MONMOUTH — A bit of Welsh holiday cheer and and nostalgia is coming to Wells Theatre.
“A Child’s Christmas in Wales,” based on the classic poem by Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, runs Thursday through Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Wells Theatre at Monmouth College, with a Sunday matinee at 2 p.m.
Director Todd Quick of the Monmouth College theater department called “A Child’s Christmas in Wales” a memory play.
“Viewed through the eyes of an adult Dylan Thomas, we see his memories of Christmas as a young boy come to life in front of him,” Quick said.
The play is a joint production of Monmouth College and the Buchanan Center for the Arts.
Though the play is written for a single actor to play the older and younger versions of Dylan Thomas, Quick knew after auditions this version would be different.
“When I saw the audition of Drew Carlson, our 12-year-old co-lead, I knew I wanted to feature him in a significant role, so I split Dylan Thomas in half. We now have an Adult Dylan looking back on his life, and a Young Dylan living those memories,” Quick said.
Then, when local stage veteran Bill Wallace had to step down from his role as the older Dylan Thomas a few weeks before opening, casting for the play took another interesting turn.
Doug Rankin of the Monmouth College theater department is no stranger to the stage, but he has been a strictly behind-the-scenes guy for decades, expertly designing over 50 of shows at the college over the years.
In fact, Rankin has not acted on a stage in nearly 30 years, though he acted in many plays as a student at Monmouth College. His last acting credit was on the very same stage to commemorate the opening of Wells Theatre in 1990, when he played King Henry II in “The Lion in Winter.” He co-starred in that production with Monmouth alumna and legendary actress Helen Wager Willey of “As the World Turns.”
Rankin already was designing “A Child’s Christmas in Wales” and then agreed to step into the role of the older Dylan Thomas. That not only required dusting off his acting chops, but memorizing several long and intricate monologues on short notice.
“While we were of course saddened to lose Bill in this role, Doug has been incredible,” Quick said.
Quick said Rankin joining the cast late in the game has been a boost for the rest of the company.
“Doug is returning to the stage after a 30-year absence, and that is an exciting thing to watch,” Quick said. “I think the rest of the cast knows that something special is happening.”
Rankin credited Carlson as the true star of the show, but said he has enjoyed double-duty on “A Child’s Christmas in Wales.”
Rankin said that during his acting years decades ago he often played older characters, which required a lot of makeup.
“Now, I don’t have to worry about that,” he joked.
The cast features 25 actors ranging in age from 8 to 60s.
“We have a pretty even split between community actors and college actors, with 11 college actors, 13 community actors/children and one faculty member,” Quick said.
The play has several Christmas carols and tradition Welsh hymns performed by the cast. Lenna Burnett is the accompanist and MC alum Dane Feenstra is music director for the show.
Tickets can be purchased online at department.monm.edu/theatre, and are $8 for adults and $7 for students.