| The Christmas
Carol Project -------------------- December 5th & 6th, 2008 Northen Arts & Cultural Centre Yellowknife, NWT -------------------- Saturday, December 27th, 2008 @ 8 pm Francis Winspear Centre for Music 9720 - 102 Avenue Edmonton, AB $27 advance / $32 at door (does not include service charge) presented by the Sasquatch Community Arts Society
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"Songs of the Christmas Carol Project" |
"Songs of the Christmas Carol Project" is a live recording produced by Colin Lay.
The album features 21 songs from the show and is currently available on-line through
Maple Music .comMEDIA QUOTES
"The very notion of writing a musical version of A Christmas Carol seems like madness. But it's divine madness. The album features brilliant local people like Bill Bourne and Maria Dunn on songs that manage to capture the spirit of Christmas and the spirit of the Charles Dickens story without being the least bit corny or maudlin about it. It's "haunting." Ho, ho, ho ...
- Mike Ross, Edmonton Sun 12/05/2004"After nine years of putting music to the best-loved Christmas story ever, Edmonton's finest roots music artists are back at it, onstage and now on record ... It's the same show from Brass Monkey Productions that started off as a single-shot effort at Catalyst Theatre in 1996, still featuring the likes of Bill Bourne as Ebenezer Scrooge and narration by actor Kenneth Brown.
The show has moved around a bit since then and grown a little longer, but the cast still includes the original artists, some of the city's best-known singer-songwriters: Al Brant, Kevin Cook, Maria Dunn, Dale Ladouceur, Terry Morrison, Tom Roschkov and drummer Bill Hobson. They're featured in a fashion that captures their individual strengths for a collective effect that's greater than anything a typical band might muster.
... while this is a roots-oriented production with a largely acoustic feel, it's surprising to hear the eclectic range of performers and musical styles again. For instance, Roschkov's early guitar song Better Way has a delicate bluesy feel, while his number Bad, Bad Man gets a little funky with a hip, sardonic tone and touches of plugged-in distortion. Dunn spins her accordion into a Celtic-styled reverie on God Bless Us Everyone. Later, Bourne turns Scrooge's plea for his future, Down On My Knees Jacob, into something of a gospel tune. Along with a lot of tasty guitar work from various cast members, Ladouceur's stick also adds a lot of atmospheric punctuation to the darker story elements.
- Roger Levesque, Edmonton Journal 12/14/2004
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Since its inception in 1996, this new musical adaptation of Dickens' classic tale has become an annual folk roots tradition. The show features an extremely talented cast of Edmonton-based musicians who have created an amazing collection of songs - written from the perspectives of their character parts.
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The History The Christmas Carol project premiered at the Catalyst Theatre in Edmonton in December of 1996. Despite a bitterly cold (- 40 C) evening, the show was a sold out success.
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The second run in 1997 was highly acclaimed by audiences and media, alike.
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Once again at Catalyst in 1998, the Christmas Carol Project quickly sold out 2 shows
on December 18th & 19th and a third show was added on December 20th.
The Saturday night performance was recorded by Rick Fenton and
broadcast by CBC Radio One on December 23rd & 25th.
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The 4th Annual Christmas Carol Project 1999 was presented by
THEATrePUBLIC
on Saturday evening, December 18th
and Sunday afternoon, December 19th
at the Citadel's McLab Theatre in Edmonton, AB.
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In the year 2000, the Christmas Carol Project moved to the Roxy and was presented by
THEATrePUBLIC and Brass Monkey Productions
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The 6th Annual Christmas Carol Project
ran from December 19th - 22nd ~ Live at the Roxy
The weekend shows were oversold.
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For the 7th year, an extra show was added on Sunday and the 5 night run saw full houses every evening. Three new songs were added to the show courtesy of Maria, Dale & Ken.
December 18th - 22nd, 2002
Many thanks to Mike Bradford (and Noel & Bob) for great sound
and many thanks to Colin Lay for mixing opening night
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since its inception, this Project has been generously assisted by
MB Productions
& Tribal Treats Photography
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The 8th Annual Christmas Carol Project was the most successful run to date
with 5 evening shows & a Saturday matinee
December 17th - 21st, 2003
Over 1000 people attended the performances and all 6 shows were mixed and recorded by Colin Lay, Big Weather Productions. Many thanks to Mike Bradford at Allstar for the gear.
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The 9th annual Christmas Carol was attended by over 1100 people over 7 shows between December 14th - 19th, 2004.
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2005 10th Anniversary Performances Yukon Arts Centre, White Horse, YT
December 13th & 14th 7:30 pm each night
www.yukonartscentre.org
Roxy Theatre, Edmonton, AB
Evening shows December 16th - 18th & 21st - 23rd 8 pm each night
afternoon matinee Saturday, December 17th at 2 pm
Theatre Network ~ live at the Roxy
http://www.theatrenetwork.ca/===================
In 2006, Bellstruck Productions Inc. produced
The Carol Project
a television version of the Christmas Carol Project
as well as 7 live performances at the Roxy Theatre
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2007 shows
December 14th to 16th *
& December 19th to 22nd
* matinee only on December 16th
Roxy Theatre
Theatre Network
10708 - 124 Street
Edmonton, AB
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The Artists Bill Bourne as Ebenezer Scrooge
http://www.billbourne.com
Contact guitarzz@telus.netTom Roschkov as Bob Cratchit
Tom Roschkov at Brassmonkey
Contact roschkov@telus.netKevin Cook as the Ghost of Marley
http://www.kevincookmusic.com
Contact kevincook100@hotmail.comTerry Morrison as the Ghost of Xmas Past
http://www.terrymorrison.net
Contact terry@terrymorrison.netAl Brant as the Ghost of Xmas Present
http://www.albrant.ca
Contact brantsongs@hotmail.comDale Ladouceur as the Ghost of Xmas Future
The Mavens (featuring Dale Ladouceur) at Crowtown Productions
Contact studio@crowtown.comBill Hobson on Drums & Percussion
Contact studio@crowtown.comMaria Dunn as Tiny Tim
http://www.mariadunn.com
Contact distantwhisper@mariadunn.comand Kenneth Brown, narration & vocals
Contact theatrepublic@hotmail.com
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The Links Here are a few links that relate
to Charles Dickens and The Christmas Carol story....This page has the entire text of the Christmas Carol...
Dickens' Christmas Carol
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The Dickens' Project at The University of California
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This site, Dickens Page, has amazing resources:
Dickens Research
A Christmas Carol Research
