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<p>Early in &#8220;A Christmas Carol,&#8221; the wealthy but desperately unhappy Ebenezer Scrooge shares his bah-humbug bad temper with his nephew, his clerk and two gentlemen who ask him to contribute to a charity.</p><p>After Scrooge rudely shows those last two the door, a youngster pops into his office and begins to sing, hoping for a penny.</p><p>&#8220;Yes, I&#8217;ll give you a little something. Close your eyes and hold out your hand,&#8221; Scrooge tells the boy, raising a cane to deliver a blow.</p><p>How did this character, crafted by Charles Dickens some 175 years ago, come to be so mean?</p><p>&#8220;Scrooge has had a lot of sorrow in his life,&#8221; said Kevin Costley, of Plymouth, who portrays the elderly miser in &#8220;A Christmas Carol,&#8221; which Little Theatre of Wilkes-Barre will present Dec. 6 through Dec. 15. &#8220;His response was to shut himself off, and as he isolated himself he became hard and merciless.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;The ghosts who visit him will dredge up a lot of memories for Scrooge, and most of them are bad,&#8221; Costley continued. &#8220;I think audiences will find him very understandable.&#8221;</p><p>But another memorable Dickens character also has problems &#8212; namely, frail health and poverty &#8212; and they haven&#8217;t worn down his spirit.</p><p>With his leg encased in a brace and a kid-size Victorian jacket covering his shoulders, 9-year-old Chris Kowalski from Milford portrays Tiny Tim.</p><p>In the moments before a Wednesday evening dress rehearsal, the young actor pondered a question: What is Tiny Tim like?</p><p>Before his mom had a chance to remind him that Tiny Tim &#8220;is sweet and kind,&#8221; Chris offered a reporter a back story:</p><p>&#8220;He&#8217;s a sad boy, because his right leg is broken. It hurts all the time &#8221; Chris said, adding that he, too, is familiar with pain.</p><p>&#8220;When I hit my knee &#8212; very gently &#8212; it still hurts,&#8221; Chris said, claiming he had once broken his own leg.</p><p>&#8220;It was more like a sprain,&#8221; his mom said, shaking her head.</p><p>Either way, the young actor has no problem imagining the physical aches the sickly Tim Cratchit might endure. With quiet patience. Because he&#8217;s loving, if not saintly. And sweet and kind.</p><p>Chris has never acted in a show before, but his mom, Lorie Bilinski, who&#8217;s been making 160-mile round trips to drive her son to rehearsals said he told her a few months ago, &#8220;Mom, I&#8217;m gonna blow your mind. I want to try acting.&#8221;</p><p>Scott Colin, who is directing the show, said he was looking for a newcomer to play Tiny Tim because &#8220;I wanted to give someone the same experience I had 40 years ago.&#8221;</p><p>The director said the production has an otherworldly atmosphere, with fog machines giving Scrooge&#8217;s ghostly visitors an aura &#8220;almost like they&#8217;re walking on clouds.&#8221;</p><p>Also emphasizing the supernatural elements of the plot, sound effects expert Bernard Mulcahy has used his wizardry to give the ghosts a sepulchral timbre to their voices, starting with the first apparition, Scrooge&#8217;s old business partner, Jacob Marley.</p><p>As he watched the beginning of a rehearsal, Little Theatre&#8217;s artistic director David Parmelee said Dickens wrote &#8220;A Christmas Carol&#8221; fairly quickly, in a matter of weeks, and found inspiration for the story on walks as he passed by businesses and through graveyards.</p><p>&#8220;Scrooge was a variation of a name he found on a tombstone,&#8221; Parmelee said.</p><p>The production boasts a large cast, including Matt Williams as Bob Cratchit; Meg Davis as Scrooge&#8217;s nephew Fred; Isis Walts as Scrooge&#8217;s sister Fan; Tiffany Craze as his friend Belle and David Shock as Marley.</p><p>Carol Warholak Sweeney, Daniel Beeferman and Rick Staron play the Ghosts, respectively, of Christmas Past, Christmas Present and Christmas Yet to Come. The story was adapted for the stage by Romulus Linney.</p><p><ins>IF YOU GO</ins></p><p><ins>What: &#8216;A Christmas Carol&#8217;</ins></p><p><ins>When: Dec. 6 through Dec. 15, with shows at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 3 p.m. Sundays</ins></p><p><ins>Where: Little Theatre of Wilkes-Barre, 537 N. Main St., Wilkes-Barre</ins></p><p><ins>Info: 570-823-1875</ins></p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">David Shock, as the ghost of Jacob Marley, right, appears to his former business partner, Ebenezer Scrooge, played by Kevin Costley in Little Theatre of Wilkes-Barre&#8217;s production of &#8216;A Christmas Carol.&#8217; </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/web1_little.theatre1.jpg</photo0><caption0>David Shock, as the ghost of Jacob Marley, right, appears to his former business partner, Ebenezer Scrooge, played by Kevin Costley in Little Theatre of Wilkes-Barre&#8217;s production of &#8216;A Christmas Carol.&#8217; </caption0><photoCredit0>Angel Berlane Mulcahy | On My Cue Photography </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/web1_little.theatre2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Ebenezer Scrooge (Kevin Costley) meets the Ghost of Christmas Past (Carol Warholak Sweeney) in Little Theatre of Wilkes-Barre&#8217;s production of &#8216;A Christmas Carol,&#8217; which runs Dec. 6 through Dec. 15. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/web1_little.theatre2.jpg</photo1><caption1>Ebenezer Scrooge (Kevin Costley) meets the Ghost of Christmas Past (Carol Warholak Sweeney) in Little Theatre of Wilkes-Barre&#8217;s production of &#8216;A Christmas Carol,&#8217; which runs Dec. 6 through Dec. 15. </caption1><photoCredit1>Angel Berlane Mulcahy | On My Cue Photography </photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Production opens tonight at 8, continues through Dec. 15</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Mary Therese Biebel</p><p>mbiebel@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p><strong>IF YOU GO </strong></p><p><strong>What:</strong> &#8216;A Christmas Carol&#8217; </p><p><strong>When: </strong>Dec. 6 through Dec. 15, with shows at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 3 p.m. Sundays</p><p><strong>Where:</strong> Little Theatre of Wilkes-Barre, 537 N. Main St., Wilkes-Barre</p><p><strong>Info:</strong> 570-823-1875</p></factboxMeta></div>

Otherworldly ‘Christmas Carol’ to appear at Little Theatre