Historic Annapolis to host dramatic readings of A Christmas Carol

The James Brice House was seventy-six years old when Charles Dickens sat down and wrote his holiday classic A Christmas Carol. This December, for the third year in a row, Historic Annapolis will host Mark Hildebrand and friends as they bring the words and characters to life through a dramatic reading of the beloved tale.                                                          

Dramatic readings of A Christmas Carol will take place at 1:00pm and 4:00pm on December 17, 2016 in the James Brice House, located at 42 East Street in downtown Annapolis. Tickets to the event are $12 General Admission and $10 for HA Members and Volunteers and may be purchased on the Historic Annapolis website, www.annapolis.org or by calling 410-267-7619. Light holiday refreshments will be served as guests enjoy the tale of Ebenezer Scrooge, the Cratchit family, and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future. 

The event will take place in the conference room of the James Brice House, a cozy setting, especially when it is lit by candles and decorated with holly. Illustrations from an early edition of Dickens’s original novella will be projected throughout the readings, providing the audience with more visual interpretations of the story.

“The focus of the event really is on Dickens’s language and descriptions,” says Glenn Campbell, Senior Historian at Historic Annapolis. “There are minimal props, costumes, and staging because we want the audience to listen to the words and take in the ambiance.”

Mark Hildebrand is an Annapolitan and the director of several historical documentaries, including Anthem: The Story Behind the Star-Spangled Banner and Brookeville: Capital for a Day. Each year he takes on various roles during the dramatic reading of A Christmas Carol, along with two other performers. His special readings of Dickens’s classic have become a much-loved Annapolis tradition, and this year is sure to be no different.