Think you know Charles Dickens' “A Christmas Carol?” Think again, and treat yourself to an ecstatic surprise in a unique theater performance coming to the Cal State San Bernardino Palm Desert Campus Nov. 23. Come and see how Charles Dickens himself presents the classic Christmas story in a wonderfully intimate, gossipy, sometimes scary, heart-warming performance.
The one-time performance will be in the campus’s Indian Wells Theater on Monday, Nov. 23, at 7 p.m. To help patrons get the holiday season off to a good start, the intermission-free show will include seasonal refreshments before and after.
Actor Byron Tidwell, with stage credits from around the country as well as roles in myriad film and television productions, performs Dickens own one-man show using the author’s performance notes as the source material.
“Who knows this story better than Charles Dickens himself?” said the actor, who prepared from the script of this production using Dickens’ notes and reading recommendations the author provided in 1843, the release date of the classic Christmas tale.
Tidwell originated the role with the Tulsa Alliance for Classical Theatre in 1984 and has been performing it annually since. This showcase performance brings Tidwell to the desert in the midst of a month-long run as Dickens for the Tacoma Actors Repertory Theatre in Washington.
“This is a great way to get into the spirit of the season and will have everyone saying anything but ‘Bah! Humbug!’” said Sharon Brown-Welty, dean of the CSUSB Palm Desert Campus. “This is the first in many special performances we will be bringing to the campus that members of our entire community can enjoy, and we are so pleased to be part of this season’s happenings in the desert.”
Tickets are $15 for the general public and free to students with a valid college identification card, or to young people under 17 years of age. Special discounted tickets are available for $10 to members of the Cal State University Associates, Emeriti Society, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, military, and adults affiliated with either of the campus’s partner organizations – Big Brothers/Big Sisters and Boys and Girls Club of the Coachella Valley.
For tickets, call the Indian Wells Theater box office at (760) 341–6909. For more information, visit the Indian Wells Theater website.
Located in beautiful Palm Desert, the CSUSB Palm Desert Campus offers bachelor and master’s degrees, a doctorate degree in educational leadership, and teacher credentials and certificates. With more than 1,200 students, it is the only four-year public university in the Coachella Valley and plays a vital role in educating and training the region’s growing population.
For more information about the CSUSB Palm Desert Campus, contact Mike Singer in the campus’s Office of Public Affairs at msinger@csusb.edu or 760-341-2883, ext. 78107 or visit the campus website.