A DRAMATIC CHRISTMAS CAROL NATICK 2016

Photo Credit: David Krapes

Al LePage lights the way for his one-man show of Dickens' Christmas Carol

"A Dramatic Christmas Carol!", a unique reading of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" will happen on Saturday, Dec. 10 at 2PM in Lebowitz Meeting Hall, lower level of the Morse Institute Library, 14 E Central St, Natick, Massachusetts. Storyteller Al LePage, complete with various English accents and a taste of Victorian-era clothing, will give a dramatic reading performance of his own shortened version based on Dickens historic script. This one-man show is also done in the acting style of Dickens himself, using only voice, facial expressions and gestures to create some 18 characters and tell the story within an hour timespan. Admission is free and the performance is best appreciated by both adults and children age 10 and older. Doors open at 1:30PM and seating is general admission.

Al LePage as "Ebeneezer Scrooge" Photo Credit: David Krapes

Al LePage brings his one man show to town to help prevent hunger close to home

"What in the Dickens am I doing," asks performer Al LePage. "I'm doing a one-man show of A Christmas Carol where I will create some 18 characters! From Scrooge to Tiny Tim, from Marley's Ghost to Mrs. Cratchit, there's howls and growls, bangs and bongs, a dance with a song, some lively laughter and heartfelt tears. And I'm doing it in the style of Dickens, creating all the characters by simply using my voice, gestures, and movements as a dramatic reading performance. The show is also pure Dickens, based on the author's own historic script!"

LePage, a native of Framingham, began bringing history to life through improvised portrayals of real people from the past for over seven years at historic sites, museums, and other venues throughout the Pacific Northwest. He's written and produced his own historical dramas as one-man shows, appeared on the nationally televised PBS “History Detectives” series in roles ranging from a bartender to Robert E. Lee. Oregon Public Broadcasting Radio produced and premiered LePage's own shortened version of Dickens' Christmas Carol as his own one man one-hour radio program in 2010, airing it each year since and just before Christmas Day. He's been giving performances of the Carol to benefit charity in the United States, Canada and England since 2006. In 2011 he traveled to England to perform there for the very first time beginning in the same place and for the same charity that Dickens himself did his own first public reading of the Carol in Birmingham in 1853, and LePage's last performance while in England that year was in the renovated old stables of the historic 16th-century coaching inn in Framlingham, England itself, the very same town after which Framingham, MA was so named.

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Morse Institute Library originally opened its doors to the citizens of Natick on January 1, 1874, and has grown to meet demands for increased library services. In the mid-1980s, it once more needed to expand calling for a major renovation that would provide more space, bring the library into the era of electronic information, allow for handicapped access, and provide the facilities needed to become the cultural and civic center of Natick and into the twenty-first century. The new facility, which opened in April 1997, doubled the space of the original library. It now provides meeting spaces for public use; spacious areas for children's and young adult services; reference and circulation departments with space to expand and the internal technological capabilities to allow the library to meet the growing use of electronic services. Use and support by local organizations and businesses continues to grow with over one thousand meetings held in the meeting halls each year and a growing number of programs co-sponsored by the library, municipal departments and service organizations. Their mission is to provide free access to print and non-print materials and quality reference service to library users of all ages and abilities; to serve as a major educational resource with programs and hands-on learning opportunities for all residents of Natick and the MetroWest area; and to serve as a community and cultural center with meeting and exhibit spaces for individuals as well as municipal and civic groups. The building is completely ADA accessible, and offers a variety of technical aids for the hearing and vision impaired. The operating funds for the library are provided by the Town of Natick. For further information phone 508-647-6520 or visit www.MorseInstitute.org.

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NOTE TO MEDIA: Embedded images are high resolution and offered for free use by the print and online media for stories related to these performances and may be cropped and color-balanced as needed. Please credit the images as noted above for each one.

CAPTION SUGGESTION for IMAGES without captions: Performer Al LePage is sure to bring lots of laughter, and hopefully some tears, during his upcoming dramatic reading performances of Dickens' classic A Christmas Carol.