Three of Seattle's most versatile actors, Amy Thone, Shermona Mitchell, and Galen Joseph Osier are story-tellers in FELLOW PASSENGERS, opening December 1 for a limited run at 12th Ave Arts in Seattle. The three share more than fifty characters in a play that uses almost every word of Charles Dickens' A CHRISTMAS CAROL as a script. The result is the most authentic dramatization possible of Dickens' story of ghosts, reclamation, and the original notion of Christmas charity.

FELLOW PASSENGERS is a staged telling of one of the most important stories ever written. Three voices share the story of literature's famous haunted man, Ebenezer Scrooge and his joyful discovery that the people around him are his "fellow passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys". Directed by Rhonda J Soikowski, this experimental adaptation by Greg Carter restores much of the ghost-story language lost in traditional dramatic interpretations. The story is accompanied by composer/keyboardist Ayako Okano.

FELLOW PASSENGERS was the second ever creation of Strawberry Theatre Workshop in 2004, when Strawshop became the newest resident professional theatre on Seattle's Capitol Hill. It was a critical sensation then, earning accolades from sources as diverse as the Seattle Times and The Stranger. Each noted the freshness of the script, and the unexpected pleasure of hearing Dickens at his satiric best:

--Chris Comte, on the drama website, SeattleActor.com wrote, "this evocative, thoughtfully realized production is bound to elicit as much surprise as delight."

--The Stranger's Annie Wagner called FELLOW PASSENGERS "unconventional and surprisingly smart."

--Misha Berson of the Seattle Times highlighted a full-page Sunday column on Charles Dickens influence in America with a photograph of Todd Moore in the play's joyful last scene. Berson praised the whole production for its "lean, fierce story-telling" and specifically recommended PASSENGERS as a Critic's pick in an appearance on KUOW-FM.

FELLOW PASSENGERS

directed by Rhonda J Soikowski
adapted by Greg Carter, from Charles Dickens

performed by
Shermona Mitchell
Galen Joseph Osier
Amy Thone
Ayako Okano, music
Daniel Christensen, understudy

designed by
Reed Nakayama
Adam Zopfi Hulse
Greg Carter
KD Schill