Natchez —

Invitations went out to the Natchez Children’s Home, Sunshine Shelter, Catholic Charities and local area nursing homes as well as friends and family of the cast.

The show was conceived and adapted by Natchez Little Theatre Executive Director Layne Taylor and premiered at NLT in December of 2004. That original production was aired throughout the state of Mississippi on Mississippi Public Broadcast for an audience of over 100,000. Since that first year, “A Natchez Christmas Carol” has been an annual production of the Natchez Little Theatre attracting tour groups from all over the United States.

“We are expecting three large bus tours for this year’s production,” said Taylor. “Over 200 out of town guests have already made their reservations for this year and we have bus tours who have already booked the show for 2008.”

This musical is based on the Charles Dickens’s classic, “A Christms Carol.”

“The original story lent itself to being set in Natchez after the Civil War,” said Taylor. “The period of the original play worked being set in Natchez in the late 1860’s with the Cratchit family being African American. The play features a large inter-racial cast.”

Period costumes, Christmas carols of the 19th century, Natchez references and historic characters, as well as an original song add to the uniqueness of this production. Taylor and Lynn Mann, Vice President of Production at NLT designed and constructed the sets.

There are eight opportunities to see this popular production. “A Natchez Christmas Carol” runs Thursday, Fridays, Saturdays and Tuesday, Dec. 6 – 15, at 7:30 p.m. and two Sundays, December 9 and 16, at 2 p.m. This family show is 90 minutes in length.

Tickets are $15 for adults and $12 for senior citizens, 60 and above, as well as for youth, 18 and under. Reservations are highly recommended by calling NLT at 601-442-2233 or toll free at 1-877-440-2233. You can also go to the Web site at www.natchezlittletheatre.org.