Alfred Hitchcock once said, "Drama is life with the dull bits cut out," which explains his penchant for casting crust-less sandwiches in every leading role. Chew on exciting art with today's GrouponLive deal: for $22, you get one ticket to see A Christmas Carol: The Musical at the Newberry Opera House on Wednesday, December 14, at 8 p.m. (a $40 value before fees, or up to a $44 value including all ticketing fees). Doors open at 7:30 p.m. Groupon holders will be seated in orchestra-box F or E, orchestra-center row O or R, orchestra-left row E, F, H, L, M, or O, orchestra-right row G, M, O, P, or R, balcony-center rows A–D, or balcony-box A.
A Christmas Carol: The Musical encapsulates the jovial spirit and Yuletide magic of the holiday season in a production that infuses the classic Dickens tale with seasonal melodies and Broadway-style songs. An ornately costumed cast recreates old England with a host of love-to-hate characters, headed by the cantankerous Ebenezer Scrooge. First-rate set design and dramatic music from a live orchestra accompany thrilling scenes, from the appearance of the Ghost of Christmas Future to a dance-off between Scrooge and Bob Cratchit extracted from Dickens's controversial alternative ending.
Evincing a history that dates back to 1881 and includes stints as a city jail and a silent-film palace, the 426-seat Newberry Opera House is a spectacle in itself. A recent multimillion-dollar renovation project modernized the institution's eclectic Victorian craftwork by adding state-of-the-art lighting and sound systems and removing the horse-drawn curtain-raising system.