Holiday favorite to haunt the stage at Indian Hills Community College

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OTTUMWA — Scrooge and the infamous ghosts will make their appearance at Indian Hills Community College on Thursday through Sunday, Dec. 3-5, as the IHCC Theatre Department presents “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens, adapted for the stage by Anthony Palermo and directed by IHCC Theatre Director Ronelle Willadsen.

Admission is free for the holiday event, scheduled at 7:30 p.m. each day in the St. John Auditorium on the Ottumwa campus. It is recommended that patrons reserve seats in advance by calling the IHCC Arts and Sciences Office at (641) 683-5144 Monday through Thursday.

“Over the years, ‘A Christmas Carol’ has lost much of its ghost-story status,” Willadsen said. “We will be returning this production to its Victorian roots and focusing on the eerie, spooky aspects of ghost stories.”

The play centers around the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, the sole survivor of the accounting firm Scrooge and Marley.On Christmas Eve, Scrooge is being his usual miserly self by chasing off those soliciting donations for the poor and chastising his lone employee, Bob Cratchett, for wanting Christmas day off. He even criticizes his nephew, Fred, for celebrating a holiday that has “never put a penny in any man’s pocket.” That night, Scrooge is visited by three ghosts who warn him of the pitfalls of the path he has chosen to take in life. They offer him the chance for redemption, to change his future for better.

Thad Overturf of Ottumwa, a newcomer to the IHCC stage, portrays Scrooge, and the Ghosts of Christmases Past, Present and Future are being played by Shaye Wilson of Fort Madison, Joe Nikas of Knoxville and Thomas Ready of Pella. Scrooge’s nephew, Fred, is played by Mitch Bean of Columbus Junction, and his wife, Kate, is played by Shelby Stufflebeam of Moravia.

The Cratchett family includes Eric Freeman of Albia) as Bob, Kayla Heckart of Ottumwa as Mrs. Cratchett, Melissa Holzhauser of Ottumwa as Martha, Bryce Taylor of Muscatine as Peter, Miranda Rains of Sigourney as Belinda and Curtis Ripperger of Melcher-Dallas as Tiny Tim.

Actors portraying several characters include Aaron Jackson of Ottumwa, Tonya Bales of Albia, Tim Larson of Centerville, Jessica Williams of Eddyville, Hilary Bruner of Eddyville and Cassie Peitz of West Point. Technical positions include sound, lighting and scene builder Ben Froah of Newton, stage manager Jessica Williams of Eddyville, Kayla Heckart on props and costume designer Peter DeKluyver of Los Angeles, Calif.

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