Murphys, CA…All they wanted to do was put on a nice little Christmas play…what they got was a “Christmas Carol” you’ve got to see to believe. On November 30, Murphys Creek Theatre unveils its final offering in what has become a landmark season with new Artistic Director Robbie Allen at the helm. “Inspecting Carol” is the perfect comic antidote to the hustle, bustle and blues of the holidays.

The Union Democrat called the play “riotously funny” and a “well-paced mix of slapstick and wit that is packed with laughs and is a great holiday stress-reliever”. The Modesto Bee chimed in with “an uproarious Christmas comedy…‘Inspecting Carol’ is pure bliss”. The Sierra Lodestar dubbed it “sheer holiday hilarity”.

The play was written by Daniel Sullivan and members of the Seattle Repertory Theater who no doubt had a variety of real “Christmas Carol” disasters in mind when they concocted this fictional one.

The ‘Soap Box Playhouse’ is trying to mount its production of ‘A Christmas Carol’ for the umpteenth time. No problem. They could do it their sleep. What could possibly go wrong? The answer is, of course, everything – and then some. We can’t tell you much, suffice to say the comic results are…well…devastating.

Don Bilotti directs the show and is thrilled to be back directing big-time comedy. “I love directing the big, important dramas that have been my stock-in-trade for some years now, but it’s so much fun to let all that bottled-up silliness loose on the world every once in awhile.”, he says.

“This is pure, large-cast situational comedy, where one unfortunate circumstance gets piled on another and the harder the characters try to make things better, the worse things get. The roles are delicious and it’s so much fun to work on. Plus, I’ve been lucky to land a cast chock full of the best comic actors in the region.”

From Zorah, the excitable artistic director (“She’s Lithuanian.”), to Larry, the leading actor who wants to perform the entire role of Scrooge in Spanish, to Luther, who has played Tiny Tim so long that Bob Cratchit can’t even lift him anymore, to Walter, the company’s first African-American actor who finds himself playing an all-white ghost, this hapless troupe of players finds itself in a mounting series of disasters and mistaken identities that goes from bad to worse and downhill from there.

To complicate matters, the company finds itself flat broke with only one slim hope of survival. The National Endowment for the Arts is sending one last inspector to view their work. If only they can put on “the best ‘Carol’ the country has ever seen”, they will be saved. They do their best and the result is pure hilarity.

Maryann Curmi plays Zorah, the director of the Soapbox Playhouse. “I’ve given them everything they’ve asked for and now they want, what? Quality? We never get a break do we?” Zorah – at the end of her short, Lithuanian rope – pleads.

Curmi, who has made quite a name for herself as a multi-talented actor and director, returns with a vengeance to one of her favorite roles.

Michael Crich is Larry, the recalcitrant Scrooge and one of the principal troublemakers of the company.

Sean Lewis plays Wayne Wellacre, the timid aspiring actor and erstwhile data processer who stumbles into the Soapbox playhouse and the comic adventure of a lifetime.

Sally McClellan is Dorothy Tree Hapgood, the daffy Grand Dame of the company and Jake Edmondson is Sidney Carlton her not-so-perfect husband and doddering company veteran.

Mike Moon plays Kevin, the unfortunate business manager of the company. Kirk Summers takes the role of Phil, the self-important and accident-prone leading man. Sarah Grimes-Emmons is MJ, the loveable-in-a-sarcastic-way stage manager.

Sean-Pierre Fox-Wilson is Walter the newest actor in the company who gets a lot more – or less – than he bargained for. Newcomer Aidan Seay plays Luther, the pesky Tiny Tim who has outgrown both the role and his costume. David Vershay as Bart and Emily Graham round out the troupe.

The surprising set is designed by Micki Dambacher and props are provided by Linda Glick and Dambacher. Costumes are courtesy of Kathleen Lowe and Linda Glick.

This production is rated PG-13 for some comic adult language. If you had the same troubles as these folks, you’d cuss too.

November 30-December 23 Fridays and Saturdays @ 7:00pm Sundays @ 2pm 580 S. Algiers Street Murphys CA 209-728-8422 Opening weekend features a special Bring A Friend for Free- patrons can by 2 general admission tickets for the price of one, by using the voucher code SCROOGE when booking in advance.

Tickets available at www.murphyscreektheatre.org or www.facebook.com/murphyscreektheatre

$24 GENERAL, $22 SENIORS AND STUDENTS, $12 children 12 and under

This event repeats weekly every Sunday until 12/24/2018