Krannert Center for the Performing Arts is offering four exclusive performances of a world premiere, online event for audiences of all ages of Manual Cinema’s take on the Dickens classic A Christmas Carol.
Manual is a Chicago-based, interdisciplinary performance collective that’s best known to Krannert audiences from its 2018 production of No Blue Memories — The Life of Gwendolyn Brooks. Its latest venture is a visually and musically inventive adaptation that will be streamed into homes around the world.
Shows are scheduled for Dec. 5 at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m., and Dec. 6 at 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. Tickets are $15 per household; visit KrannertCenter.com for student rates and to purchase tickets for the event that will last less than an hour.
Following the Dec. 6 matinee, audiences are invited to join a short behind-the-scenes experience that will highlight the innovative artistry of Manual Cinema’s puppets and props.
In this contemporary take on the classic, Aunt Trudy, an avowed holiday skeptic, has been recruited to channel her late husband Joe’s famous Christmas cheer. From the isolation of her Chicago apartment, she reconstructs his annual A Christmas Carol puppet show — over a Zoom call while the family celebrates Christmas Eve under lockdown. But as Trudy becomes more absorbed in her own version of the story, the puppets take on a life of their own, and the family’s call transforms into a stunning, cinematic adaptation of Dickens’ classic ghost story. Performed live and streamed live from their Chicago studio, the performances feature hundreds of paper puppets, miniatures, silhouettes, and a live, original musical score.
Tickets for Manual Cinema’s Christmas Carol with either closed captioning or audio descriptions are available for purchase here. Both prerecorded options will be available for viewing on Dec. 9.