STRONGER TOGETHER
BY BENJAMIN HANNA, DIRECTOR

Today will likely not be your first encounter with Ebenezer Scrooge. The haunting ghost story of a crooked, isolated miser turned celebrated humanitarian and philanthropist has been told across the globe for more than 170 years. Perhaps you were introduced by Kermit in the Muppet’s retelling, or a shadowy black and white movie from your youth, or maybe you were lucky enough to have a loved one read Charles Dickens’s incredible tale to you, nestled by a fire. Or perhaps you’re among the many folks who return to the IRT year after year to see A Christmas Carol—both to celebrate a beloved holiday tradition and to see what new little surprises and tweaks we’ve added this year.
 
Dickensian life seems so far from the world we live in today. After all our advances in socio-political reform, healthcare, research, and technology, it is hard to imagine how incredibly comparable the worlds are that we inhabit, particularly in relation to wealth. For some 30 years in America we have seen the gap between the rich and everyone else growing markedly by every major statistical measure, the bulk of wealth amassed in the hands of just 1% of the population. We continue to suffer from the fantasy of the self-made person; one who picks themselves up by their own bootstraps and succeeds without the help of others. The reality is that each of us have been dealt a very specific hand in life, and the contents of that dealing, without aid from those who can spare it, can and does strongly influence our trajectory.
 
Now more than ever, A Christmas Carol is a story we need. We live in a polarized time, unable to see the humanity of our neighbors beyond their political viewpoints. Increasingly, we find it difficult to empathize with those in need, to listen deeply to the stories of new Americans, and to open our hearts to those who are different from us. Our communities— diverse in age, race, ethnicity, gender, ability, religion, sexuality, culture—need the ghosts of past, present, and future to guide us. These specters help us celebrate the fact that with each new breath we are given the opportunity to change.
 
Every year in the longest, darkest, most frigid days of our calendars, we gather in the theatre to study our own hearts in hopes of doing better for each other and growing stronger together.
We hope you leave filled with the spirit of the season and a renewed sense of joy in sharing your blessings!

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Tickets are still available for this classic tale! Click here to purchase. 

​Need the perfect gift for a theatre fan in your life? Here are a few holiday gift ideas!

1. Build Your Own 3 (BYO3) Ticket Package: Gift three productions from our
exciting season with a BYO3 package! Recipients can select any of our six remaining productions including the Indy holiday classic A Christmas Carol, ultimate whodunit
Murder on the Orient Express, and the beloved romance Sense and Sensibility.

2. Hoosier Holiday Pack: The IRT, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, and Newfields have teamed up to bring you their three holiday traditions for one great price! A Pack includes one ticket to select showings of A Christmas Carol, Yuletide, and Winterlights.
Don't wait—this special offer expires November 15!

3. Offscript: IRT Young Professionals Group: Gift an annual $50 membership that
includes top-quality theatre, access to special events and IRT Artisans, $25 tickets
to our productions, and various volunteer opportunities around the city.

4. Encore College Card: College students can experience IRT entertainment all
season long—even on a college budget. This membership allows them to see any
production of our season as many times as they want for only $70!

5. Tickets for The Little Choo-Choo That Thinks She Can | February 18 - March 1:
The Little Choo-Choo returns to the IRT this spring for our youngest audiences!
This makes the perfect gift for children ages 3-8 and their families to enjoy the
experience of live theatre and the creativity of play. Tickets start at $8.

6. IRT Gift Certificates: Give the gift of a night out to family and friends. You choose
the amount and recipients can choose the production, date and time of their show.

7. Sweet Seats at A Christmas Carol: Sweeten your holiday outing to the Theatre with Sweet Seats! Buy tickets in rows A-F of the center section and receive a special
treat from the IRT and The Best Chocolate in Town to enjoy during the show!

8. Book Bundle of IRT Plays: This season, the IRT is doing multiple literary-based productions, including The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963,
Murder on the Orient Express, and Sense and Sensibility. Stop the by IRT
Gift Shop to put together a book bundle of these titles and pair it with a gift certificate!

9. Kyle Ragsdale artwork, local goods, cards and more: Visit the IRT Gift Shop for a selection of season cards and magnets by Kyle Ragsdale, locally-made metal works,
candles, artisan soaps, books, scarves, Indiana-themed gifts, and more.

10. IRT's INclusion Series: New this year, the IRT has introduced a series celebrating diverse storytelling, the INclusion Series. An INclusion Series package lets the recipient see the two remaining productions in the series, The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963 and The Paper Dreams of Harry Chin, and then select a third production from the rest of our season.