"A {15-Min!} Christmas Carol"

"We've been hosting Holiday parties for years, but having New York Classical Theatre perform A {15-MIN!} Christmas Carol made this year a truly magical evening."
Robert Treuhold, Partner, Shearman & Sterling LLP

"A bite-sized version of an indispensable classic… fun, festive, wildly inventive theatre."
Debra Simon, Vice-President, Arts Brookfield

Travel back in time to Victorian England where ghosts, time travel, and memories help a cold and lonely old miser regain his heart.

New York Classical Theatre presents A {15-min!} Christmas Carol, a rollicking, fast-paced version of Dickens's beloved classic performed by just two actors!

This fifteen-minute production featuring Scrooge, Marley, Cratchit, Fezziwig, Tiny Tim, and all of Dickens's best-loved characters will unfold among your holidays guests in the company’s signature staging style, Panoramic Theatre.

The 13-year-old New York Classical Theatre, described as “a moveable feast” by The New York Times, has won widespread praise for its roving productions of classical plays in Central Park, Battery Park, and the World Financial Center, where standing-room-only audiences were treated recently to a flight of short comedies by the iconic French playwright Molire.

This past summer, the company presented Shakespeare's Twelfth Night in Central Park set against a backdrop of waterfalls, bridges, and shady groves, and Battery Park, featuring Castle Clinton and views of the New York Harbor and the Statue of Liberty.

“The holidays are the busiest time of year, and what better way to enjoy a moment's reprieve than with a bite-sized version of an indispensable season classic," said Debra Simon, Vice President of Arts Brookfield. "We look forward to offering audiences an opportunity to catch some fun, festive, wildly inventive theater."

New York Classical Theatre founder and artistic director Stephen Burdman will directs. Scrooge will be played by John Michalski, a New York Classical Theatre veteran who appeared as Claudius in the company's acclaimed World Financial Center production of Hamlet. Tackling the role of Charles Dickens and the rest of the cast (thirteen roles) will be Brendan McMahon, who appeared in last season’s Playing Moliere in the Winter Garden as well as on on stages throughout New York, including Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, Ensemble Studio Theatre, and St. Ann's Warehouse.

Since 2000, nearly 125,000 people have enjoyed our performances all across Manhattan. To date, we have staged 29 productions including A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Tragedy of Macbeth (Central Park), King Ubu, Twelfth Night, The Taming of the Shrew, Much Ado About Nothing, The Triumph of Love, The Winter's Tale, The Feigned Courtesans, As You Like It, Scapin, All's Well That Ends Well, Mary Stuart, The Comedy of Errors, Love's Labour's Lost, The Recruiting Officer, Cymbeline, The Tragedy of Macbeth (Battery Park), Misalliance, King Lear (Central Park & Battery Park), Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, Richard III, Much Ado About Nothing (Battery Park & Central Park), The Rover, The School for Husbands, Henry V (Battery Park & Governors Island), Playing Moliere, Twelfth Night (Central Park & Battery Park) and A {15-MIN!} Christmas Carol.

Each season New York Classical Theatre presents free panoramic productions of classical theatre in Central Park, Battery Park and at the World Financial Center. Our audiences are active spectators and part of the movement of the production, much like another cast member.

By removing plays from traditional performing venues and adapting them for public spaces, we serve a broad demographic of our urban community, spanning all ages, a diversity of ethnic and racial backgrounds, and various income levels. We have emerged as an invaluable addition to New York City's theatrical landscape as well as an important artistic and educational resource to its community.

Our popular pre-performance workshops accompany each of our productions and are lead by the actors before selected performances. As with all our programming, workshops are open and free to the public.

New York Classical Theatre is proud of the critical acclaim it has received in the media. The New York Times called us "a movable feast! All the park's a stage!" Donna Karger from New York 1's On Stage described us as, "A moving experience in more ways than one." WABC Eyewitness News, Fox 5 News, WNBC, WB11 Morning News, NY1 News and Good Day New York (Channel 5) have run wonderful features on our productions. We have also been seen in The New Yorker, New York Magazine, Time Out-New York, The Village Voice, New York Daily News, The New York Observer, The New York Sun, New York Post, New York Family Magazine and many more.