HartBeat Ensemble's annual production of Ebeneeza – A Hartford Holiday Carol reflects the grit, the grime, and of course the humor that 2010 brought to the city and the nation. The play, originally written in 2006 and updated every year to address timely issues, will be performed for the public at Kinsella Magnet School of Performing Arts, The West Indian Social Club, The Mark Twain House & Museum, and West Hartford’s Playhouse on Park. Each weekend in December, residents of the Hartford area will be able to see a Scrooge story for today in their own neighborhoods. The Hartford performances will be free, and HartBeat will charge a family-friendly ticket price for the Playhouse on Park closing week.

Ebeneeza is written by the HartBeat Ensemble and directed by Nora Mathews from original staging by Brian Jennings. This production is made possible by The City of Hartford, The Office of Cultural Affairs, The Greater Hartford Arts Council's United Arts Campaign and the United Way Community Campaign, The Edward C. & Ann T. Roberts Foundation and the The Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism. Media sponsor is the Hartford Advocate.

SUN	MON	TUE	WED	THU	FRI	SAT
DECEMBER 2010			22	23	24 .	25 CHRISTMAS.
26 2:00pm	27 7:30pm	28 7:30pm	29 7:30pm	30	31 NEW YEAR'S EVE

 

About the Play
EBENEEZA is a multi-cultural retelling of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, using Greater Hartford history, Christmas feasts, Chanukah rituals and Kwanzaa celebrations. Set in modern-day Hartford, the title character is an elderly woman who has made her fortune in local real estate and mortgage brokering. The miser is, of course, visited by three ghosts, including Hartford’s favorite “Ghost of Holidays Past,” Mark Twain. In keeping with HartBeat tradition, the words and concepts of Ebeneeza come from interviews with citizens of the Greater Hartford community. The production takes us from Ebeneeza’s childhood home on Front Street during the Depression, through the civil upheavals of the 60’s in the North End of Hartford, into the Greater Hartford suburbs of the 80’s, and finally into one frightening possible future. “It’s a wild ride through our common history and current reality,” says Co-Artistic Director Gregory R. Tate of the play. "HartBeat really enjoys highlighting the humor, and deep emotional bonds, that make this play a perennial holiday favorite."

About the HartBeat Ensemble
The mission of HartBeat Ensemble is to create original, professional theater based on stories from our community.  Through Mainstage plays, Open-Air performances, and Education programs, HartBeat Ensemble makes theater accessible beyond the barriers of class, race, and gender.

For more information please visit www.hartbeatensemble.org or call (860) 548-9144.

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