and
The Hermitage
Present
Dickens Presents
A Christmas Carol
December 14, 15, 21 & 22, 2024
Adapted from Charles Dickens
by Jean Oberholtzer
Directed by Frank Farrell
Music and Sound Effects by Ben Masterton
Characters and Actors
Edward (Dickens's Son), Tiny Tim, Spirit 3, Boy in Street
Susie Bellin
Dora (Dickens's Daughter), Scrooge’s Fiancée, Belinda Cratchit, Fred’s Wife
Isabella Chang
Catherine (Dickens's Daughter), Fred, Peter Cratchit, Fezziwig
Danielle MacMath
Sally Austin (Letitia's Daughter), First Man, Fan (Scrooge's Sister), Martha Cratchit
Kailey Merida
Letitia Austin (Dickens's Sister), Mrs. Cratchit, Second Man
Pamela Molinari
William Macready, Ebenezer Scrooge
Martin Pfefferkorn
Mamie (Dickens's Daughter), Bob Cratchit, Marley’s Ghost
Pranathi Santosh
Charles Dickens, Narrator, Spirit 1, Spirit 2
Jake Solari
WHO’S WHO IN
DICKENS PRESENTS A CHRISTMAS CAROL
SUSIE BELLIN (Edward Dickens, Tiny Tim, Spirit 3, Boy in Street) is a seventh grader with a passion for all things creative. She loves performing, writing, drawing, crochet and animation. Never shying from the spotlight, Susie shines brightest when sharing her talents with others. Want a crochet rainbow frog? She’s your girl! She is very grateful for the unwavering support of her family and friends, who have attended every one of her performances over the years. As always, Susie dedicates this performance to her beloved guinea pigs, Spots and Chips.
ISABELLA CHANG (Dora Dickens, Scrooge’s Fiancée, Belinda Cratchit, Fred’s Wife) is excited to be performing with First Flight Theatre Company in Dickins’ Presents A
Christmas Carol. Most recently, she appeared as Juliet in Romeo and Juliet with Boomerang Theater Company in Central Park. Other theater credits include Steel Magnolias (Shelby) and Clue (Yvette) at Sierra Repertory Theater, 4000 Miles (Amanda) at Palm Beach Dramaworks, and A Christmas Carol (Alice) at Milwaukee Repertory Theater. Isabella received her BA in Theater and Performance Studies from the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom. Instagram: @bellatchang Website: isabellatchang.com
CHARLES DICKENS (Author of A Christmas Carol) (1812 – 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era. His works enjoyed unprecedented popularity during his lifetime and, by the 20th century, critics and scholars had recognized him as a literary genius. His novels and short stories are widely read today.
FRANK FARRELL (Director & Artistic Director of the First Flight Theatre Company) recently produced and directed Poe: An Evening of Mystery and the Macabre for the Hermitage in New Jersey, produced Hamlet on the Run and produced and directed Tongs and Bones Shakespeare in New York City in August, directed Little Women at the Hermitage in July and Walt Kelly’s Songs of the Pogo as part of the New York City Fringe Festival in April. He was an actor in Chicago for 40 years receiving four Joseph Jefferson acting nominations and returned to NYC and New Jersey eight years ago. He has performed the Role of Ebenezer Scrooge in three different productions over the years, one musical. While in Chicago he directed and produced plays for the Free Shakespeare Theatre Company, Temporary Theatre, Shakespeare’s Herd, Steppenwolf Theater, Raven Theatre, Equity Library Theater Chicago, the North Lakeside Players, Citadel Theater, and Theatre-Hikes. Frank has formed seven theater companies along the way including the Free Shakespeare Theatre Company (Chicago’s first year-round Shakespeare theatre company), Theatre-Hikes in Chicago and in Grand Haven, Michigan, the Pigeon Creek Shakespeare Company. In NYC he wrote, directed and produced Forgotten Soldiers from Our Forgotten War for the First Flight Theatre Company, the seventh theatre company he has formed. For FFTC he also coordinated several stage readings of Maxwell Anderson’s plays in New York City, New Jersey and Chicago and directed and produced 2022’s production of Maxwell Anderson’s play Valley Forge. In 2023 his Zoom film based on the life and work of Rachel Carson, In the Garden of Live Flowers, won Best Biopic at the Green Academy Awards Film Festival and he directed Shakespeare’s Ladies at Tea and Shakespeare’s Deaths as part of the Little Shakespeare Festival in NYC. Frank has published several books including Forgotten Soldiers from Our Forgotten War, Maxwell Anderson’s four plays What Price Glory, First Flight, The Buccaneer, and Outside Looking In and his own version of Little Women; all available at Amazon.com.
