Raue Center For The Arts and Sage Studio are set to host a special production of “A Christmas Carol: A Holiday Pantomime.” The interactive holiday experience will return to Raue Center from Dec. 21-29.

“I cannot wait for this production! Last year, our near sold-out houses loved the interactive experience of ‘A Christmas Carol’ and we at Raue Center did too,” Executive Director Richard Kuranda said. “This holiday pantomime is a whole lot of fun! It is perfect for building a tradition with your family, because everyone participates and it is fun for all ages,” he continues. “I promise you ‘A Christmas Carol’ is the best hour and a half you will spend this holiday season!”

Ebenezer Scrooge, Bob Cratchit and Tiny Tim lead this interactive, family-friendly show. Sage on Stage’s “A Christmas Carol: A Holiday Pantomime” is a co-production between Raue Center and Sage Studio.

“After the amazing response to last year's show, we're so excited to bring this magical production back to life! This year, we're featuring 55 youth actors – about half of whom were part of last year's show – and seven adult professional actors, along with a full band and a production staff that includes Sage students working backstage,” says Sage Studio Program Manager, Amanda Flahive.

Sage on Stage students will spend two weeks honing their musical theatre skills and learning all about the “behind the scenes” of what goes into a mainstage Raue Center show – while working alongside a cast of professional Chicagoland actors. Students will get to build on the performance fundamentals taught in the classroom, then put those skills into practice for an audience as part of the youth cast for this full-scale production on Raue Center’s mainstage.

New for this year’s production, is the Sage Backstage program. Students who want to dive deep into the technical aspects of a professional production will learn about scenic artistry, props and costume crafts, lighting and sound, with hands-on experience from Raue Center’s production staff. Students will also get to be part of the show as the run crew, experiencing the excitement of putting together the production from start to finish."

“A Christmas Carol: Holiday Pantomime” is by Rob Fearn and Leo Appleton, and adapted from the short story by Charles Dickens. This amateur production is by arrangement with NODA Limited. Sage Studio is proud to once again collaborate with Raue Center as part of the popular production program, Sage On Stage, for a great new holiday tradition.

Tickets are $20 and may be purchased online at rauecenter.org or via the Box Office at 815.356.9212 or at 26 N. Williams Street in downtown Crystal Lake. Tickets for students ages 18 and under are $6 and may be purchased via the Box Office.