Christmas with Dickens & Dylan presented by ASC at NJCU in Jersey City, Dec. 8 - 18

Nov. 9, 2011 - PRLog -- The Actors Shakespeare Company at New Jersey City University will present as its holiday show "Christmas with Dickens & Dylan,” a one-act adaptation of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol with a performance of the Dylan Thomas poem A Child’s Christmas in Wales as a heartwarming prelude to the Dickens classic.  

The show runs from Thursday, December 8 through Sunday, December 18. Performances will be held on Thursdays and Fridays at 7:30 p.m., and on Saturdays and Sundays at 3:00 p.m., in NJCU’s West Side Theater, 285 West Side Avenue in Jersey City.  

“Christmas with Dickens & Dylan” is ASC at NJCU’s first holiday production in its 12-year history. "Whether the show reflects the Christmas spirit or a more global spirit, ASC hopes to remind people what it means to share the planet together," said Colette Rice, ASC at NJCU Producing Artistic Director.  “Many historians believe Dickens brought Christmas and its spirit back to England.  He wrote A Christmas Carol at a time of despair not unlike the current times.”

The Dickens novella was adapted as a one-man play by Greg Oliver Bodine, while the Thomas poem will be performed word for word.

Written in the 1940’s, A Child’s Christmas in Wales is now widely known and performed.  “While other fathers might teach their children nursery rhymes, my father shared his recording of Dylan Thomas reading … and by the time I was old enough to attend productions, I, too, had committed whole portions to memory,” noted Carla Stockton, ASC website blogger.  “There’s no such thing as too much of this profoundly personal, entirely universal work.”

Both one-acts will be performed by ASC Resident Artist, Colin Ryan, who drew critical praise last season with a variety of roles in the Company's Logomaniacs.   ASC Marketing Director Peter Galman will direct.  “The Star-Ledger critic Peter Filichia said Colin Ryan is our most valuable player, and we agree," said Mr. Galman.

School matinees of “Christmas with Dickens & Dylan" will be held on Thursday, December 8 and Wednesday, December 14 at 10:00 a.m.  Schools may call 551-200-2391 for reservations.

All other shows include Bard Banter, a group discussion of the work of Dickens and Thomas that meets in the lobby of the West Side Theater 30 minutes before curtain.  After matinees on December 10, 11 and 17 and after the school matinees, the Company has scheduled Talkbacks, a question-and-answer session for audience enrichment.           

Advance orders for tickets to "Christmas with Dickens & Dylan," including group sales, are now available.  Tickets for adults are $30, seniors $15 and students $10.  Persons under 18 pay their age in dollars.  A purchase of six or more tickets entitles the patron group to a 50% discount; Patrons can also earn single-ticket discounts of 20% by calling and mentioning where they saw the production notice. Call ASC at NJCU at 201-200-2390 or visit www.ascnj.org.

ASC at NJCU's main stage, the 125-seat West Side Theater, is conveniently located in Jersey City at 285 West Side Avenue near Culver Avenue (on the NJCU campus), just minutes from Routes 440, 1-9 and 78.  There is ample parking in the University's lots on West Side Avenue.  Public transportation is available by bus from Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York City and Journal Square in Jersey City; and by Hudson-Bergen Light Rail to West Side Avenue.   For further directions, visit www.ascnj.org.

The West Side Theatre is wheelchair accessible.  Large print programs and assisted listening devices are available.  Some performances are audio described.  For more information and requests, call 201-200-2390.

# # #

The Actors Shakespeare Company at New Jersey City University is a professional, non profit ensemble theater, entering into its Eleventh Season of service to the Hudson County area, and its sixth at New Jersey City University. www.ascnj.org