A Christmas Carol -- Scrooge's Nightmares, a joint production of Encore! Theatre and the St. Andrews College Theatre Program debuted this past weekend. The play will conclude with three performances this Thursday, Friday and Saturday at the Morris Morgan Theater on the campus of St. Andrews Presbyterian College. Each performance will begin at 7 p.m. nightly.

The play is an adaptation of the original Charles Dickens novel by St. Andrews Theatre Department Director Mark Taylor Mannette.

"Audiences will see a celebration of Christmas in this classic tale of redemption for the central character, Ebenezer Scrooge," Mannette said. "Approximately 90 percent of our adaptation is straight from the novel, but we have added Christmas carols and some other things to flesh out some of the scenes a bit."

A total of eight narrators will speak words directly from Dickens' work.

Mannette, who both portrays the character of Scrooge and co-directs the production with Brooke Jenkins, expressed praise for his associate.

"Brooke assisted me in a recent production of Tom Sawyer, and I wanted to work with her again," Mannette said. "The collaboration with Encore has gone well, with St. Andrews faculty, staff and students combining with the resources that Encore has brought to the production. We have a variety of ages involved in the 30-plus member cast, and the community can really see itself in this play."

Tickets for the event are $10 for adults and $8 for children under 12 and seniors over 60, and may be purchased from cast members or by calling Encore! at 384-4516.