DANIELLE MACMATH (Catherine Dickens, Fred, Peter Cratchit, Fezziwig) is a NJ based actor, educator, and designer. Recently, she appeared on stage with F. Murray Abraham in a reading of Albee's Fragments. Other NJ credits include Macbeth (Witch/Lady MacDuff) and Romeo & Juliet (Lady Capulet) with Pax Amicus Castle Shakespeare Repertory; Spring Awakening (Wendla), Significant Other (Laura), Hair (Jeanie), Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf (Honey), Premiere Production of Exposed by Beth Henley (Jane), and U.S. Premiere of Sam Shepard’s unpublished Little Ocean at BBPAC; an educational tour of HERstory (Louisa May Alcott); and most recently Mrs. Teavee in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at The Growing Stage. NYC: Off-Broadway Premiere of Eric Bogosian's 1+1 (Brianne u/s) at SoHo Playhouse, Othello (Emilia) and Romeo & Juliet (Benvolio) at The Nuyorican Poets Cafe, ...Rise of the Goatman at Theater for the New City. Her promotional art and theatre marketing materials (for over 20 productions) have been seen in NJ & NYC and shared by award-winning playwrights and other esteemed artists. BA in Theatre & Literature, MA in Teaching from Fairleigh Dickinson University.
. www.DanielleMacMath.com IG: @DanielleMacMath
BEN MASTERTON (Composer) has composed and arranged music for dozens of Shakespeare productions in Chicago with the Shakespeare Festival of Chicago, Free Shakespeare, and Body Politic, including Midsummer Night’s Dream, Macbeth, Hamlet, The Winter’s Tale, Two Gentlemen of Verona, Twelfth Night, Merchant of Venice and All’s Well That Ends Well. Ben recently worked at the Hermitage with Poe: An Evening of Mystery and the Macabre. Other favorite productions include The Lennon Play, Dagon, The Lorenzaccio Story, Dorothy Parker Review, Dear Brutus, the 2024 Songs of the Pogo Podcast and Rapmaster Johnny Keats (both with Frank Farrell), The Imaginary Invalid, The Successful Life of 3, The Snow Queen (with Rod Ceballos), The Crucible and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf (Raven Theater), and Three Sisters (Commons Theater). Ben has written over a hundred songs and currently resides in Gainesville, Florida.
KAILEY MERIDA (Sally Austin, First Man, Fan, Martha Cratchit) is an Indiana native with a degree in theatre from Purdue University. For the past several years, she has been working on a variety of projects on screen, from television to streaming apps. She’s very excited to welcome the holiday spirit(s) to the Hermitage!
PAMELA MOLINARI (Letitia Austin, Mrs. Cratchit, Second Man) resides in Parsippany NJ. She previously performed as Di in The Audience, a short play of 6 featured in Summer Solstice at the Barn Theater in Montville NJ in May 2024 under director Ed Faver. Pamela is a drummer for SHABAZZ, a West African/fusion band under Dave Merritt in Edison NJ with recent performance with Groove Merchant Dancers in November 2024. Pamela is a retired nurse of 45 years as of April 2024. She is a musician and plays piano, the native American flute, frame drums, dumbek and djembe drums, rinq and finger cymbals. Pamela is taking vocal lessons with Valerie Van Hoeven of Denville, NJ. She is an accomplished soloist performer under the stage name of Feiruze as a dancer for the last 28 years and has performed all over the USA. She has done many charity events with local drum circles for various causes and SHIMMY MOB which benefits battered women internationally with a NJ chapter. She has been a participant in many parades: Coney Island Mermaid Parade, Asbury Park Mermaid Parade, NYC Dance festivals and Halloween Parade. She danced at Woodstock for their 50th reunion. She has also performed standup comedy. Pamela wants to thank the director, Frank Farrell, who gave her this opportunity, her cast mates for all their seasoned advice and her family that supports her many creative pursuits.
