The post-Thanksgiving holiday season will officially commence this week as the Theatre and Film department stages Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” in the Eva Marie Saint Theatre.

The production opens tomorrow night at 8 p.m. and will be performed Dec. 4, 5 and 6 at 8 p.m., in addition to matinee performances at 2 p.m. on Dec. 6 and 7.

Some may remember the university production of “A Christmas Carol” staged two years ago. While thematically similar, these productions are distanced by more than time.

The principle difference is the format of the play. The 2006 version featured a musical adaptation by Scott Regan in which he wrote new music, while this year’s production features a “play with music” adaptation with carols contemporary to the novel’s nineteenth century origins by Margaret McCubbin, associate professor of theatre and film.

“We’ve done the musical three or four times, so we decided to try it as a straight-play,” McCubbin said.

Cory Stonebrook, a senior majoring in theatre and film, has been involved in both productions, as a chorus member two years ago, and as the iconic Ebenezer Scrooge this year.

Stonebrook said that, due to this year’s adaptation being a straight-play, McCubbin’s adaptation remains “closer to the [Dickens] novel.”

McCubbin echoed this sentiment of literary faithfulness.

“This one really is true to the original,” she said.

Stonebrook said that one of the major challenges of the play is taking a classic character and making it his own.

“Everyone expects a certain thing from ‘A Christmas Carol’. You want to make it your own, but stay aware of those expectations,” Stonebrook said.

Director Geoff Stephenson will make his campus debut as a director with “A Christmas Carol”. Like McCubbin and Stonebrook, Stephenson emphasizes the preservation of Dickens’ original style as one of the show’s cardinal features.

“I tried to be as faithful as possible to the text,” he said.

Stephenson said that “A Christmas Carol” ultimately revolves around man’s potential for redemption.

“Even the worst of us is capable of redemption,” he said.