The English Holiday Tale That Americans Adore

Charles Dickens wrote his holiday-season classic “A Christmas Carol” as part of the English tradition of telling ghost stories during the holiday season.

Smithsonian magazine did  a wonderful article in 2016 explaining that ghost tales in winter are a continuation of a pagan practice. The longest day of the year was considered a time when the dead were most likely to come back and visit the living. That tradition died out, so to speak, in the 17th century but returned in Victorian England.

I don’t actually know whether “A Christmas Carol” is still an essential part of the British holidays, but it seems to me that in America Ebenezer Scrooge is as ubiquitous a character as Saint Nick.

This year, you can see two  different theatrical productions based on the Dickens tale.

The Center for Performing Arts in Rhinebeck, N.Y., presents a musical adaptation that will run until Dec. 19, with shows on Fridays and Saturdays at 7 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. Tickets are $25; email boxoffice@centerforperformingarts.org.

TheatreWorks in New Milford, Conn., is offering a meta “Christmas Carol” show, called “What the Dickens?” and written by Matt Austin.

A community theater group has to put on a traditional production of “A Christmas Carol” — but completely from memory. Complications and hilarity ensue in what the theater describes as “Monty Python meets Arthur Miller.”

“What the Dickens?” is presented Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. through Saturday, Dec. 18, with one Sunday matinee on Dec. 12 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $25 for reserved seating ($20 for students and military personnel and veterans with ID).

TheatreWorks warns that, “Due to some language and innuendo, this show is not recommended for children under 13.”

Reservations can be made online at www.theatreworks.us or by calling 860-350-6863.

Masks and proof of vaccination or proof of negative COVID test within a 72-hour time frame are required; bring an ID card.

Latest News

Join us for


 

  

Keep ReadingShow less
Summer Nights of Canaan

Wednesday, July 16

Cobbler n’ Cream
5 to 7 p.m.
Freund’s Farm Market & Bakery | 324 Norfolk Rd.

Canaan Carnival
6 to 10 p.m.
Bunny McGuire Park

Keep ReadingShow less
When the guide gets it wrong

Rosa setigera is a native climbing rose whose simple flowers allow bees to easily collect pollen.

Dee Salomon

After moving to West Cornwall in 2012, we were given a thoughtful housewarming gift: the 1997 edition of “Dirr’s Hardy Trees and Shrubs.” We were told the encyclopedic volume was the definitive gardener’s reference guide — a fact I already knew, having purchased one several months earlier at the recommendation of a gardener I admire.

At the time, we were in the thick of winter invasive removal, and I enjoyed reading and dreaming about the trees and shrubs I could plant to fill in the bare spots where the bittersweet, barberry, multiflora rose and other invasive plants had been.Years later, I purchased the 2011 edition, updated and inclusive of plants for warm climates.

Keep ReadingShow less
A few highlights from Upstate Art Weekend 2025

Foxtrot Farm & Flowers’ historic barn space during UAW’s 2024 exhibition entitled “Unruly Edges.”

Brian Gersten

Art lovers, mark your calendars. The sixth edition of Upstate Art Weekend (UAW) returns July 17 to 21, with an exciting lineup of exhibitions and events celebrating the cultural vibrancy of the region. Spanning eight counties and over 130 venues, UAW invites residents and visitors alike to explore the Hudson Valley’s thriving creative communities.

Here’s a preview of four must-see exhibitions in the area:

Keep ReadingShow less