JEAN OBERHOLTZER (Adaptor) (1923 – 1999) was born in England and was an English and Theatre teacher at Northern Highlands in Allendale before retiring. While residing in Ridgewood she was active in community affairs, serving as historian for the village and also serving as President of the Hermitage board. She was a member of the Joe Jefferson Players and a founding member of FunFest. She created this original adaptation of “A Christmas Carol” specifically for the Hermitage which was performed here annually for many years.
MARTIN PFEFFERKORN (William Macready, Ebenezer Scrooge) used the community theatres throughout Northern & Central NJ as the foundation for his burgeoning acting career. He began to branch out into Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre, Social/Educational Theatre (including Childrens Drama Camp), & Live seasonal Theatrical events (such as Haunted Houses). Not surprisingly, he also started directing. ALL of THIS, has led to an over 34+ yr & counting career in TV, Film, Theatre, Music Videos, Videogames etc. He is a member of SAG-AFTRA & can be seen in ALMOST anything that shoots in the Tri-State area. He resides in Clifton, where he studied with & is still connected to, ATC Studios; being an original alumnus of the school. He is a sometime member of WWOW, which recreates old-time radio shows (Live & virtually); having recently portrayed “The Host”, for a number of ‘Inner Sanctum’ episodes. Other virtual groups include: No Epilogue Prods (Dracula, Hamlet, The Tempest & A Christmas Carol), San Francisco based Drama w/Friends, Incarn Live Virtual Theater & PAGES, the NYC based weekly playwright workshop he Co-runs. He has had the opportunity to do MANY versions of ‘A Christmas Carol’ & even directed a parlor version at Speedwell Mansion in Morristown (also narrated by Dickens). He has played ALMOST every part in it (except for Tiny Tim & the women). Many thanks to Frank for reviving a seasonal tradition for him (pre-pandemic) & casting him. He dedicates the performances to his mother & the memory of his father. May you (as Scrooge said) honor Christmas in your heart & try to keep it ALL the year!
PRANATHI SANTOSH (Mamie Dickens, Bob Cratchit, Marley’s Ghost) is an actor from Connecticut, who hopes to bring laughter and happiness to the audience. It’s in her namesake after all. Santosh doesn’t mean happiness in her native language for nothing. Growing up, while she never dreamed, she could be an actor, she was the class clown. Always trying to make people laugh and smile. However, once in college, she was not only able to use the stage to make people laugh but to tell stories of family, betrayal, and love-whether she was dressed as a burly sailor or suave businesswoman. She is now proud to be part of the cast of Dickens Presents: A Christmas Carol, where she hopes to continue her tradition of bringing joy. She would like to thank her family, friends and teachers for helping her get to this point. She’d also like to thank you for indulging in the Dickens family’s fun and holiday cheer this season. Credits- Regional: Love and Information (Durham Theater), Men on Boats (Zellerbach Playhouse), The Late Wedding (Zellerbach Playhouse)
JAKE SOLARI (Charles Dickens, Narrator, Spirit 1, Spirit 2) For the past two years, Jake has been a professional actor in the United Kingdom after graduating from the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. His theatre credits include Paranormal Activity: A New Haunting Live on Stage (Leeds Playhouse); Creation (Union Theatre, London); Water Party (Union Theatre, London); Henry VI: Days of Rebellion (Bristol Old Vic Theatre); The Seagull (BOVtS). On television, he can be seen playing the founder of Play-Doh, Joe MicVicker, on the most recent season of Toys That Built America.
