The Ivoryton Playhouse provides a fresh take on Dickens’s timeless A Christmas Carol with their production of Charles Evered’s An Actor’s Carol, which is on stage currently through Sunday,  Dec. 22.

To enter the world of an actor who no longer enjoys playing Scrooge in Charles Evered’s comedy “An Actor’s Carol,” see Michael Iannucci as Hugh Pendleton at Ivoryton Playhouse until Dec. 22. Just like the original Dickens’ tale, the actor meets a trio of ghosts on Christmas Eve, and learns some valuable lessons on kindness. For tickets ($35, senior $32, students $20, child $15), call Ivoryton Playhouse, 103 Main Street, Ivoryton at 860-757-7318 or online at www.ivorytonplayhouse.org.

You can catch a versions of “A Christmas Carol” in various places during holiday season (Goodspeed’s at Terris Theater, Hartford Stage), but the one at Ivoryton Playhouse is as intriguing as any, partly for its pedigree and humor.

Four Connecticut Scrooges tell us theirs, and ‘Bah! Humbug!’ isn’t among them.

Scrooge is hardly a man of few words, but he’s often been reduced to just two: “Bah!” and “Humbug.”

The Ivoryton Playhouse provides a fresh take on Dickens's timeless A Christmas Carol with their production of Charles Evered's An Actor's Carol from December 13 -December 22. It tells the tale of Hugh Pendleton, an actor drained of artistic passion after having played the character of Scrooge one too many times, which leads to Pendleton encountering three ghosts of his own. A cast of 4 actors plays 17 different characters in this hilarious new look at a classic that reminds us that the most jaded among us can find magic in the holiday season- and in the theater as well!

Charles Evered chuckled the chuckle of a man who'd heard the question before, or at least expected it.

"Why," to paraphrase the question, "yet another take on ‘A Christmas Carol'?"

The redemption of Ebenezer “Bah! Humbug!” Scrooge, arguably one of the most famous characters in English literature (as told in Charles Dickens’ 1843 novella “A Christmas Carol”), is a defining tale of the modern holiday season, and has been dramatized and adapted countless times for virtually every medium and performance genre.

“There’s so little choice for theater!” he exclaimed. “There’s It’s a Wonderful Life, The Nutcracker and A Christmas Carol—and that’s about it.”

So Evered decided to do something about it. The result is his 90-minute one-act play called An Actor’s Carol—a take on Charles Dickens’ famous A Christmas Carol. It will have its world premiere at Joshua Tree’s Hi-Desert Cultural Center on the first two weekends of December. Emmy Award-winning actor Hal Linden (Barney Miller) and veteran TV and film actor Barry Cutler will star in the first and second weekends of the play, respectively.

“Someone HAD to write it!” Evered declared.

The redemption of Ebenezer "Bah! Humbug!" Scrooge, arguably one of the most famous characters in English literature (as told in Charles Dickens' 1843 novella "A Christmas Carol"), is a defining tale of the modern holiday season, and has been dramatized and adapted countless times for virtually every medium and performance genre.

But never quite like this...

If you live in a town where Charles Dicken's tried-and-true holiday classic, "A Christmas Carol," is produced every year, you can appreciate the need for an occasional makeover. McCarter Theater this year has a new and "re-imagined" production, running December 9-31, featuring members of the community in the ensemble as well in substantial roles.