Live theater tends to be more thrilling than film, largely due to the heightened odds of seeing someone flub a line or deliver a stirring monologue while sitting in your lap. Vicariously live the freewheeling thespian life with today’s GrouponLive deal: for $25, you get one best-available-seating ticket to Hartford Stage’s performance of A Christmas Carol on Monday, December 26, at 7:30 p.m. (a $50 value). Seats will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis.

Hartford Stage, a resident theater company backed by talented actors and professional-quality production values, delivers a diverse collection of modern and classic plays each season. Its version of Charles Dickens’s Yuletide ghost story draws inspiration from Dorothy’s journey in The Wizard of Oz, earning accolades from MassLive and the grudging respect of winged monkeys wearing Santa hats. Bill Raymond, a veteran actor who has appeared on The Wire and Law & Order, morphs into crotchety miser Ebenezer Scrooge for his 12th consecutive season amid other famed characters such as Bob Cratchit and Tiny Tim. As spirits from the past, present, and future hover across the stage in the spooky yet touching tale, Scrooge discovers the true meaning of Christmas and the use-by date of spiced eggnog. Teeming with carols, snowflakes, trapdoors, and Victorian scenery, the family-friendly show mesmerizes eyes and warms hearts with its lesson about hope, love, and forgiveness.

Children younger than age 5 are not admitted to this performance.