The Christmas Collection
$119.60 $95.75
Note
This bundle consisting of eight books is sold at 20% off the regular price for its individual titles.Description
Deck the halls with jingle bells and sugar plums as you take a wild sleigh ride through our Christmas Collection. From the Dickensian AN ACTOR’S CAROL and A CHRISTMAS CAROL to the madcap hilarity of THE ULTIMATE CHRISTMAS (abridged) with stops in between for a visit with the THREE WISE GUYS to share a glass of Prohibition eggnog with A CHRISTMAS TWIST, a visitation from spooky MARLEY’S GHOST, a tell-all eve with the grown-up Grinch’s Cindy Lou Who in WHO’S HOLIDAY!, and finally a trip to the world famous and delightfully animated store windows of New York City in LOOKING AT CHRISTMAS.
- Reviews
- About the Author(s)
Press Quotes
AN ACTOR’S CAROL
“The triumph of Charles Evered’s AN ACTOR’S CAROL is that it takes an old story and makes it seem new … his modernized take on Dickens’ ubiquitous holiday parable takes the Ebenezer Scrooge story out of Pre-Industrial Revolution London and plops it in a squalid playhouse where season after season of no-budget theater has been subsidized by the holiday cash cow that A Christmas Carol has become. It works, because Evered’s even-handed, light-hearted reinvention of the source material not only delivers Dickens’ original story of human redemption, but also adds some very relevant ideas about tolerance, inclusion and the theater.” —Michael C Moore, Kitsap Sun
“If A Christmas Carol restores our love of Christmas, AN ACTOR’S CAROL restores our love of Christmas AND theatre!” —Hal Linden, Tony Award–winning actor
“Shines a 21st-century light on an age-old tale with cleverness, wit and charm!” —V J Hume, C V Independent
“A charming and hilarious modernization of A Christmas Carol.” —Catherine Randazzo, Associate Artist, Florida Studio Theatre
A CHRISTMAS CAROL
“There was the distinct sound of sniffles from the audience Thursday night at South Coast Repertory when Ebenezer Scrooge paid a visit to the Cratchit family. Now a cynic might say, ‘Bah! What do you expect? It’s the flu season.’ But then, a cynic has no business at A CHRISTMAS CAROL in the first place. This familiar story demands the conviction that the spirit of Christmas can transform even the hardest of hearts. Dickens staked out this territory long ago, and the production at South Coast Repertory embraces it with a wash of warm sentiment, good cheer and ingenious invention. But first it has to earn that pesky conviction, and it does. The adaptation by Jerry Patch captures both the shadow and light in Dickens’s story.” —Cathy de Mayo, Los Angeles Times
A CHRISTMAS TWIST
“TWIST blends two works by its victim author; grafted onto the familiar parable of Ebenezer and his spirits are guest villains Fagin and Mr Bumble from Oliver Twist. The title character is twentysomething Tiny Twist, a gangly orphan waif who hates gruel (the Cratchits’ favorite dish) and whose crutch keeps getting stuck in cracks. Bumble and Fagin mercilessly exploit Twist (despite the lad’s klutziness as a pickpocket) until Bob Cratchit impulsively adopts the tall tot. The villains scheme to get Twist back, but in the mock-violent conclusion a redeemed Scrooge exposes their foul plot … abounds with Illegitimate irreverence, like a Ghost of Christmas Past who grouses about always having to fly from one stranger’s dreary memory to the next. Along with the regulation chains worn by Marley’s ghost are some keepsake accessories he added for texture. The Cratchits’ idea of forced merriment is to play ‘blind man’s bluff’ with a real blind girl and to share ghoulish holiday wishes. The Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come uses a step stool to tower over Scrooge and communicates entirely through charades … [a] good night of wicked travesty … inspired humbug.” —Lawrence Bommer, The Chicago Tribune
LOOKING AT CHRISTMAS
“Original, brash and bursting with theatrical energy … The irreverent but charming characters and occasional pokes at tradition in LOOKING AT CHRISTMAS make this play a very good gift.” —NYTheater.com
“For audiences seeking a Christmas holiday show with a sly and witty New York point of view, LOOKING AT CHRISTMAS is just the ticket. A real treat.” —Theaterscene.net
“Absolutely charming and impressive … Remarkably heartwarming … Characters are whimsical delights that spur the broadest smile.” —TheaterMania
“You would have to be a major league Grinch not to be charmed … A sharp, contemporary New York holiday story … A delightful mix of sentimentality and cynicism that is the perfect representation of Christmas in Manhattan. If you’re looking for a holiday show with a slight edge, you will love LOOKING AT CHRISTMAS. It has the feel of a new Christmas perennial.” —Connecticut News
MARLEY’S GHOST
“… [a] rich new holiday confection, MARLEY’S GHOST. Jeff Goode’s play is a smart, engaging prequel to A CHRISTMAS CAROL that stirs in some wicked whimsy à la Lewis Carroll and ultimately conveys the same inspirational message of hope and forgiveness as the original … Theatergoers … will witness a rather exquisite blend of foolery and feeling.” —Los Angeles Times
“… Jeff Goode’s bizarre take on A Christmas Carol and a Dickens of an update it is … The often tongue-in-cheek/often poignant slant on the holiday classic is … enough to make this an annual event.” —Backstage West
THREE WISE GUYS
“Funny, sweet, and thoroughly charming … The voices here are unalloyed, cartoon New York, with a ‘guys and dolls’ locution that earns laughs as much from sentence structure as from the jokes themselves. In Runyon’s universe, unlawful activities are mitigated by a deep but grudging moral code. And his characters, like all good gangsters, occasionally break out into impeccable barbershop harmonies.” —The New Yorker
