The 2021 Legacy Production of A Christmas Carol is generously sponsored by

December 1-12, 2021

A Christmas Carol

Adapted for the Stage and Directed by Keely Baisden Knudsen
with Songs and Music by Keely Baisden Knudsen and David Bell
from the Novella by Charles Dickens

This classic tale by Charles Dickens, whose forward in the novel states, “I have endeavoured in this Ghostly little book, to raise the Ghost of an Idea, which shall not put my readers out of humour with themselves, with each other, with the season, or with me. May it haunt their houses pleasantly, and no one wish to lay it. - C. D.” is a timeless story that indeed has pleasantly haunted generations of audiences around the globe. Adapted and directed by Keely Baisden Knudsen, this story illuminates the journey of one Ebenezer Scrooge and his guided self-reflection amidst the Christmas season in 1800s England.

Performances:
Wednesdays at 7pm, Thursdays at 2 & 7pm, Fridays at 8pm, Saturdays and Sundays at 2pm, Wednesday, December 8 at 2pm and Saturday, December 4 at 8pm

A Christmas Carol

Adapted for the Stage by Keely Baisden Knudsen
with Songs and Music by Keely Baisden Knudsen and David Bell
from the Novella by Charles Dickens
with
Jim Andreassi*
Keely Baisden*
Kiersten Bjork
Emmett Cassidy
Betzabeth Castro
Emery Knudsen
Liviana Knudsen
Chris Lemieux*
Josiah Rowe
Musical Director David Bell
Choreographer Jen Buonfiglio
Technical Director Rich Burkam
Lighting & Set Designer Jamie Burnett
Assistant Stage Manager Maeve Cunningham
Painting Assistant Linda Dempsey
Costume Designer June Gold
Sound Designer Adam Jackson
Backstage Runner Saviah Knudsen
Prop Designer Callie Liberatore
Production Stage Manager Sarah Pero
Stage Manager Mariah Sage*
Scenic Artists David Sepulveda & Amie Ziner
Directed by Keely Baisden Knudsen

*Actors appear through the courtesy of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.

Letter from the Artistic Director

Our Cherished Audiences,

Thank you for visiting Legacy Theatre this inaugural year! This first season is ripe with so many special memories, and how lucky are we to conclude our first season with such a talented team of creators and collaborators on such a special, cherished holiday piece.

Adapting this classic holiday tale of A Christmas Carol has been an extraordinary experience, and the journey continues to teach me so much about the spirit of the Season and how we may carry it with us throughout our lives. The songs came to me as I studied the story and characters’ wants and needs, and the tunes and lyrics evolved and were expounded upon with the assistance of the talented Music Director David Bell. The acting troupe and designers have each brought their knowledge and love of the classic into pre-productions and rehearsals to inform their ideas and contributions to the piece. A true ensemble collaboration, it has been an overwhelmingly rewarding capstone to this inaugural season here at Legacy Theatre.

After having produced over 170 performances these past seven and a half months and sold well over 6,000 tickets, we have a very exciting 2022 Season planned for you. I simply cannot thank you enough for your extraordinary faith in this project, for doing your part to help make it successful and for your patronage of live theatre, especially at this time!

I look very forward to seeing you back at the Legacy Theatre in the coming New Year!

Warmly,
Keely Baisden Knudsen
Artistic Director

James Andreassi* (Ebenezer Scrooge) has performed at theatres across the United States, including, Long Wharf Theatre, American Repertory Theatre, Palm Beach Dramaworks, Pittsburgh Public Theatre, Cleveland Playhouse, Rep. of St. Louis, Maltz Jupiter Theatre, and the Pioneer Theatre Co. among many others. Favorite roles include Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew, Beethoven in Thirty Three Variations, Teach in American Buffalo, Antony in Antony and Cleopatra, Falstaff in Henry IV, Part 1, Argan in The Imaginary Invalid and the title roles in Macbeth, and Richard III. He has taught and lectured on acting, Shakespeare and the theatre at Yale University, Southern Connecticut State University, Quinnipiac University, and the Yale Center for British Art. Jim is the founder and Artistic Director Emeritus of The Elm Shakespeare Company in New Haven CT.

KEELY BAISDEN KNUDSEN* (Artistic Director & Co-Founder, Adaptation, Director, Ghost of Chtistmas Past, Mrs. Cratchit, Clock Chime, Charity Woman) An award winning director, Keely has performed, directed, and choreographed internationally in plays, musicals, operas, and dance companies in hundreds of theatrical productions and has performed in 48 of the United States and in the UK. Realizing her vision of a new theater company on the Connecticut Shoreline, Keely’s ideals of inspiring, inclusive work that uplifts the human spirit and connects communities formalized in the creation of the Legacy Theatre with Co-Founder Stephanie Stiefel Williams, a performing colleague and dear friend. Keely has directed, choreographed, and taught a myriad of performing arts courses at such institutions as Quinnipiac University, Yale University, Fairfield University, Hartt School of Drama, Southern Connecticut State University, Westminster College, and was the Director of Education of New Haven’s acclaimed Elm Shakespeare Company for several years. Additionally a composer/lyricist and playwright, she is currently collaborating on two musicals and is a member of ASCAP. Her directing has been heralded by the Arts Paper as “…visually striking, emotionally moving” and “captivating” and of her direction of Hamlet it was said, “Knudsen has made the notoriously difficult Shakespearean language accessible.” Her creation of the Wheel Life Theatre Troupe has been an especially rewarding program as she acts and directs with those who ambulate with crutches and wheelchairs. Her BFA is from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, at which she graduated first in the class, and she received her Masters Degree in Drama on full scholarship from The Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow. Keely, her husband Brian, and five children (Saviah, Liviana, Wynter, Emery, and Reeves) reside in Guilford, CT, where she thoroughly enjoys running the Legacy with a tremendous staff and community support.

