American River College’s Department of Theatre Arts & Film will perform “The Christmas Carol Rag,” a musical comedy by Norman Allen.

“The Christmas Carol Rag” is a jazz-infused rendition of Charles Dickens’ “Christmas Carol”. In this version, the character Ebenezer Scrooge has been recast as a woman named Evelyn Scrooge. Audiences will watch Evelyn Scrooge’s story of redemption with added humor and a few surprising twists.

According to director Samuel Williams, this story takes place in New York City in 1911 during the rise of ragtime music and American immigration. 

“This puts the intelligent and shrewd business-woman, Evelyn Scrooge, in the middle of the male-dominated world of industry,” Williams said.

The production will feature ragtime and jazz music by Victor Herbert and George M. Cohan. The show features songs like “The Streets of New York,” “If I Were on Stage” and “Deck the Halls.”

Cast member Taylor-Alexis says seeing the show slowly come to life over the past month has been inspiring. 

“We have all dedicated this time to practicing new dialects and accents, researching the fashion and art of the early 1900s, and working hard to bring to life the choreography and stage directions that Director Samuel Williams has provided for us,” Taylor-Alexis said.

Cast member Charlton Graham says that audiences will enjoy the production.

“If people aren’t going to see it or they don’t know about it then they are missing out,” Graham said. “It’s got music, dancing, and so many interesting things like twists that are unlike the original story that will keep the audience curious.”

Live performances will take place on Nov. 26-27, Dec. 3-4 at 8 p.m and Nov. 28 and Dec. 5 at 2 p.m. The production run time is one hour and 30 minutes.

The show will also be streamed for audiences to watch online. There will be two 24-hour time slots to watch the stream, with the first one beginning on Dec. 10 at 8 p.m. and the second one on Dec. 11 at 8 p.m. 

Tickets for the live show are $10 and can be purchased on the ARC Theatre website or at the show itself. Tickets for the stream will be available on Dec. 10 at 6 p.m. 

Masks and proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours are required for audience members.

For any additional information about the show, visit the ARC theater website here.