“A sure bet … graceful, funny, and warm [which] comforts as much as it amuses … a tribute to the era of speakeasies, bootleggers, guys and dolls.” —Curtain Up
“Very charming … sit back and enjoy … high-wire theatre-making that leaves you a little breathless and considerably in awe.” —Theaterscene
“An adorable new wise-guy fable … It’s so lovable that regional theater artistic directors across the land would be their own guys and dolls to program the piece this very year as a seasonal treat. [It] is simply too, too good.” —David Finkle, New York Stage Review
“A little gem of a play.” —NY Theatre Guide
“Tickles the funny bone! … It’s amazing how much can happen in one evening!” —Theater Pizzazz
THE ULTIMATE CHRISTMAS SHOW (ABRIDGED)
“Critic’s Choice! They tell me vaudeville died some time ago, but … the knockabout, anything-for-a-laugh spirit of the ancient genre is alive and well. Agile and quick witted … there’s no denying their ingenuity when it comes to grabbing comedy out of thin air.” —Boston Globe
“Brought down the house with gales of laughter.” —Theatre Mirror
“A pure delight from start to finish … Inspired madness!” —Broadway World
“Delightfully twisted holiday cheer. Christmas will never be the same once you share the holiday with the inspired lunacy of the masters of condensing the classics.” —San Diego Theatre World
“Side-splitting!” —Nashua Telegraph
“THE ULTIMATE CHRISTMAS SHOW (ABRIDGED) will make your spirits bright, whether you joyfully embrace the upcoming season or get dragged into it kicking and screaming.” —Broadway World
“Nothing less than hysterical!” —Zingology
“Side-splitting fun … A night of belly-aching laughter!” —New England Theatre Geek
“Gloriously irreverent style … a Christmas pageant gone horribly, hilariously awry.” —Dallas Morning News
“THE ULTIMATE CHRISTMAS SHOW (ABRIDGED) [is a] zany, irreverent, side-sticker-inducing amalgam of vaudeville, improv and song. Thunderous, standing applause.” —Arts à la Mode, Charlotte, NC
“The bad boys of abridgment are in fine comedic form … This rollicking romp lovingly skewers every holiday tradition you can imagine.” —The Accidental Thespian, Washington, DC
“These brilliant clowns take us on an irreverent, but heartwarming trip through the holidays guaranteed to step on more than a few sacred cows and ‘mistel-toes.'” —San Diego Magazine
“Like no holiday show I have seen before … this trio of actors delivers a tour de force performance that left the room in stitches and exiting the theater still buzzing … an absolute delight!” —Edge San Diego
“Stunningly hilarious … a must see for your entire family!” —KDHX Radio, St. Louis
“Triumphant!” —Creative Loafing, Charlotte, NC
“A complete delight!” —Two On The Aisle, HEC TV, St. Louis
“It is a long time since I have seen an audience laugh as loud and as long as this. THE ULTIMATE CHRISTMAS SHOW (ABRIDGED) is a delight that will keep you smiling for days and a great way to get you in the true holiday spirit.” —LGBT Weekly, San Diego
WHO’S HOLIDAY!
“A raunchy riff on Dr Seuss’s yuletide tale … The little tyke has become a bottle-blonde adult who spends her days in a trailer appointed with Airstream functionality and seasonal kitsch … brassy, very funny … a holiday offering that dirties up Christmas while ultimately reveling in its spirit.” —Elisabeth Vincentelli, New York Times
“This irreverent, adults-only sequel … dares to be as tasteless as possible while replicating Seuss’s trademark rhythms … flawless … juggling comedy, musical interludes, and audience interaction.” —Regina Robbins, Time Out New York
“Though the years haven’t been kind to Cindy Lou … the booze-guzzling, cigarette-sucking bleached blonde stays lovably upbeat … a comical riot, shining with moxie-laden tastelessness and irreverence. [Cindy Lou] engages front row audience members, sings with gutsy verve and even raps a bit. After an hour of lunacy, a sweet, sentiment ending is added, sending audience members off with a warm smile and probably exhausted from laughter.” —Michael Dale, Broadway World
“In Matthew Lombardo’s one-woman show, Cindy Lou Who is all grown up — and she isn’t quite the adorable child you remember from Dr. Seuss’s classic How the Grinch Stole Christmas! Chronicling the forty years that have passed since Cindy caught the Grinch in her living room, Lombardo’s sixty-minute R-rated comedy, spoken entirely in rhyming couplets, is a comic tour de force.” —Carey Purcell, The Village Voice
“The funniest Christmas show in town!” —BroadwayBox
“If your fond childhood memories include Dr Seuss
The Grinch, his dog Max, and a Ville filled with Whos
You might like a sequel from 40 years hence
Though if you’re a Grinch, too, you might take offense.
The new play WHO’S HOLIDAY! by Matthew Lombardo
Is strictly R-rated, so don’t bring your kiddo
Yet if your mind’s open and you trust rave reviews
His Off-Broadway treat will come as good news!
Cindy Lou’s now a grown-up, with all that it brings
Cocktails and cursing and smokes are her things.
She’s led an adult life that’s chock full of spice
Her shocking backstory’s more naughty than nice.
She’s hosting a Christmas Eve fête for her friends
It’s her way of trying to make some amends
For all that she did before going to jail
Will the party succeed, or will it just fail?
At the ending we’re left with a serious thought
Which underscores all of the laughter she wrought
That ‘white trailer trash’ Cindy Lou just needs kindness
It’s good that WHO’S HOLIDAY!’s here to remind us.”
—Deb Miller, DC Metro Theater Arts