Curtain rises on ‘Carol’

Dickens' classic runs through Tuesday at SCC|

Sonoma Community Center has teamed up with Aidan O’Reilly and the Sonoma Shakespeare Theatre to bring “A Christmas Carol” back to the Rotary Stage in Andrews Hall this weekend.

The production runs Friday, Dec. 19, through Tuesday, Dec. 23, with shows daily at 7 p.m., and a special matinee performance at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 21.

O’Reilly has a long history with “A Christmas Carol,” having played Young Scrooge in Andrews Hall more than 20 years ago. “There is such a rich history here at the Center,” said Sonoma Community Center Executive Director Toni Castrone. “We’re delighted to come full circle with Aidan.”

After leaving Sonoma to attend The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, O’Reilly founded the Sonoma Shakespeare Company before taking a two-year hiatus from directing due to cancer. Now cancer free and back to doing what he loves, O’Reilly said, “I’ve shaken the dust off the directing part of my brain, and have fallen in love with the story again.” 

This year’s production is directed by O’Reilly and adapted by Jocelynn Joy Murphy, who will play the roll of the Narrator in the production. Other members of the ensemble include Julia and Rich Holsworth; Morgan Harrington, Rich Thompson and Bob Smith as the tight-fisted Scrooge. The show will also feature promising student actors from Sonoma Valley High School, and special guest performers from Los Angeles, San Francisco and the greater Bay Area.

“My talented friends have come together to create an incredible cast,” said O’Reilly. “I could not ask for a better group to tell this classic story.”

Refreshments will be available 30 minutes before and after each show.

Tickets to A Christmas Carol are $20 for adults and $10 for youth 17 and younger and can be purchased online at svbo.org, by phone at 938-4626, ext. 1, or between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. at the Sonoma Community Center, 276 E. Napa St.

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