Imagine Charles Dickens happens to run into William Shakespeare in an out-of-the-way London pub late on a snowy Christmas Eve, and they start talking shop. After five or six pints, they’ve forged an idea for a new Christmas play – a little bit Charles, a little bit William, and all of it hilarious.
With the Red Barn’s opening mainstage show of its 46th season, audiences will see what such a collaboration could yield.
“Scrooge Macbeth,” by the award-winning playwright David MacGregor, is a mash-up, intended to get viewers into the Christmas spirit and keep them there for 80 minutes. The show runs Dec. 9 through Jan. 3 with all shows at 7:30 pm.
The story centers around a small community theater about to open a holiday production of Shakespeare’s “A Winter’s Tale.” The hope is that the show will save the financially-strapped theater from bankruptcy. But most of the cast is felled by food poisoning moments before curtain time, leaving the last four actors standing to pull together some kind of holiday entertainment on the fly. What they come up with is Shakespeare running headlong into Dickens, as they try to combine two iconic tales, complete with improvised turns on the best-known carols of the season.
“It’s one of the funniest plays I’ve ever been a part of,” said Red Barn managing director Mimi McDonald, who also directs the show. “It has a surprise a minute and takes advantage of the intimacy of the Barn’s space – the audience will feel they’re right in the craziness as part of the show. And I think it capitalizes on the strengths of the Red Barn – we love the offbeat, the off-kilter here, and we’re lucky to have cast some of the great comedic actors Key West has.”
The show features a host of Shakespeare characters as they’ve never been seen – Richard III sings “I’m Gettin’ Nuttin’ for Christmas,” and Ebenezer Scrooge shows up on Juliet’s balcony.
One of the characters – an over-the-top diva – adds a bit of drama to the proceedings by refusing to do the show until he’s allowed to play Othello, who gets pulled into a very odd and lyrical holiday Shakespeare cabaret.
“Scrooge Macbeth” stars Key West’s Dominic Paolillo, Nina Pilar, Mathias Maloff, Cassidy Timms and Gerri Louise Gates.
For those attending on Dec. 9, MacGregor is making a special trip to Key West to see the Red Barn’s production of his play, and will be in attendance at the show and the opening night party to meet and greet ticketholders with the cast and crew after the performance.
There will be no performances on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day or New Year’s Eve, but there will be a performance on New Year’s Day. The opening night party will take place after the performance on Dec. 9, with all ticketholders welcome. There is no parking at the Red Barn Theatre.More information is at redbarntheatre.com or from the box office at 305-296-9911.
