The world has seen A Christmas Carolin many ways: novels, animated series, staged, movies, and, most recently, at the Riverside Theater as a one-man production.

Through Dec. 14, A Christmas Carolwill command the Riverside Theater stage, 213 N. Gilbert St.

The one-man show — performed by Tim Budd — will run at 7:30 p.m. today through Saturday and 2 p.m. on Dec. 7 and 14.

Ron Clark, one of the founders of Riverside Theater and a professional actor and director for almost 40 years, directs the show. Clark said he and Budd have been close for years, making the process easier.

“Tim Budd and I are old friends and colleagues, so it’s been a very collaborative process,” Clark said. “We know each other well, and we can read each other well, and so we’re constantly trying new things … we experimented constantly.”

A Christmas Carolwas a novel by Charles Dickens, published on Dec. 19, 1843. Dicken’s classic tale follows Ebenezer Scrooge, a penny-pinching old man who abhors Christmas before he is visited by three ghosts representing Christmases Past, Present, and Yet to Come.

Though many audience members have the story memorized, Clark said visitors have been moved by Riverside’s adaption.

“They’ve been nothing but positive about the play itself,” Clark said. “They were up on their feet immediately in a standing ovation.”

Although the story is more than 150 years old, Clark believes the themes present in A Christmas Carol — which are his favorite aspect of the play — remain poignant.

“[The show] has extraordinary social relevance to what we are called upon to do at Christmas,” he said.

— by Devyn Young

THEATER

A Christmas Carol