Larry Yando returns as Scrooge, Steve Scott directs the Goodman’s 34th Annual A Christmas Carol

 Young performer auditions take place September 17 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.                                                                                                                      

Chicago, IL –  It’s “Bah, Humbug!” again for acclaimed Chicago actor Larry Yando, who marks his fourth turn as Scrooge in Goodman Theatre’s 34^th installment of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol (November 18 – December 31, 2011). Prolific Chicago director and Goodman Associate Producer Steve Scott directs this holiday classic for the first time in nearly two decades. Bios and photos for the artists can be found in the Goodman Theatre Press Room. Additional casting will be announced at a later date.

Young performers ages 5 to 17 of every ethnic background are invited to audition for roles including Tiny Tim and the Cratchit children on Saturday, September 17 from 10am – 3pm (in-person registration takes place from 9:30 – 11:30am in the Goodman lobby; no phone calls, please). Performers should perform a memorized poem or monologue (one minute or less in length); sing one verse of a song, preferably a traditional holiday song or Christmas carol, without musical accompaniment; and bring a photo and resume including age, height, weight, previous theatrical and related experience/training, address and contact information.

Tickets for A Christmas Carol (starting at $25 – $80) go on sale Friday, July 29 for Goodman subscribers and groups only. General public can buy tickets starting August 19 (web) and August 22 (phone) at GoodmanTheatre.org, at the box office (170 N. Dearborn) or by phone at 312.443.3800. Harris Bank is the Major Corporate Sponsor and Aon Corporation is the Corporate Sponsor Partner.

More than 1 million people have experienced A Christmas Carol at Goodman Theatre, “year after year…the crown jewel of the holiday season” (Daily Herald). Over three decades the show has hosted six directors, eight Scrooges, 29 Tiny Tims, and nearly 20,000 “Bah, Humbug!”s. A Christmas Carol is the tale of the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge, who is opposed to holiday cheer and indifferent to the sufferings of the poor in Victorian London. Scrooge is visited by four ghosts who offer him the opportunity to sympathize with his fellow man. Dickens’ famous characters include Scrooge’s kind-hearted clerk, Bob Cratchit, and his family, including Tiny Tim; the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future; the merry-making Fezziwig couple; and the Ghost of Jacob Marley.

Goodman Theatre, “the leading regional theater in the nation’s most important theater city” (Time), is a major cultural, educational and economic pillar in Chicago, generating nearly $300 million in economic impact over the past decade in its state-of-the-art two-theater complex on North Dearborn Street. Founded in 1925 and currently under the leadership of Artistic Director Robert Falls, “Chicago’s most essential director” (Chicago Tribune), and Executive Director Roche Schulfer, Chicago’s oldest and largest not-for-profit resident theater has experienced unprecedented success over the past 10 years in its new downtown facility, welcoming nearly two million patrons to productions and events—including 10 festivals celebrating playwrights such as David Mamet, August Wilson and Horton Foote, as well as the biennial Latino Theatre Festival—serving students through its Education and Community Engagement programs (including the FREE Student Subscription Series and other interactive programs) and employing more than 3,000 artists and theater professionals. The Goodman has earned more than 90 awards for hundreds of productions, including the Pulitzer Prize for Ruined by Lynn Nottage—one of 25 new-work Goodman commissions in the last decade. The Chairman of Goodman Theatre’s Board of Trustees is Patricia Cox and Joan Clifford is President of the Women’s Board. American Airlines is the Exclusive Airline of Goodman Theatre. 

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