New Jersey Stage logo
New Jersey Stage Menu


?>

 

McCarter Theatre presents "A Christmas Carol" starring Joel McKinnon Miller

originally published: 11/06/2023

Rafaella Mousa as Tiny Tim and Joel McKinnon Miller as Scrooge, photo by Frank Wojciechowski

(PRINCETON, NJ) -- McCarter Theatre presents A Christmas Carol, starring veteran stage and screen actor Joel McKinnon Miller (Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Big Love) as Scrooge. For more than four decades, McCarter has welcomed more than a million audience members from across Central New Jersey and beyond to experience Charles Dickens' timeless classic. Follow Ebenezer Scrooge on a fantastical journey through Christmases past, present, and future with this family friendly production that runs December 6-24, 2023 in the Matthews Theatre.

“Since 1980, McCarter’s A Christmas Carol has been a beacon of holiday cheer and a celebration of our community. I think a lot about what it means to connect across differences. This story reminds us that it’s not too late to change or to welcome someone back to the table. If Scrooge can change, if his community can give him another chance – then just imaging what is possible for us,” said Artistic Director Sarah Rasmussen. “Whether it is your first time attending or your fortieth, thank you for gathering with us to tell this story.”

Audiences can expect inventive new special effects, music, dancing, and a brand new lobby experience featuring a Tree of Giving, local school and community choirs on select dates, festive photo ops, themed drinks, and more.

“So many members of this community have shared their first McCarter Carol memory with me from when they were young,” said Executive Director Martin Miller. “It’s incredible to see them now as parents giving the same gift to their kids, years later, alongside new families finding their place around the table with the Cratchits for the first time. From the choirs and hot chocolate in the lobbies to the reunions with friends and family in the seats, even before the show begins, A Christmas Carol will warm the Matthews Theatre from the inside out this year.”

Joel McKinnon Miller stars as Ebenezer Scrooge. The ensemble includes Alex Brightwell, Gisela Chípe, Kenneth De Abrew, Grayson DeJesus, Julie Ann Earls, Jennie Greenberry, Maria Habeeb, Polly Lee, Stephen Conrad Moore, Vilma Silva, and Stephen Michael Spencer.




Promote your shows at New Jersey Stage! Click here for info



The Young Ensemble – a group of nine young actors from the local community – includes Tarini Dhillon, Mariella Giordano, Brooke Ginsberg, Adriella Ann Goncalves, Yoyo Huang, Zayda Knowles, Rafella Mousa, and Nathaniel Updegraff.

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens is adapted and directed by Lauren Keating with musical direction by Chris Frisco and choreography by Emily Maltby. The production team also includes Casting Director Judy Bowman, Costume Designer Linda Cho, Production Stage Manager Alison Cote, Vocal and Dialect Coach Nathan C. Crocker, Production Assistant Alexandria Griner, Sound Designer and Composer Palmer Hefferan, Assistant Director Ashley Mapley-Brittle, Child Supervisor Jackie Mercer, Scenic Designer Daniel Ostling, Assistant Stage Manager Carolyn Reich, Dance Arranger Patrick Sulken, and Hair, Wig, and Makeup Designer Carissa Thorlakson.

McCarter's cast of 2022 A Christmas Carol, photo by Matt Pilsner

TICKETS: Performances of A Christmas Carol are scheduled from December 6 through December 24. Tickets start at $35 and are now on sale at www.mccarter.org/achristmascarol or can be purchased by calling the Patron Services Office at 609-258-2787. Groups of at least 10 can save 10% off tickets and Groups of 20 or more can save 15% (zone restrictions apply.)

Princeton University students can access free tickets with Passport to the Arts using code PUTIGER. More information on PU Student Tix for events at McCarter can be found at www.mccarter.org/tigertix.

High School and College students can access $25 tickets in advance with code STUTIX. Tickets can be picked up prior to the performance with a valid student ID.



