The Cider Mill Stage in Endicott is performing an adaptation of the play A Christmas Carol for its 42nd year.
This adaptation started in 1979 when Binghamton University Professor John Bielenberg wrote and put on the show. Since then, it has been performed every December with the same script, set and even some of the music that Bielenberg used in the original production.
It’s about a group of actors putting on A Christmas Carol. When one of the actor’s children is sick, the group comes to their house and puts on the show in the child’s bedroom using items found in the house.
Chris Nickerson plays Ebenezer Scrooge. He’s been involved with this tradition since the 1980s when he went to Binghamton University and one of his teachers was a co-writer of the adaptation.
“The best thing about this production is the fact that it's a twist on it,” Nickerson said. “It's a story of actors creating something on the spur of the moment. So it has that kind of excitement that you don’t always get with Christmas Carol. It makes it a little more exciting and it keeps you on your toes as the audience.”
The play is being directed by Rob Egan. He said the tradition behind the show incorporates hundreds of people and some are involved in the current production. Egan said there’s always new people coming in, but it's still anchored in people coming back and telling the same version as before.
“It's something that can be universal. Children can really enjoy it but also adults, as we think back to our childhood and how we experienced Christmas and the holiday as children and now we share that with our younger generations,” Egan said. “It's a traditional story that we all know and we get to tell it in a really beautiful way.”
A Christmas Carol has performances now through Sunday at the Cider Mill Stage in Endicott.