Christmas Carol COntinues Paramount HOliday Tradition

Media Contact:

Kristen Gleason
Director of Marketing
The Paramount Theater
215 East Main Street
Charlottesville, VA 22902
434.979.1922 ext. 103
kristen@theparamount.net

For Immediate Release

December 3, 2007

Continuing what has become a Paramount Theater tradition for the holiday season, Nebraska Theatre Caravan will return to Charlottesville for their vibrant and opulent production of A Christmas Carol. The spellbinding fable of Ebenezer Scrooge and his ghostly visits by Christmases Past, Present, and Future combines comedy, pathos, and a heartwarming finale.

Filled with themes of kindness, redemption, and the bounty each brings to the soul, this tradition carries on with two shows on Saturday, December 15 at 3 and 7 pm.

This show is sponsored in part by CogswellStone. Special Media Sponsors for this event are WHTJ Charlottesville PBS and WUVA -- 92.7 Kiss FM.

Ever since legendary theatre pioneer Charles Jones adapted the Dickens classic for Nebraska Theatre Caravan nearly three decades ago, the national touring production of A Christmas Carol has delighted audiences across America. Artfully combining elements of spectacle, music, and dance, Jones created a stage version that not only delights children, but also transports audiences of all ages on a magical journey right alongside Ebenezer Scrooge.

Packed with laughter, pageantry, and gorgeous costumes, this staging of the tale evokes both the chilling poverty and luxurious wealth of 19th Century London, magically unfolding like a three-dimensional Victorian Christmas card.

Each memorable detail -- from spine-chilling ghosts, crotchety Scrooge, and lovable Tiny Tim, to snow and greenery, colorful streets with warm windows, and heartfelt renditions of traditional British carols accompanied by a live orchestra -- makes this time-tested production of Charles Dickens’ enchanting story a treasured holiday event.

The Nebraska Theatre Caravan was founded in 1975 as a joint project between the Omaha Community Playhouse and the Nebraska Arts Council “to bring together a small group of professional performer-teachers for workshops in Omaha and out-state.” The original 12-week program soon became a full-time program, touring to Greater Nebraska, Kansas, and Wyoming. By its second season, the production was playing to 45,000 people in 37 communities.

Since its inception the Nebraska Theatre Caravan has produced 90 fully-mounted productions -- many being new works -- and presented them to 160 communities in Nebraska and throughout the nation.

In 1979 the Caravan started performing the Charles Jones adaptation of A Christmas Carol nationally with one company touring the Midwest. A second company was added to tour the East Coast three years later, and a third was formed in 1987 to tour the West Coast. Now a holiday tradition in its 29th year, the national tour of A Christmas Carol has performed for more than two million people in over 600 cities in 49 states, as well as three Canadian provinces.

Tickets for A Christmas Carol at 3 and 7 pm on Saturday, December 15 are $32.50, $35.50, $40.50, and $45.50. A Youth/Child price of $25.50 is being offered for those aged 12 and younger. Half-price student rush tickets and group discounts are available.

Tickets are available online or through The Paramount’s Box Office at 434.979.1333.

For more information about Nebraska Theatre Caravan, please visit www.nebraskatheatrecaravan.com.