November 30 - December 11, 2022 (Schedule varies, see below.)

A Christmas Carol

by Keely Baisden Knudsen
Adapted from the Book by Charles Dickens
With Music by Keely Baisden Knudsen & David Bell

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.

2022 PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE
Wednesday, November 30 at 7pm
Thursday, December 1 at 7pm
Friday, December 2 at 2pm & 7pm
Saturday, December 3 at 2pm & 7pm
Sunday, December 4 at 2pm
Wednesday, December 7 at 7pm
Thursday, December 8 at 2pm & 7pm
Friday, December 9 at 2pm & 7pm
Saturday, December 10 at 2pm & 7pm
Sunday, December 11 at 2pm

JAMES ANDREASSI (Ebenezer Scrooge) is delighted to be returning to Legacy Theatre, and to be part of Keely’s production of A Christmas Carol! Jim has performed at theatres across the United States, including Palm Beach Dramaworks, Maltz Jupiter Theatre, Long Wharf Theatre, American Repertory Theatre, Pittsburgh Public Theatre, Rep of St. Louis, Cleveland Playhouse, Shakespeare & Co., Pioneer Theatre Co., Lyric Stage of Boston, Merrimack Rep, Actors’ Shakespeare Project, and Elm Shakespeare Co., among many others. In NYC he has performed at the Mint Theatre and the New York Theatre Workshop. Jim has taught acting, Shakespeare, and theatre studies at Southern Connecticut State University, Yale 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. He lives with his wife Margaret, their cats, Bambi and Rocco, and their exceptional dog, Winston, in Palm Coast, FL.

KEELY BAISDEN (Mrs. Cratchit, Ghost of Christmas Past, Charity Woman, Beggar Woman, Clock Chime Singer) 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, Party Guest, Clock Chime Singer, Martha Cratchit, Caroler) is thrilled to be a part of the Legacy team as Theatre Manager. She is a 2021 graduate of Fairfield University, graduating summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa with degrees in Theatre and English. In addition to her work with Legacy, Kiersten does freelance theatre work for the Quick Center for the Arts and Theatre Fairfield. She is also a performer, having most recently played the role of June/“Squish” in Chicago with Shoreline Theatre Company and Ink the Cat in Legacy’s production of The Tales of Custard the Dragon. Other favorite performing credits include Legacy Theatre’s A Christmas Carol (Fan/Mrs. Fezziwig/Others) and Joan Joyce (Young Joan Joyce – BroadwayWorld CT Regional Theatre Nomination: Best Performer in a Musical), and Theatre Fairfield’s The Spitfire Grill (Percy), [title of show] (Susan – BroadwayWorld CT Regional Theatre Nomination: Best Performer in a Streaming Musical), Woman and Scarecrow (Auntie Ah – BroadwayWorld CT Regional Theatre Nomination: Best Performer in a Streaming Play), Titus Andronicus (Demetrius), Fortinbras (Laertes), and Authenticity (Alice). Kiersten’s credits also include director, scenic designer, master carpenter, board operator, stage manager, assistant stage manager, and runner on numerous productions over the past several years, with favorites being I Do! I Do! (ASM, Legacy Theatre) and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time (Master Carpenter, Theatre Fairfield).

BETZABETH CASTRO (Belle, Scrooge’s Niece, Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come) is a CT-based actor, singer, and teaching artist. Currently, she teaches improv to Capital Prep High Schoolers at Housatonic Community College. She recently performed in An Evening of Old Time Radio Theatre, Halloween Horror with Capital Classics Theatre Company. Other recent credits include Leonard the Leaf Dragon/Sqwuak in Stage Partner’s immersive theater experience Off The Trail, The Romancers (Sylvette) with Play With Your Food, Sound of Music (Maria) with Fairfield Center Stage, Skeleton Crew (Shanita) with Collective Consciousness Theater, and Westport Country Playhouse’s New Works/New Voices series in Phenomenal Women+ Inspire.

