Stir Cheat Sheet: 5 things to know about Dolly Parton's Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol

The Arts Club Theatre Company’s musical is set in the megastar’s birthplace of East Tennessee

Nora Cowan (left) and Scott Bellis in *Dolly Parton’s Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol.* Photo by Emily Cooper

Arts Club Theatre Company presents Dolly Parton’s Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol to December 24 at the Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage

DOLLY PARTON’S SMOKY Mountain Christmas Carol is set in East Tennessee’s Appalachia, where the country-music megastar grew up. The singer-songwriter draws from her life experiences for the tale, which puts its own spin on the Charles Dickens classic. Here are a few key facts to know about the musical that the Arts Club Theatre Company is bringing back to life this season.

Scrooge’s career gets a rewrite

Based on a book by David H. Bell with adaptation by Bell, Paul T. Couch, and Curt Wollan, the show imagines Ebenezer Scrooge as the miserly owner of a mining company town whose blatant greed blinds him to the joys of the season. Facing a Christmas Eve snowstorm, Scrooge is visited by his deceased business partner and three ghosts who convince him to see life in a new light and discover that love is the greatest gift of all.

The soundtrack is personal for Parton

Parton wrote all the tunes for the musical, with songs like “Appalachian Snow” and “Circle of Love” paying tribute to those living in poverty in the Smoky Mountains. Having come from an impoverished family herself, she remembers every winter flipping through the “wish book”, which is what her mom called the Sears catalogue. “We were such poor people and as kids we would get handmade toys and at least one store-bought present, even if it didn’t cost much, but we were always looking through that wish book thinking about all the things within those pages,” Parton told Billboard.

Saddle up for a country vibe

The show pulls out country-music gems like “Once Upon a Christmas”, which Parton famously sang with Kenny Rogers. And the choreography is a rootin’ tootin’ mix of square dance, two-step, and jigs.

It all takes place during the 1930s

Having had its debut in December 2019 in Boston, the musical is set in the Great Depression. The systemic poverty of Appalachia has long been a symbol for Americans, with president Lyndon B. Johnson referring to it in his 1964 State of the Union address, saying “Our aim is not only to relieve the symptoms of poverty, but to cure it and, above all, to prevent it.”

A talented cast and crew brings the story to life

Stephen Drover directs the Arts Club Theatre Company production with choreography by Julio Fuentes, musical direction by Ken Cormier, costume design by Carmen Alatorre, set design by Shizuka Kai, lighting design by Parjad Sharifi, and sound design by Rick Colhoun. Actor Scott Bellis stars as Scrooge, and there’s a seven-member live band. When it played at the Arts Club in 2021, Stir’s review noted that “Bobby Garcia’s dynamic staging raises this show of simple ditties and downhome values far beyond its humble base material.”

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Gail Johnson

Gail Johnson is cofounder and associate editor of Stir. She is a Vancouver-based journalist who has earned local and national nominations and awards for her work. She is a certified Gladue Report writer via Indigenous Perspectives Society in partnership with Royal Roads University and is a member of a judging panel for top Vancouver restaurants.

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