O’Keefe Ranch in Vernon is performing a classic Christmas play, but it’s not one you just sit back and watch.
The ranch is putting on a production of A Christmas Carol, but instead of performing it in a theatre, they are presenting it throughout the ranch, offering audience members a hands-on experience.
“They travel by wagon and on foot from house to house on the ranch. It just plays out the story of Scrooge in an absolutely amazing way, ending up at the church and his burial in the graveyard. And then he gets back on the wagon and comes home,” Diane Llewelyn-Jones, guest experience coordinator at O’Keefe Ranch.
Audience members interact with the actors, enjoy food and drink, and take in the show while also being a part of it.
This is the second year O’Keefe Ranch is holding the interactive production. Llewelyn-Jones said the idea came to her while working outdoors.
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“It’s like, wait a second … if you start at the schoolhouse and the Schubert house becomes the Fezziwig’s. It just played out in this sequential order,” Llewelyn-Jones said.
The show has a cast of about 60 members and 20 assistants. Due to its format, the production had to be creative to ensure that each crowd got to experience the show.
“Each audience has a Scrooge, so we have three Scrooges because we have three performances a night. They’re spaced at 45 minutes apart so that audiences never run into each other. Our stage manager just times everything to perfection,” Llewelyn-Jones said.
The three showtimes are 6 p.m., 6:45 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. The play runs until Saturday, Dec. 17.
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