Look out, Charles Dickens – the Farndale Avenue Townswomen’s Guild Dramatic Society is commandeering your Christmas classic.
 
SUNY Fredonia will offer David McGillivray and Walter Zerlin, Jr.’s hilarious "The Farndale Avenue Housing Estate Townswomen's Guild Dramatic Society Production of ‘A Christmas Carol’" as the second event in the Walter Gloor Mainstage Series at Rockefeller Arts Center. This farcical retelling of the Dickens’ tale will open on Friday, Nov. 4 at 8 p.m. in Bartlett Theatre.
 
The comedy can also be seen on Saturday, Nov. 5 and each night between Thursday, Nov. 10 and Saturday, Nov. 12 at 8 p.m. A matinee performance will be held on Sunday, Nov. 6 at 2 p.m. General admission is $9.50. Student tickets are $7.50. To order, visit the Central Ticket Office in the Williams Center, located at the heart of the SUNY Fredonia campus, or call (716) 673-3501.
 
The Farndale Christmas Carol is one of 11 plays from a series written by McGillivray and Zerlin in the British style of "coarse theatre," which generally includes a company of amateurs who struggle to do their best and find nothing but defeat, yet continue regardless to the bitter and hilarious end. London daily newspaper The Independent praised the original production as "…another classic dramatic massacre that enthralls." The London Guardian critic enjoyed the "…hilarious moments of delightful inventive silliness."
 
The play centers on the Farndale Dramatic Society’s decision to launch its production of "A Christmas Carol." Murphy's Law soon applies – from collapsing scenery to falling actors, missed cues to disappearing props, everything thing that can go wrong finds a way to go wrong. The only thing never lost is abundant laughter for the audience.
 
"This is a first class farce to lighten hearts at Christmas with absolutely no sentimentality or moral snuck in at the end," said Dr. James Ivey, chair of the SUNY Fredonia Department of Theatre and Dance and director of the play. "It is a must-see alternative to the traditional holiday fare, and is delightful fun to watch."
 
The talented students of the SUNY Fredonia Department of Theatre and Dance will compose the cast. Kara Infantolino, a senior musical theatre major from Rochester, will star in the role of Mrs. Reece, a commanding and bossy troupe leader. Neighborhood diva Thelma Greenwood will be portrayed by Grace Abele, a junior acting major from Berne, who was last seen on the SUNY Fredonia stage as Chairy Barnum in the successful 2005 spring musical "Barnum."
 
Other SUNY Fredonia student-actors include:

• Acting major Autumn Stein from Arkport as Felicity, a well-meaning but untalented amateur actress. Ms. Stein will also cover a variety of other roles in the play-within-the-play.
• Junior musical theatre major Eric Deiboldt of Albion as Gordon Pugh, the "long suffering stage manager" drafted to play the many roles that the Farndale ladies cannot manage.
• Senior acting major Nora Grace Sanchez of Rochester as Mercedes, who shrugs off an injury incurred in a supermarket shopping basket pile-up to play Bob Crachit, Belle, and a small boy.
• Sophomore musical theatre major Stephanie Faatz of Churchville and sophomore acting major Sanford Holsapple of Germantown appear in the supporting roles of Gwynneth and Adrian, respectively.

Production design majors are leading the technical crew. Scenic design coordinator is Joshua Jeffery, a junior from Rome. Joanna Heary, a senior from Springville, is costume designer, and Kana Otaki, a junior from Japan, is lighting designer.
 
Behind the scenes and on the stage, the Farndale Christmas Carol has been a pleasure to develop, Dr. Ivey said. "These actors are having a fabulous time bringing these fictitious amateur thespians to life. The show is a hilarious botch-up of the holiday favorite. It’s a distinctive holiday twist on the Dickens classic and should be a welcome romp for the whole family."