Director Michael Unger wrapped it up best: “NewArts is back.”

Could any play be a better choice to return to live, in-theater performances than A Christmas Carol? And at Edmond Town Hall?

The vibe for the opening performance on Saturday, December 11, was as comforting as warm fresh pudding. Because, yes indeed, NewArts is back in person. It is back with shine, it is back with energy, and it is back with heart.

As Unger said when welcoming attendees to the first performance, it has been 853 days since the last in-person performance for NewArts, the theatrical arm of The 12.14 Foundation. Virtual performances and other efforts have been presented over that stretch, but Saturday, December 11 was the first time an audience yet again sat in seats, ready to be in “aww” of the talent on display before them.

For those who missed the first weekend’s stagings, not to worry. There are more this weekend with a performance Friday, December 17, at 7 pm; Saturday, December 18, at 2 and 7 pm; and Sunday, December 19, at 2 pm.

Tickets for all performances are $20 for balcony seating, $28 for orchestra/main floor seats. Seating is general admission. Visit newarts.org for additional information and ticket purchases.

And NewArts Director of Operations Ryan Loucks was right: Edmond Town Hall is the place for David Thompson’s adaptation of Charles Dickens’ story of redemption, love, and compassion, as he told The Newtown Bee in a recent interview, newtownbee.com/12042021/this-years-newarts-christmas-carol-may-be-the-first-of-many-on-main-street.

The matinee performance on December 11 marked the first time NewArts has staged a production at Edmond Town Hall, and Unger said “all at ETH” could not be thanked enough for “opening a beautiful home to us.”

The lobby had an auction area set up with all proceeds going to support the “wonderful organization,” Unger said.

Unger expressed his deepest appreciation to 12.14 Foundation founder Dr Michael Baroody, “for all he has offered to the children of this community and for bringing me to what feels like a second home because of the amazing people I have met here.”

Retired Sandy Hook Elementary School music teacher Maryrose Kristopik also received a warm “thank you” from Unger, when he shared that he considers her the heart of the organization.

“We would not be here without her,” said Unger about Kristopik.

As explained by Baroody in a note in the production’s bill, “The 12.14 Foundation was formed following the tragic school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, on December 14, 2012. The following summer, 12.14 set out to provide the community’s youth with an empowered way forward.

“Imagine a world where people see themselves and others in terms of strengths rather than weaknesses; where we focus on commonalities rather than differences; where society values the achievements of overall well-being above all others. Our programs, ARC and NewArts prime children to flourish and achieve overall well-being throughout their lives regardless of the challenges they invariably will face,” Baroody wrote.

Later the note reads, “We are so proud of the cast and crew of A Christmas Carol for growing as individuals, supporting their peers and together, creating something bigger than themselves.

“We are on the road to developing a model program that can help children in communities everywhere. Visit our website 1214foundation.org for more information and to invest in the future.”

Looking back over the last nine years with NewArts, Unger said one of his proudest accomplishments is watching the youngest performers grow and become mentors “to the young people following in their footsteps.”

A Big Announcement

Unger pointed out, some of the artists involved with A Christmas Carol this year, on both sides of the curtain, have been participating with the foundation since its inaugural production of Seussical The Musical in 2013.

“In fact ... I’m proud to announce that NewArts’s 10th [summer] production is coming this summer and it will be Seussical, again,” Unger announced, to audience members claps, cheers, and audible “awws.”

Seeing families become engaged with their performers also gives Unger a sense of pride, he shared, adding that “NewArts is truly a family affair.”

And with that, Unger stepped aside “without further ado,” so the eager audience could witness the joy of the holiday season brought to life by the many local actors, young and adult, involved in the production.

Church-like bells began ringing, a lone tiny fir tree was lit in the center of the stage, and actors began entering the auditorium from the sides. There were frills on skirts, capelets galore, and all of it seemed right at home on the stage of Edmond Town Hall.

The opening scene sucked the audience in so well, that when Ebenezer Scrooge, played by Timothy Huber, knocked over that festive tree, it was as jarring as the words, “Bah humbug.”

In that opening scene it is clear Scrooge has a long journey ahead of him.

It is a worthy afternoon or evening spectacle for the whole family, as exhibited by a large group of children, accompanied by their moms, who were spellbound by the experience at the first staging.

From the heartfelt delivery of the lines, to the mesmerizing theatrics of Scrooge, the play is another NewArts success. The flowing robes of the Ghost of Christmas Future and the shock of a ghost presenting as a doorknocker are not to be missed.

The entire production calls to mind a quote from the original A Christmas Carol, when Scrooge “bah humbugs” Christmas when speaking with his nephew, the nephew responds, that he has always thought of Christmas as “a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely.”

Well done to the cast and crew for creating a heartwarming and inspiring production.

Reporter Eliza Hallabeck can be reached at eliza@thebee.com.