Lost Nation Theater Presents Willem Lange in A CHRISTMAS CAROL

Famed, beloved Yankee Storyteller Willem Lange joins Lost Nation Theater as he performs his reading of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story.

LNT presents Willem Lange in "A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story" Friday December 18th at 7pm. Although restrictions prohibit an audience in the theater itself, Lost Nation Theater is Live Streaming the event!

LNT Producing Artistic Director Kathleen Keenan says: "We are So Excited to be back In the Theater! To flex our theatrical magic muscles to enhance Willem's storytelling with scenic elements by founder Kim Allen Bent, and lighting design by Samuel Biondolillo! Getting to remember what it feels like to create theater in our Theater is such a gift! And by partnering with Theatre Engine and Matthew Binginot Creations for the livestream & the After Party, we can give folks at home as close to an in-person opening-night show experience as possible."

And what a show. Emmy-Winner Willem Lange has been performing his reading of Dickens' Christmas Carol every year since 1975. LNT is thrilled to host Willem and keep his 45-year streak going. The show benefits The Haven (a nonprofit tackling hunger & homelessness in the Upper Valley). He loves the story and that shines through in his reading. "Christmas is my time to howl," he says.

Lange first heard the rendition he performs - Charles Dickens' prompter script version used during his 1867-68 tour of America - in 1953. A college professor of his, Dr Lean (as an undergrad in 1903) found the prompter script in a used bookstore in Boston and started performing it. By the time Willem heard him, Lean was already "nearing the end of his string, and I remember thinking, 'Who's going to take over when he's gone?"

After mulling it over for decades, Willem Lange (author, storyteller, carpenter & TV host) decided he would:

"Finally in 1975, I sat down with my typewriter and an LP recording of Professor Lean's performance, and typed out the script. That took some patience! My wife and I invited friends over; I borrowed a set of tails; and we held the first session in our living room."

Two years later, even multiple home performances couldn't accommodate everyone who wanted to see it - and a public performance tradition was born. Lost Nation Theater is thrilled to make it possible this year. Dickens "A Christmas Carol: a ghost story" was first published in 1843, turning Ebenezer Scrooge into a household name for nearly 200 years with translations into over 40 languages and countless film, musical & stage adaptations. Willem offers:

"Dickens had the gift of finding the sensitive spot in each of us - rather like scratching a puppy in a particular place and making it wave a hind leg. I love the moment in the story when Scrooge, emerging from the horror of seeing his plundered corpse in his own bedroom, wakes to the joy of his new-born self, tries tentatively to laugh, and the amused audience laughs along with him."

The show takes place on Friday December 18 at 7pm at lostnationtheater.org

"It's inspiring to have this opportunity to work with Willem Lange, one of New England's most loved raconteurs, and support him in bringing his inimitable storytelling instincts to Dicken's iconic tale. William Lange reading Charles Dickens is just "no-brainer" casting!" - Kim Allen Bent, Founding Artistic Director

"I do love this story, and hope only for a few more years to share it with my friends on cold, dark winter evenings still to come." Willem Lange

For information visit lostnationtheater.org You must register ahead to get the link to the event or its recording.

To post a comment, you must register and login.