DAN FRYE (Young Ebenezer, Fred, Gravedigger, Caroler) is thrilled to be returning to the Legacy stage. Earlier this year he took part in the Legacy Theatre’s productions of You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown (Snoopy) and The Great Gatsby: A Live Radio Play (Nick Carraway), as well as Pantochino Productions’ The Rocky Horror Show (Brad), and Shoreline Theatre Company’s The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Chip) and Puffs (The Narrator). He received a BFA in Acting from the University of South Dakota. He’d like to thank his parents for their relentless support.

EMERY KNUDSEN (Tiny Tim, Boy on Christmas Day, 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, as Peter Pan in Peter and Wendy, and as Tiny Tim, Boy on Christmas Day, Ensemble Child, and Caroler in Legacy’s A Christmas Carol (2021). She enjoys singing, writing music and creating original stories and artwork for a comic series.

LIVIANA KNUDSEN (Cratchit Daughter, Caroler, Party Guest) played a Mover in Legacy’s inaugural production of Barefoot in the Park. She has also played Michael in Peter and Wendy, 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 and most recently was in Legacy Theatre’s production of A Christmas Carol. She enjoys dancing Ballet, Lyric, and Tap and playing Bassoon in the Shoreline Youth Orchestra.

CHRIS LEMIEUX (Marley, Fezziwig, Ghost of Christmas Present, Caroler) is thrilled to be returning to Legacy’s production of Christmas Carol. Legacy credits: You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Other favorite credits: Comedy of Errors (Alabama Shakespeare Festival), The Producers (Shoreline Theatre Company), and Pocketmon!: A Pokemon Parody Musical (LA Fringe Festival; Encore! Winner). Chris directs productions for Branford Parks and Recreation Shoreline Theatre Company. Recent directing credits with STC include: The Wizard of Oz and Puffs. This will be his first year as the director for Branford Walsh Intermediate School’s spring musical. “Love to Mom, Dad, the teachers & mentors in my life who represent the true meaning of love and support.”

TODD McNEEL (Swing) is thrilled to be making his Legacy Theatre debut in this classic holiday tale. Recent credits include A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder (Lyric Stage Boston), Norma (Boston Lyric Opera), Le Nozze di Figaro (Boston Opera Collaborative), Tuck Everlasting (Umbrella Stage Company), Freedom Ride (MassOpera/Chicago Opera Theatre), Pagliacci (Boston Lyric Opera), Assassins (Arts After Hours), Ragtime (Wheelock Family Theatre and The Company Theatre), 1776 (New Repertory Theatre), Porgy and Bess (Princeton Opera), Little Women (MassOpera), Coal Creek (Hartford Opera Theatre), The Bremen Town Musicians (Wildwood Parks for the Arts), and Turandot (Cincinnati Opera). McNeel is a recipient of the prestigious Emerging Talent Artist award from the Kurt Weill Foundation/Lotte Lenya Competition for his performances in opera and musical theatre. When not on stage, he is the Manager of Marketing & Tourism at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Instagram: @toddy_mack

ERICA PAJONAS (Swing) Legacy Theater: The Great Gatsby: A Live Radio Play (Props Coordinator), Deathtrap (Props Coordinator & Assistant Stage Manager), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Hippolyta & Mustardseed). Quinnipiac University: Thebes: A New Musical (Laius), Proof (Catherine), Macbeth (Lennox & Doctor, Props Master), Thom Pain (based on nothing) (Producer), The Lifespan of a Fact (Props Master), Love & Information (Ensemble), Bad Jews (Set Designer), Seven Minutes in Heaven (Run Crew), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Fairy) New Play Festival 2019: (Stage Manager, Last Words). Education: Quinnipiac University, Psychology and Theater double major. Awards: Alpha Psi Omega Theater Honors Society, Psi Chi Psychology Honors Society.

JOSIAH ROWE (Bob Cratchit, Gravedigger) is delighted to return to Legacy’s stage and to the roles of Bob Catchit and Actor 1. Josiah has become a Legacy regular, having also played Claudius in Hamlet, Custard in The Tales of Custard the Dragon, Porter Milgrim in Deathtrap, and Freddie Filmore/Tom Buchanan and others in The Great Gatsby: A Live Radio Play. 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 (Capital Classics). However, his favorite role is Daddy to Ashlin (10), Diana (8) and Verity (3). Deep love and gratitude to Erin.