at the Foundation Box Office, 828-286-9990, at foundationshows.org, or at the door.