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A Christmas Carol Social Media Night and Cleveland Winterfest

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Julie Smith
Stuart O. Smith, Jr.
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Great Lakes Theater

A Christmas Carol 25th Anniversary Social Media Night
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We were so excited! This year, in addition to our annual visit to the great Cleveland Winterfest (which seems to be getting bigger and better each year), we were invited for a private backstage tour and viewing of Great Lakes Theater's production of A Christmas Carol. This was a special Social Media Night at A Christmas Carol tour for Cleveland bloggers to learn about the 25th anniversary production of this great Cleveland tradition.

A Christmas Carol 25th Anniversary Social Media Night

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The MusiGals, a women's choir of which Julie is a member, performed before the matinee, which was the first public showing of the 25th annual production of A Christmas Carol. Therefore, we took in the early show, while the rest of the bloggers attended the evening performance. This worked well for us, since it allowed us to make a day of it, and still attend some of the Cleveland Winterfest activities. It was a big day in downtown Cleveland, and we were glad to be part of it.

Before we arrived, we knew that the MusiGals and NEOVocE were performing for the matinee and that the Hathaway Brown (@HathawayBrown) Bravuras were performing before the evening show. We had assumed that these performances were because this was opening day for the this special 25th anniversary show, but we learned that this was not the case. The Great Lakes Theater staff has worked to line up local choirs to perform in the theater's beautiful lobby before each show. This extra effort to set the Christmas mood by having a decorated lobby and live choir is a nice touch that we really appreciated. It really gets you in the holiday spirit before seeing A Christmas Carol.

 

Watching the show, we were surprised by how many lines we knew, but this is the type of show where you enjoy the interesting telling of the tale. It was a very well done production.

We have enjoyed backstage tours of Playhouse Square (@PlayhouseSquare) in the past, but to tour the Ohio Theatre the same day as enjoying a live show on that same stage was extra special. (Be sure to learn more by reading our blog post: Ohio Blogging Association Theatre Tour with Playhouse Square Partners.) We originally met doing community theater work, so we especially enjoyed seeing the backstage secrets of this professional production.

Here is our video from the tour showing the testing of a trapdoor. (Star Trek fans, note the shirt worn by the stagehand.)

Our photos from our visit to the Ohio Theatre will show you the lobby activities and our backstage tour.

Please also note the photos of some of the sponsors of A Christmas Carol, including Cuyahoga Arts & Culture (@CuyArtsC), The Cleveland Foundation (@CleveFoundation), and Ohio Arts Council (@OhioArtsCouncil). We have attended so many great events this past year that would not have been possible without sponsors such as these. They really increase the quality of life for us and for others in Cleveland.

We also want to thank Audience Engagement Manager Chris Fornadel for inviting us to the Social Media Night, and Marketing and Public Relations Director Todd Krispinsky for the great backstage tour!

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Great Lakes Theater Photos/Video for A Christmas Carol 25th Anniversary

Of course we could not take photos of the great sets and costumes during the performance of A Christmas Carol, so we appreciate that we are able to share with you the Great Lakes Theater's (@GLTFCleveland) official photos and theater program. Also, here is the video used to promote this special 25th anniversary production.

 

