A Christmas Carol

A Christmas Carol at Spencer Theatre At Kansas City Repertory Theatre

Mark Robbins brings Ebenezer Scrooge to Spencer Theatre this December with all the crusty impatience that makes the miser's transformation worth watching. When a man has spent years perfecting the art of looking away from suffering, three ghostly visitors have their work cut out for them—and Kansas City Repertory Theatre's production of A Christmas Carol, adapted by Jason Chanos and Stuart Carden and directed by Darrington Clark, gives those spirits room to unsettle as much as they inspire.

Charles Dickens built his story around a haunting, and this telling honors that suspense. The ghost of Christmas Past doesn't simply remind Scrooge of happier days; it pulls him back into moments he thought he'd buried, while the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come delivers dread without a single word. A ghost story at Christmas offers tension alongside tenderness, and the production leans into both.

The Cratchit family makes generosity concrete. Bob Cratchit's loyalty, his wife's resourcefulness, and Tiny Tim's quiet courage aren't abstractions—they're people Scrooge has dismissed, and their presence in the story turns caring for others into something immediate and personal. Fezziwig's warmth and celebration remind us what Scrooge abandoned, sharpening the contrast with his isolation.

Dickens's familiar characters become a shared live family story rather than another seasonal task. The local production includes the Candlelight Carol, deepening the atmosphere. Get your tickets for A Christmas Carol at Kansas City Repertory Theatre.