A Christmas Carol

We had the fantastic opportunity to go see “A Christmas Carol” at the American Shakespeare Center in Staunton, VA. (Pronounced “Stanton.”) Staunton is only an hour from Massadoah, so we headed out there for the night, and met up with a group of homeschoolers the next morning for the 10:30 showing.

I was surprised and tickled to recognize one of the actors when he walked on stage. P. Midge is a CrossFitter who trained with us here in Reston for several months. Though exciting for me, the kids were entranced by the play for different reasons.

Staged in Elizabethan Theatre style, the lights are left on, and the actors interact with the audience. For this production, there was a trapdoor in the floor where some scary things crawled out. The Buster especially found the Ghost of Christmas Future frightening. He and Yessa were both snuggled in my lap for this part, and Buster kept asking of the mute, black-cloth-draped Ghost, “Is it going to make any sudden moves? Is it going to do anything?” The Ghost remained mute and immobile, but it was stressful for the kids.

The play had some funny, interesting sections, and Zoe caught onto those.

I’d love to go back again and take Buds. The theater is beautiful and the acting was excellent. It seems they frequently, or maybe even always, offer a “Pay What You Will” showing early in the run of each play, which would be a great way for us to see wonderful plays.

Merry Christmas to us all, and God bless us, every one.