Important Dates

Preview Performances – December 6 and 7




Promote your shows at New Jersey Stage! Click here for info



Opening Night – December 8 

Relaxed Performance – December 10 at 1:00pm

American Sign Language Interpreted Performance – December 16 at 1:00pm

Open Caption and Audio Described Performance – December 17 at 1:00pm



Enhance Your Experience

Caroling in the Lobby: December 7, 15, 20, and 21, preshow

Thursday, December 7 – Princeton Apprentice Choir from Westrick Academy

Friday, December 15 – Allentown High School Choir

Wednesday, December 20 – Princeton Girlchoir from Westrick Academy

Thursday, December 21 – Princeton Young Men’s Ensemble from Westrick Academy






Promote your shows at New Jersey Stage! Click here for info



8th Annual A Christmas Carol Family Read-Aloud

Sunday, December 3 at 2:00pm, Princeton Public Library – Community Room. Free Event. The perfect precursor and compliment to the full performance, all are invited to meet in-person and read aloud Dickens’ Victorian masterpiece from start to finish. All reading levels are welcome.  Sign-up to read at www.mccarter.org/achristmascarol

FEATURED EVENTS

ART | COMEDY | DANCE | FILM | MUSIC | THEATRE | COMMUNITY

To narrow results by date range, categories,
or region of New Jersey
click here for our advanced search.


Crossroads

Crossroads Theatre Company presents Genesis Festival of New Plays: Silma Sierra Berrada's PEARLS

Wednesday, April 02, 2025 @ 7:00pm
New Brunswick Performing Arts Center (NBPAC)
11 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ 08901
category: theatre


 

George

George Street Playhouse presents "King James"

Wednesday, April 02, 2025 @ 7:30pm
New Brunswick Performing Arts Center (NBPAC)
11 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ 08901
category: theatre


 

Legacy

Legacy of Light

Wednesday, April 02, 2025 @ 7:30pm
McCarter Theatre Center (Matthews Theater)
91 University Place, Princeton, NJ 08540
category: theatre


 

Crossroads

Crossroads Theatre Company presents Genesis Festival of New Plays: Jamie Goodwin's in shame & in pride: a biomythography

Thursday, April 03, 2025 @ 7:00pm
New Brunswick Performing Arts Center (NBPAC)
11 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ 08901
category: theatre


 

STOMP

STOMP

Thursday, April 03, 2025 @ 7:30pm
Count Basie Center for the Arts
99 Monmouth Street, Red Bank, NJ 07701
category: theatre


 

EVENT PREVIEWS

Crossroads

Crossroads Theatre Company presents The Genesis Festival of New Plays This Week

(NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ) -- Crossroads Theatre Company presents The Genesis Festival of New Plays from April 2-7, 2025 at the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center. This year's line up includes: Pearls by Silma Sierra Berrada; in shame & in pride: a biomythography by Jamie Goodwin; The Carelessness of Love by Michael Dinwiddie; and hop tha A by James Anthony Tyler.



Kean

Kean Theatre Conservatory presents "They Promised Her the Moon"

(UNION, NJ) -- Kean Theatre Conservatory presents They Promised Her the Moon from April 4-12, 2025. The play by Laurel Ollstein takes place in 1961 when the first American woman to test for space flight stepped into an isolation tank for a record-breaking nine hours, outlasting all of the men in NASA's emerging Mercury 7 program.



Ayhan

Ayhan Hulagu to Bring Traditional Turkish Theater to Princeton University

(PRINCETON, NJ) -- 700-year-old traditional Turkish Theatre in America. Recognized by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage, Turkish shadow theater will be showcased at Princeton University. Actor and playwright Ayhan Hulagu adapts the 700-year-old Karagöz tradition in The Forest of the Witch for American audiences.



"The

"The Wind in the Willows" to be Performed at RVCC

(BRANCHBURG, NJ) -- Raritan Valley Community College's Arts & Design department will present The Wind in the Willows by Ken Grahame, April 9-11, 2025. The production, which is free of charge and open to the public, will be staged in the Welpe Theatre at the College's Branchburg campus. Showtime is 7:00pm each night.



King James

'King James' at GSP – Entertaining, Clever, and Heartwarming

One of the great gifts a person can have in life is a good friendship. Once found, we are fortunate if it continues to develop and thrive for a long time. This is what happens in the play King James, currently playing at George Street Playhouse. Written by Rajiv Joseph, the show centers around a friendship which develops due to the amazing career of NBA superstar LeBron James. The friendship is between two young men who both love basketball. But it becomes more than that as it goes on.