The Friends of the Hermitage, Inc., in Ho-Ho-Kus, Bergen County, New Jersey, was organized in 1972 as a 501(c)(3) corporation to preserve and restore The Hermitage and provide programming at the site. The Friends manages the property as an historic house museum under a lease agreement with the State of New Jersey. Over the course of its forty-five-year history, the Friends has grown from a small, fledgling group working to save The Hermitage to a broad-based educational organization working to become a center for history education. The Hermitage is a National Historic Monument is located at 355 N Franklin Turnpike, Ho-Ho-Kus, NJ 07423.
Richard Width, Zander Kirby and Karen Eterovich as they appeared in the First Flight Theatre Company’s outdoor production of Maxwell Anderson’s play Valley Forge in 2022
FIRST FLIGHT THEATRE COMPANY is a not-for-profit company founded by Frank Farrell and a group of actors in 2018 and is devoted to presenting the plays of 20th century American playwright Maxwell Anderson as well as other playwrights who instill poetry in their writing. The company has performed live staged readings of Anderson’s plays in New Jersey, New York City and Chicago including Valley Forge, Elizabeth the Queen, Mary of Scotland, Sea-Wife, The Masque of Queens, White Desert, The Eve of St. Mark and Saturday’s Children. During the recent pandemic, First Flight presented play readings on Zoom for the public featuring actors from all over the United States and England. Productions streamed included Maxwell Anderson’s one-act plays The Feast of Ortolans, Second Overture, The Miracle of the Danube and Letter to Jackie. Also streamed were A Vampire Kiss in the Plague of 1666 written by James Fitzmaurice, which went on to win many awards on the film festival circuit; Salvador, a play about Salvador Dalí by Richard Young, another film festival winner; and a streaming version of Anderson’s first Broadway production White Desert. Post pandemic the company presented at The Hermitage in New Jersey outdoor productions of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Maxwell Anderson’s Valley Forge and a third reprise of Dickens by Candlelight: A Christmas Carol. For Earth Day in April of 2023 the First Flight Theatre Company presented streaming performances of In the Garden of Live Flowers, a play about Rachel Carson, which went on to be a winner at the Green Academy Award Film Festival. In June 2023 First Flight’s production of Little Women at The Hermitage was a well-attended outdoor success. In August 2023 it presented the double bill Shakespeare’s Ladies at Tea and Shakespeare’s Deaths as part of FRIGID’s Little Shakespeare Festival in NYC. In September 2023 the Chicago branch of First Flight presented a staged reading of Anderson’s Saturday’s Children. In October 2023 at The Hermitage in New Jersey and at the UNDER St. Marks Theater in NYC the company produced the one-woman play Mina based on Bram Stoker’s Dracula. In November 2023 First Flight again presented a staged reading of Saturday’s Children this time at the Under St. Marks Theater in NYC. In addition, the company and the Instant Shakespeare Company joined forces presenting play readings at New York City’s various public libraries including Anderson’s White Desert and Sea-Wife and in December 2023, First Flight presented a public reading of Maxwell Anderson’s 1924 play What Price Glory. First Flight recently published Maxwell Anderson’s plays What Price Glory, First Flight, The Buccaneer and Outside Looking In and Frank Farrell’s adaptation of Little Women, all available at Amazon.com.
SPECIAL THANKS: the Ridgewood Arts Foundation, Andrea Kircher, Christine Blaylock and Julie Zier at The Hermitage, Rebecca Bellin, Pamela Molinari, Isabella Chang and the entire cast of Dickens Presents.
2023 RAF Grant recipient
OUR 2024 DONORS: David Cantor, Pamela Coombe, Victoria Devany, Frank Farrell, Johnny Garcia, Jennifer Kim, Andrea Kircher, and Jill Linden.
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First Flight Theatre Company © 2024
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