Did you know?

Dale Hodges in A Christmas Carol.

Most of the scenery and special effects in the Playhouse's production of A Christmas Carol are run by computers. Production crew members press a "go" button to begin a sequence for the next scene. The soundtrack you hear is entirely digital and programmed to follow the scenes of the show.

The lights are set up much like those used in a rock concert. They are computerized to move, flash, strobe and focus to create numerous effects. The background lighting behind the show's signature towers is meant to give the appearance of Victorian London; the backdrop is actually a light box. The lights coming from this box add the illusion of other buildings and help to portray the different times of day depicted throughout the show.

Speaking of lights, there are nearly 100 lights on the costume of the Ghost of Christmas Past. Costumes play a significant role in creating the Victorian London of Ebenezer Scrooge. There are four dozen costumes used throughout the show. Costumes even are used to help create special effects. The full skirts of the women help to move the fog across the stage.

Keith Jochim in A Christmas Carol.

The fog, which actually would have signaled the air pollution newly prevalent in London streets thanks to the Industrial Revolution, is a special harmless formula created by a machine. Sometimes dry ice is used to make the fog colder to force it to stay low to the floor instead of floating up. A second kind of fog creates a haze. This haze is softer and adds atmosphere as beams of light pass through it.

Though much of the scenery and costumes appear as they did for the Playhouse's original production of A Christmas Carol 16 years ago, not much is left from this first production. Most of the show has been rebuilt over the years to keep everything looking fresh and to make the show run smoothly. For example, Tiny Tim's cane has been remade four times to accommodate the different heights of the various Tims over the years.