LANESBORO, MN - The Commonweal Theatre Company of Lanesboro, Minnesota
presents Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol." Performances run November 18
through December 23, with a half-price preview on November 17. Curtain times
are 8:00 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays, with 2:00 p.m. matinees on
Saturdays and Sundays.

"Marley was dead, to begin with." So begins the story in which a string of
ghosts help to transform the infamous Ebenezer Scrooge from a lonely miser
to the loving and selfless soul of Christmas.

Jacob Marley, Scrooge's former business partner, is the first to appear and
warn Scrooge that if he doesn't change his ways, he is doomed to tread an
endless path of despair and regret beyond the grave. The Ghosts of Christmas
Past and Present demonstrate how he has rejected love, neglected his family,
and abused his clerk, Bob Cratchit, who barely has the means to care for
Tiny Tim, his crippled son. The vision of Christmas Yet to Come proves to be
the most terrifying and transforming, as Scrooge vows to open his heart and
become "as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man, as the good
old city knew."

Los Angeles-based director, Alan Bailey, returns to the Commonweal to lead
"A Christmas Carol" after having directed "The 1940s Radio Hour," "'Art',"
"Man of La Mancha," and "A Walk in the Woods."

The Commonweal's adaptation of Dickens' novella features a cast of seven
actors playing all the characters highlighted in the original story. Playing
Tiny Tim, the Turkey Boy, Peter Cratchit, and others, will be a rotating
cast of four Lanesboro Elementary School students: Simon Cropp, Magnolia
Decker, Elsa Hennessy-Barnes, and Matthew Luck.

The remainder of the ensemble consists of Commonweal company members Eric
Knutson, Scott Dixon, David Hennessey, and Amanda Davis, along with Luther
College Semester-In-Residence student, Anna Grace Bingham.

Joel Sass will oversee the setting for Dickens' spirited ghost story,
creating the look and feel of Victorian London. Leading the production team
is stage manager and UW La Crosse Semester-In-Residence student, Jenna
Bolland, with Stela Burdt as music director, Greta Raatz as costume
designer, and Patrick Strain as lighting designer.

With support from F&M Community Bank in Preston, the Commonweal offers
weekday student matinees of "A Christmas Carol" for only $3, which includes
a pre-show workshop by the actors, a study guide, and a post-show talk-back.

Charles Dickens wrote "A Christmas Carol" in 1843. To assure readers of his
good intentions, he wrote the following as a preface: "I have endeavored in
this Ghostly little book, to raise the Ghost of an Idea, which shall not put
my readers out of humour with themselves, with each other, with the season,
or with me. May it haunt their houses pleasantly, and no one wish to lay
it."

All performances are at the St. Mane Theatre, 206 Parkway Avenue North in
downtown Lanesboro. Ticket prices are $20, with discounts available for
students, groups, and Fillmore and Houston county residents. There will be a
sign language interpreted performance on Sunday December 10 with half-price
tickets for the hearing impaired.

For tickets, exact show performance dates, or more information call
800-657-7025 or 507-467-2525, or visit www.commonwealtheatre.org. "A
Christmas Carol" is generously underwritten by Jim Haas Associates, LLC.