Kelowna Actors Studio brings ‘A Christmas Carol’ to life

There are no humbugs in sight among the cast and crew of the Kelowna Actors Studio, as they present, ‘A Christmas Carol.’

The rendition is based off of the musical, which premiered in 1994 in New York City.

The classic story centres around a greedy, selfish, curmudgeon old man named Ebenezer Scrooge, who hates Christmas.

Kirk Holland, who is taking on the role of Scrooge, told Kelowna10, he likes the depth of the character.

“He goes from this ugly personality to someone who feels sorrow and fear and ultimately leading to amazing happiness,” he explained. “Because of his experiences, it leads him to a great happiness which would be normal for everyone else but because he’s been so alone all his life it means so much to him.”

Holland listed the musical rendition as his favourite version of the Charles Dickens tale.

“He obviously has somewhere inside of him, this compassion, that’s waiting there, otherwise how would he have found it in this one nigh journey?” he said. “That’s the magic of this story. That he can go through this amazing transformation in one night.”

In the tale, Scrooge is visited by the ghost of his old business partner and only friend Jacob Marley, as well as three others: the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Christmas Present, and Christmas Future.

Karen Shale is playing the Ghost of Christmas Future, but starts off as The Blind Hag. She said the annual KAS Christmas shows are always a hit, and this year promises to be no different.

“The music in this show is amazingly well written. We have a big cast, there’s lots of voices on stage, and we got to blend perfectly with our harmonies and it’s the music in the show that makes it,” she said. “It matches the story and makes sense when you hear it and how it’s done.”

Shale said the story of learning about what happened to Scrooge and the events that dictated what he ultimately led to become, is at the heart of what audiences can take away from it.

“For me, the message in the show is never look back, always be looking forward,” she said. “He let that one event chart his course for his life. Until the ghost flipped it around and got him back on the right track.”

The show runs until Dec. 18th and limited tickets can be bought online.