DreamWrights’ Christmas Radio Showcase

Christmas 2020 – COVID Style

The Plot to Overthrow Christmas

Written by Norman Corwin 1938

Told entirely in rhyme, this play brings a group of notorious characters together in their efforts to overthrow Christmas. The Roman emperor Nero, at the behest of the Devil, shares his concerns about the peace and goodwill generated by the Christmas holiday thwarting his efforts to corrupt humanity. He petitions Mephistopheles, Ivan the Terrible, the Biblical Haman, Caligula, Lucrezia Borgia, and Simon Legree to help deal with the matter. Ideas include poisoning Christmas foods and candies, to corrupting sacred Christmas music by converting it to jazz style, to bribing the US Congress to outlaw Christmas.

Directed by Chris Velez

Joe Woloson – Haman
Matthew Davis – Ivan, the Terrible
Todd Fogdall – Simon Legree
Rebecca Eastman – Announcer
Josh Brown – Courier
Shannon McElroy – Lucretia Borgia
Andrew Texter – Mephisto
Mindi Haines – Sotto Voce
Cal Weary – Nero
Jeff Bitzer – Santa
Tim Lambert – Caligula
Shea Paxton – Stranger/Ensemble
Don Carn – Violinist

The Grinch Who Stole Christmas

adapted to Readers Theatre by Sharon Drummond

Adaptation of the classic Dr. Seuss book you know and love!

Directed by Amanda Nowell

Auntie Scrooge – a BACKWARDS Christmas Carol

Written by Anthony E. Palermo

A hilarious modern-day sequel to Charles Dickens’ classic. Auntie Scrooge runs an ice creamery in New London, CT and is a very nice old gal who loves Christmas. However, she’s being pressured by her money-grubbing underlings to be more crass and commercial, exploiting the Christmas season. The spirit world conspires to teach Auntie to be cynical and cold–but ultimately fails. In a series of strangely-familiar-but-odd visitations, Auntie encounters Marley’s Ghost, (BOB Marley, not Jacob), the Ghost of Christmas Past-Due, Ghost of Christmas Presents and the chillingly cheery tech-support Ghost of Christmas version 3.0. Throw in a ukulele playing, falsetto-singing Tiny Tim, a choir of cow-carolers and a disastrous Christmas party and you get a topsy-turvy take on Dickens–that still winds up as warm and sincere as the original. This is not a snarky parody of Christmas Carol, it’s an update!

Directed by Andrea Unger

Caitlin Damon – Gidget Cratchit
Bethann Greenawalt – Christmas Presents
Ellen Helfrick – Bobbie Cratchit
Jaci Keagy – Christmas Past Due
Scott Lamar – Announcer, Bill
Shannon McElroy – Christmas Tech Support
Linda McFaul – Fredericka
Ron Ruman – Narrator
Dixie Smith – Auntie Scrooge
Westley Smith – Peter Cratchit
Dave Unger – Big Tim Cratchit
Jonah Unger – Tiny Tim
Ralph Washington – Bob Marley
Jonah Unger – Kim