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Great Lakes Theater rings in the holiday season with its 25th anniversary production of Charles Dickens' holiday classic "A Christmas Carol" at the Ohio Theatre, PlayhouseSquare. (Photo by Roger Mastroianni)The Cleaveland family celebrates the holiday season by enjoying Charles Dickens' classic "A Christmas Carol", as read by Mother Cleaveland (actor Laura Welsh Berg, center) in Great Lakes Theater's 25th anniversary production of Charles Dickens' holiday classic "A Christmas Carol" at the Ohio Theatre, PlayhouseSquare. (Photography by Roger Mastroianni)Actor Aled Davies stars as Ebenezer Scrooge in Great Lakes Theater's 25th anniversary production of Charles Dickens' holiday classic "A Christmas Carol" at the Ohio Theatre, PlayhouseSquare. (Photography by Roger Mastroianni)Actor Aled Davies stars as Ebenezer Scrooge in Great Lakes Theater's 25th anniversary production of Charles Dickens' holiday classic "A Christmas Carol" at the Ohio Theatre, PlayhouseSquare. (Photography by Roger Mastroianni)The Ghost of Jacob Marley (actor Lynn Robert Berg, left) warns Ebenezer Scrooge (actor Aled Davies, right) to change his ways in Great Lakes Theater's 25th anniversary production of Charles Dickens’ holiday classic "A Christmas Carol" at the Ohio Theatre, PlayhouseSquare. (Photography by Roger Mastroianni)The Ghost of Jacob Marley (actor Lynn Robert Berg) warns Ebenezer Scrooge to change his ways in Great Lakes Theater's 25th anniversary production of Charles Dickens’ holiday classic "A Christmas Carol" at the Ohio Theatre, PlayhouseSquare. (Photography by Roger Mastroianni)Mr. Fezziwig (actor Darryl Lewis, center) makes merry with his party guests in Great Lakes Theater's 25th anniversary production of Charles Dickens' holiday classic "A Christmas Carol" at the Ohio Theatre, PlayhouseSquare. (Photography by Roger Mastroianni)Bob Cratchit (actor J. Todd Adams) lifts Tiny Tim (actor Catcher Sawyer) as Cratchit family members celebrate the occasion in Great Lakes Theater's 25th anniversary production of Charles Dickens' holiday classic "A Christmas Carol" at the Ohio Theatre, PlayhouseSquare. (Photography by Roger Mastroianni)The Ghost of Christmas Present (actor David Anthony Smith) makes an impressive and magical entrance in Great Lakes Theater's 25th anniversary production of Charles Dickens' holiday classic "A Christmas Carol" at the Ohio Theatre, PlayhouseSquare. (Photography by Roger Mastroianni)The Ghost of Christmas Present (actor David Anthony Smith, center) takes Ebenezer Scrooge (actor Aled Davies) on an unforgettable journey in Great Lakes Theater's 25th anniversary production of Charles Dickens' holiday classic "A Christmas Carol" at the Ohio Theatre, PlayhouseSquare. (Photography by Roger Mastroianni)The Ghost of Christmas Present (actor David Anthony Smith, above) looms over Ignorance (actor Louisiana Audrey Sawyer) and Want (actor Cassidy Josephine Nelson) in Great Lakes Theater's 25th anniversary production of Charles Dickens' holiday classic "A Christmas Carol" at the Ohio Theatre, PlayhouseSquare. (Photography by Roger Mastroianni)Actor Aled Davies stars as Ebenezer Scrooge in Great Lakes Theater's 25th anniversary production of Charles Dickens' holiday classic "A Christmas Carol" at the Ohio Theatre, PlayhouseSquare. (Photography by Roger Mastroianni)

 

Cleveland Winterfest

Our photos and Stuart's @sos_jr tweets and retweets do a good job of summarizing our day. We loved the Cleveland Playhouse (@ClevePlayHouse) Festival of Trees, the shops and decorations in the 5th Street Arcades (@5thStArcades), the holiday lights and window displays on Public Square, and much more! The best part, for those of you who were not able to attend the Cleveland Winterfest, is that most all of what we saw is still happening in downtown Cleveland through the end of the year.

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Our day as seen on Twitter:

What Others Are Saying

Here are some other articles we found about Great Lakes Theater's A Christmas Carol and Cleveland's Winterfest.

 

Since we did not get to see everything from this year's Cleveland Winterfest, we want to invite you to also see our Cleveland Winterfest 2012 blog post that shows even more of what happens at a Cleveland Winterfest.

 

 

Disclosure: As bloggers, we were guests of Great Lakes Theater for the show, receiving two play tickets, four drink tickets (which we did not have time to use), a private backstage tour, and purchased two tickets at a discounted rate. We enjoyed the show and wrote this blog to share our experience and our opinion of the performance. We were also guests of the theater in the past for their first social media night for Blithe Spirit and for their Sweeney Todd Social Media Night.