A SEA CLIFF CHRISTMAS CAROL

December 10, 2015 -- Sea Cliff was a stage on Saturday, December 5 for the Civic Association's first ever Scrooge Stroll.  The roving rendering of Dickens’ beloved Victorian era holiday ghost story took audience members on a joyous jaunt through the Village’s Business district, with homes, storefronts and other sites along the way serving as scenes visited by the novella’s protagonist as he is transformed from the ill-tempered miser to an incarnation of Christmas cheer and generosity.  

The performance was brilliantly directed by Fred Stroppel and the story adapted for the streets of Sea Cliff by Dan DiPietro.  Nearly two dozen residents performed, with Mr. Stroppel playing the role of Charles Dickens narrating, and Mr. DiPietro the deliverer of that dismissive classic catchphrase “bah humbug.”

Opening at Centennial Park (Scrooge and Marley’s Office), adjacent to city hall, where Scrooge grudgingly assents to Bob Cratchet’s request to have Christmas Day off,  and continuing on for another 15 scenes at various locations, the parade of actors and spectators grew larger and larger - from a few dozen to more than 100, as onlookers joined the caravan.  

The Scrooge Stroll was the brainchild of Sea Cliff resident and Civic Association member Patrice Kaider, who had seen a similar staging of A Christmas Carol in Port Washington.

Resident Christine Hughes designed many of the costumes, with the much of the clothing having been obtained by the Civic Association at this past October’s Arts Angels Costume Sale Fundraiser, at which the Association had made a generous donation.    

“‘It was the best of times- it was the worst of times’- as Charles Dickens has said, but for us in the Sea Cliff Civic Association this was surely the best of times- as we presented our holiday gift to the Village- the Scrooge Stroll,” said Ann DiPietro, President of the Sea Cliff Civic Association. “With a cast of twenty, costumed in 1840's garb and led by our director extraordinaire Fred Stroppel, the Scrooge Stroll  ranks number one in  a year filled with many, many great events.”

The Stroll will no doubt join the Progressive Dinner, The Newcomers Party, the Fourth of July Celebration, Sunset Serenade and the many other fantastic events and celebrations sponsored by the Civic Association as a not to be missed tradition.

(Article by Northwordnews)

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THE CAST

Charles Dickens (Narrator) - Fred Stroppel
Ebenezer Scrooge - Dan DiPietro
Fred, Scrooge's nephew - Adam Freidberg
1st Lady From the Poor - Sara Reres
2nd Lady From the Poor - Heidi Hunt
Bob Cratchit, Scrooge's Clerk - Paul Marchese
Ghost of Jacob Marley - Liz Stroppel
Ghost of Christmas Past - Ann DiPietro
Young Scrooge - William Hunt
Fen - Scrooge's Younger Sister - Katherine Hunt
Fezziwig - Young Scrooge's Employer - Al Reres
Young Adult Schoorge (Ebenezer) - Adam Freidberg
Belle, Scrooge's Fiancée - Jen Ohare
Ghost of Christmas Present - John Canning
Mr.s Cratchit - Jen Sebetic
Peter Cratchit - William Hunt
Tiny Tim, A Cratchit son - Seamus Hughes
Fred's Wife Dora - Miranda Best
Topper - Al Reres
Miss Easterly - Liz Stroppel
Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come - Joe Stroppel
1st Person on the Street - John Canning
2nd Person on the Street - Al Reres
Boy who gets the turkey - Aaron Dranow

THE SCENES
Scene 1 - Scrooge's Office (Centennial Garden)
Scene 2 - Scrooge's Home (Children's Library)
Scene 3 - Scrooge's Bedroom, Later
Scene 4 - Country Schoolhouse (Little People School and Parking Lot)
Scene 5 - Fezziwig's Warehouse (Back of Post Office)
Scene 6 - Belle's Home (76 Main Ave. Front Steps)
Scene 7 - Scrooge's Bedroom (76 Main Ave. Porch)
Scene 8 - The Cratchit Home (Sea Cliff Museum)
Scene 9 - Fred's Home (Laura Parker Russo House)
Scene 10 - The Streets of London (Pirie Park)
Scene 11 - The London Exchange (Outside Sherlock Homes)
Scene 12 - The Cratchit Home (115 12th Avenue)
Scene 13 - The Graveyard (Children's Library, Back Garden on 12th Ave.)
Scene 14 - Scrooge's Bedroom (The Children's Library, Front Stoop)
Scene 15 - The Streets of London (Sidewalk Outside Children's Library)
Scene 16 - Scrooge's Office (Centennial Garden)