One way people often get involved in community theatre is through their children. The two leads in the Trenton Acting Guild production of the music comedy “A Country Christmas Carol,” which will be performed Nov. 16, 17 and 18, are no exception.
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The play tells the familiar story of the transformation of Ebenezer Scrooge, a grumpy miser. Playing Scrooge will be Gary Hooyman, who is performing with two of his three daughters. An airline pilot, Hooyman has been in many musicals, as well as the Naval Aviation Choir. His middle daughter, Mallory, a fourth grader at Rissler Elementary School, is playing the principal role of Jane Cratchit and sings several songs in the show. She has also been in musicals and enjoys playing the piano. His youngest daughter, Mason, is making her stage debut in the show, singing in the Kids Choir and playing Poverty, one of the children who traditionally accompany Christmas Present. She enjoys sports as well as acting, playing softball, basketball and soccer. The Hooymans live in Trenton.
This “Christmas Carol” play is a variation on the traditional story because it is a musical set in the 1950s in the Missouri Ozarks. Several songs with a country flavor spice up the show. Singing several of these songs is Nancy Jones, who is playing Bobby Jo Cratchit, Scrooge’s downtrodden secretary, a widow who is trying to provide for her family. A laboratory director at Wright Memorial Hospital, Ms. Jones is enjoying performing with her daughter, Samantha, who talked her into trying out. Samantha Jones is playing Fanny, Scrooge’s sister, who is an important figure in his past. Samantha appeared in “I Remember Mama” as Dagmar, the youngest daughter, as well as in several Kids College plays at NCMC. A fifth grader at Grundy R-5 Elementary School, Samantha enjoys shopping, dance, cheerleading and basketball.
The show will be performed at 7:30 p.m. at the Hoover Theatre on the third floor of the Grundy County Library at Crowder and Main streets in Trenton. Tickets are available at the Ketcham Community Center on the NCMC campus. They are free to Grundy County Friends of the Arts season ticketholders and NCMC students with ID. They are $8 for all others.
The Wild Onion Restaurant is offering an optional meal before the show. Menu choices are herb roasted pork and garlic mashed potatoes, prime rib and loaded baked potato or chicken alfredo and pasta. The meal will be served from 5 to 7 p.m. and includes garden salad, bread, light dessert and drink. The cost for the meal is $12.50, which includes tax and tip. Reservations for the meal must be made by 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 15. Call 359-6229 for more information on either the play or the meal.