A Holiday Classic is Different Every Night with ‘An Improvised Christmas Carol’

Published On: December 1, 2018Categories: Arts, Entertainment, Happenings, Lifestyle, Reader Contributed
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Cast of An Improvised Christmas Carol. Submitted photo

Several West Hartford residents will help give a hilarious twist to everyone’s favorite holiday story, on stage from Dec. 6-16.

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Families around Connecticut will have a chance to rewrite the most classic Christmas story of all.

An Improvised Christmas Carol, developed by Seattle’s Randy Dixon, will take live audience suggestions to make this Charles Dickens masterpiece even more fun. The show is produced by Hot Cocco Productions and presented at the Sea Tea Comedy Theater on 15 Asylum St. in Hartford. Tickets are $18 for adults and $10 for children under 16.

What if Scrooge owned a hair salon? What if the Ghost of Christmas Past was a Western cowgirl? What if Tiny Tim wasn’t so tiny? Come find out and see how your suggestions tell an all new tale of how Christmas can (or can’t!) change Ebenezer Scrooge’s life. The show combines your suggestions with the improvisers’ imaginations to create a performance of A Christmas Carol like nothing you’ve ever seen.

There will be eight different performances of An Improvised Christmas Carol. Shows will run Thursday, Dec. 6 to Saturday, Dec.8 at 8 p.m.; Sunday, Dec. 9 at 2 p.m.; Thursday, Dec. 13 to Saturday, Dec. 15 at 8 p.m., and Sunday, Dec. 16 at 2 p.m. Sunday matinees are designated family shows.

Audiences have quickly come to enjoy An Improvised Christmas Carol as a holiday tradition: each show is completely different, so it’s perfect for repeat viewing year after year – or night after night! Past audiences have raved, “Scrooge is hilarious no matter what he plays” and “My kids loved shouting out their ideas!”

The actors populating Dickens’ masterpiece are some of the most experienced and beloved professional improvisers from Sea Tea Improv and Hot Cocco Productions. This year’s Connecticut cast includes Bryan Thurston and Greg Ludovici of Hartford; Claire Zick and Kevin McDermott of West Hartford; Dan Russell of Farmington; Laura Manasewich of Manchester; and Matt Saccullo of Wethersfield. MacDermott is featured as Ebeneezer Scrooge.

An Improvised Christmas Carol was developed by Randy Dixon in 1985 at the Market Theater in Seattle’s historic Pike Place Market. It was first Produced by Unexpected Productions (Seattle, WA). It’s been performed every year since. All eight of the performances at Sea Tea Comedy Theater will be completely improvised and brand-new each night, perfect for repeat viewing.

An Improvised Christmas Carol runs Thursday, Dec. 6 through Sunday, Dec. 16, at the Sea Tea Comedy Theater, 15 Asylum St., Hartford. Showtimes: Doors open at 7:30 p.m., show begins at 8 p.m. (doors at 1:30 p.m. and show at 2 p.m. for Sunday matinees). Tickets: $18 for adults and $10 for children under 16. Reserve tickets on seateaimprov.com, or search Eventbrite for Sea Tea Improv.

For directions or more information visit www.seateaimprov.com or call 860-578-4832.

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