KIERSTEN BJORK (Fan, Mrs. Fezziwig, Charity Woman, Fred’s Party Guest, Martha Cratchit, Clock Chime, Caroler) is thrilled to be appearing on the Legacy Theatre stage as part of their inaugural season. She most recently played the role of Young Joan Joyce in Legacy’s hit show, Joan Joyce, and also served as the Assistant Stage Manager for The Last Five Years and Oedipus Rex. In addition to working on shows with Legacy, she is also the Theatre Manager for the company. Kiersten graduated in the spring from Fairfield University with degrees in Theatre and English. While at Fairfield, Kiersten had the opportunity to play a variety of roles, both onstage and off, for the university’s resident theatre company, Theatre Fairfield. Favorite performing credits with Theatre Fairfield include Percy in The Spitfire Grill and Susan in [title of show]. In addition to her work with Legacy, Kiersten also does freelance theatre work for the Quick Center for the Arts and Theatre Fairfield. As a Branford resident with a love for theatre and music, she is beyond excited to be a part of Legacy and their mission to bring inspiring theatre to the community.

EMMETT CASSIDY (Young Ebenezer, Fred, Townsperson Two, Caroler) was most recently seen on the Legacy stage as the role of Jamie in The Last Five Years. He has performed in several productions with Legacy, such as Hamlet (Laertes), Private Lives (Elliot), Joan Joyce (Mr. Marinara, Joe Joyce Sr., Jr., Reporter), Jamal (Connor), Oedipus Rex (Chorus Leader / Shepherd). Other productions include Hairspray (Link Larkin) and Pirates of Penzance (Frederick). A graduate of The American University of Rome, Emmett’s other passions offstage include music, reading, writing and carpentry.

BETZABETH CASTRO (Belle, Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, Niece) is a Housatonic Community College and Southern CT State University alum. She is excited to be performing at the Legacy Theatre once again where she performed as Mrs. Square & Mama Square in Polkadots: The Cool Kids Musical. Other recent credits include The Romancers (Sylvette) with Play With Your Food, Sound of Music (Maria) with Fairfield Center Stage, Westport Country Playhouse’s NEW WORKS / NEW VOICES series in Phenomenal Women+ Inspire, Twelfth Night (Feste/ Sebastian) with Advice to the Players. Before the quarantine Betzabeth performed in Skeleton Crew (Shanita) with Collective Consciousness, Love’s Labour’s Lost (Katherine) with Elm Shakespeare Company, The Gun Show (Waiter) with Play With Your Food, Picasso at the Lapine Agile (Suzanne) with Westport Community Theater, Appropriate (The Stranger) with Westport Country Playhouse, and Frankenstein: A Radio Play (Various Voices) with Capital Classics Theatre Company.

EMERY KNUDSEN (Tiny Tim, Boy on Christmas Day, Ensemble Child, Caroler) began performing on the stage in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. She’s also been cast as the title role in The Little Mermaid and enjoys singing, writing music and creating original stories and artwork for a comic series.

LIVIANA KNUDSEN (Ensemble Child, Fezziwig Party Guest, Caroler, Cratchit Daughter, Beggar Woman) played a Mover in Legacy’s inaugural production of Barefoot in the Park. She has also played a fairy in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (which was Branford’s first Shakespeare in the Park on the Town Green) and Sneezy in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs at the Stony Creek Museum. She has also performed in Alice in Wonderland with GYFS. She enjoys dancing Ballet, Lyric, and Tap and playing Bassoon in the Shoreline Youth Orchestra.

CHRIS LEMIEUX* (Marley, Fezziwig, Christmas Present, Caroler) is an actor, director, and writer based in Connecticut. He is thrilled to be a part of the final production of Legacy Theatre’s inaugural season! Branford raised, he graduated BHS in 2009 and went on to graduate Pace University in NYC with a BFA in Acting. Favorite credits include: Midsummer Night’s Dream (Legacy Theatre), The Producers (Shoreline Theatre Company), The Braggart of Bourbon Street (NYC Fringe), Cinderella (Alabama Shakespeare Festival), The Bakery (LA Fringe), and Comedy of Errors (Alabama Shakespeare Festival). He is the youth and guest director at Shoreline Theatre Company where he works alongside the co-founders Colin Sheehan and Mike Martone Jr. Chris currently teaches theater at Betsy Ross Arts Magnet School in New Haven. He is a proud member of the Actor’s Equity Association.

JOSIAH ROWE (Narrator, Bob Cratchit, Townsperson One, Fezziwig Party Guest) is delighted to work with Legacy Theatre again, having played Claudius in Legacy’s Hamlet on the Guilford Green. Other past roles include Atticus, To Kill a Mockingbird (Landmark Community Theatre, Thomaston); Scarecrow, The Wizard of Oz (Thomaston Opera House); Bhaer, Little Women, Lefou, Beauty and the Beast (Hartford Children’s Theatre); Kaffee, A Few Good Men (Norris Little Theatre); and Pirate King, Pirates of Penzance, (Alliance Theatre). He has also appeared in Amadeus, The Producers (Warner Theatre); Macbeth, Merry Wives of Windsor, and The Learned Ladies (Capitol Classics). However, his favorite role is Daddy to Ashlin (9), Diana (7) and Verity (2). Deep love and gratitude to Erin.