A 2005 Christmas Carol: Erica R. Lipez, Matt J. Corriel, and Johanna S. Karlin

It’s started to snow and you know what that means. Somewhere in a grungy old loan office, an old British man with wild hair is counting his money, about to endure a night of adventures with the ghosts of his past, present, and future. Charles Dickens’s “A Christmas Carol” has no doubt become hackneyed: everyone knows the story and the characters.

Fortunately, three recent Harvard graduates are reinvigorating Ebenezer’s story at Worcester’s Foothills Theater in Massachusetts. Erica R. Lipez ’05 and Matt J. Corriel ’05, along with the theater’s marketing director, Johanna S. Karlin ’05, have put a new spin on Charles Dickens’s tale.

“It’s a musical. What we choose to write scenes and songs about is different. We tried to keep it contemporary and interesting,” Corriel says. Lipez adds, “Everybody’s seen so many versions of ‘A Christmas Carol’…We wanted to infuse it with a slightly more contemporary feel in terms of the music.”

Lipez, who upon accepting the project realized that she had never actually read Dickens’s novel, admitted that “A Christmas Carol” is an easy story to water down for younger audiences. However, she and Corriel wanted to stay true to Dickens’s work, even though the book is actually quite eerie.

When asked how he and Lipez came to collaborate on the project, Corriel explained that they were offered positions by the then executive director of the Foothills Theater. Corriel had seen and been impressed by Lipez’s work as an actress and director in over 20 college productions and was excited to work with her.

Similarly, Lipez says, “I went to all of [Corriel’s] one man concerts in college. He’s just a really talented guy. As soon as it was suggested, it seemed like the greatest idea to me.”

Working as recent college graduates, both Corriel and Lipez agree that it’s not as easy to go from Harvard to the professional theater industry as it is to go from Harvard to, say, i-banking. However, their time at Harvard prepared them well for the various challenges that have arisen. Lipez explains that the space and grants available to produce productions at Harvard is a benefit that doesn’t exist in the real world.

“It’s a little terrifying. Foothills Theater went out on a limb for two writers straight out of college. Neither one of us expected this opportunity.”

Currently, Corriel and Lipez are working on another production “Typhoid Mary” and are looking forward to future collaborations.