Commonwealth Shakespeare Reveals Cast for A Christmas Carol, Will Lyman Returns as Scrooge

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Will Lyman returns as Scrooge in the musical adaptation directed by Steven Maler with carols arranged by Dianne Adams McDowell.

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Commonwealth Shakespeare Company (CSC) and Steven Maler , Founding Artistic Director, have announced the cast and creative team of Charles Dickens ' 'A Christmas Carol,' returning to the Cutler Majestic Theatre in Downtown Boston December 11-20. The production was introduced in 2024 and has become a part of the city's iconic holiday offerings. Much-lauded local actor Will Lyman returns to his role as Ebenezer Scrooge, the curmudgeonly miser whose cold heart is thawed by a trio of mysterious spirits on one fateful Christmas Eve.

This enchanting adaptation by award-winning writer/director Steve Wargo brings Dickens' classic tale to vivid life. Described as 'a musical feast' (The Boston Globe), it is brimming with traditional 19th-century carols arranged by Dianne Adams McDowell (A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder, Starmites). With direction by CSC Founding Artistic Director Steven Maler and musical direction by Dan Rodriguez , this 'heart-filled new tradition' (WGBH) is sure to delight audiences of all ages.

The principal cast includes Stephen Caliskan as Peter Cratchit, Mary Callanan * as Ghost of Christmas Present, Peter DiMaggio* as Fred, Neal Ferreira* as Mr. Fezziwig, Jack Greenberg* as Young Scrooge, David Jiles, Jr.* as Topper, Laura McHugh * as Mrs. Fezziwig, Kathryn McKellar * as Ghost of Christmas Past, Tamara Ryan* as Mrs. Cratchit, Kayla Shimizu* as Elizabeth, Damon Singletary * as Marley and Ghost of Yet to Come, Kathy St. George * as Charwoman, Robert St. Laurence * as Bob Cratchit, Lily Segal Steven* as Belle and Martha Cratchit, Hayley Travers * as Catherine and Mrs. Dilber, and John Pagliarulo and Gillian Weatherford in multiple roles.

The production's local youth talent includes Maia Ettinger and Cora Hertz as Belinda Cratchit, Paul Jagger Karger and Xavier Rosario as Boy Scrooge/Tim Cratchit, and Penelope Kaminsky and Eviva Rose as Turkey Boy.

Rounding out this award-winning team of artists are former Boston Ballet Principal Dancer John Lam (Choreographer), Tony-nominee Scott Bradley (Scenic Design), Fabian Fidel Aguilar (Costume Design), Obie Award-winner Eric Southern and Jessica Elliott (Co-Lighting Designers), and Elliot Norton Award-winner David Remedios (Sound Design).

Biographies of cast members follow.

Will Lyman * (Ebenezer Scrooge) – CSC: King Lear (King Lear), Hamlet (Claudius), The Tempest (Prospero), Julius Caesar (Brutus), and Carol '24 and '25 (Scrooge). Off Broadway: Man in Snow, The Passion of Dracula, The Novelist, The Grinding Machine. The Huntington Theatre Company: Prayer for the French Republic, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, All My Sons, Dead End. New Repertory Theatre : Long Day's Journey into Night, Dollhouse, The Clean House, The Ice-Breaker. Israeli Stage: Oh God, Ulysses on Bottles. The Nora@Central Square Theater: Operation Epsilon, Equus. Boston Playwrights' Theatre: Windowmen, The Oil Thief, King of the Jews. Gamm Theatre: Celebration. Boston Symphony Orchestra: A Midsummer Night's Dream. Cleveland Symphony: Every Good Boy Deserves Favor. The National Symphony: Ivan the Terrible. Handel and Haydn Society: Medea. Film: 'Little Children,' 'Mystic River,' 'The Siege,' 'A Perfect Murder,' 'Welcome to the Dollhouse,' and 'What Doesn't Kill You'. TV: 'Commander-in-Chief,' 'Our Fathers,' 'Threat Matrix,' 'Hull High,' 'Three Sovereigns for Sarah,' 'George Washington,' 'Crossbow,' and long-time narrator of public affairs program 'Frontline' (PBS). Awards: multiple Elliot Norton and IRNE awards, Howard Keel Award for service to the Screen Actors Guild.

Stephen Caliskan (Peter Cratchit) – CSC: Carol '24 and '25. Wheelock Family Theater: Charlotte's Web. Lyric Stage : Hello, Dolly! Firehouse Center for the Arts: Million Dollar Quartet. The Vineyard Theater (NYC): Space Laser, in Space! TC2: One Name. Film: Apple TV+: CODA, Weekend Warriors. 20th Century Studios: Ella McCay. Commercial: Fresh Express, Fetch Rewards. Music Directing: Firehouse Center for the Arts, Brooks School. Stephen won a SAG award for Best Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture for CODA, and was the regional winner and national finalist at the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival, where he won a New England Theater Conference Best Monologue award.

Mary Callanan * (Ghost of Christmas Present) – CSC: Debut! Broadway: Bandstand (OBC), Mamma Mia! (Rosie - OBC Final Company), Annie. National Tours: My Fair Lady, Bridges of Madison County, Mamma Mia!, Sound of Music, big, Damn Yankees. Regional: The Jack of Hearts Club, Come From Away, Always, Patsy Cline, Titanic, Fiddler, Sound of Music, Kinky Boots, Oklahoma!, Damn Yankees, Letters from 'Nam, The Prom, Gypsy, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson , Mame, Les Miserables, Falsettos, Follies, BatBoy, Sweeney Todd, Sunday in the Park, Chicago, Violet. Actors Equity! CGF and LAF.

Peter DiMaggio* (Fred) – CSC: A Christmas Carol '25, As You Like It (Common), Macbeth (Stage2), Shakespeare at the Library: Worlds of Imagination (Hamlet/Guitarist & Composer). SpeakEasy Stage Company: Swept Away, Lizard Boy. Actors' Shakespeare Project: Romeo and Juliet. Wheelock Family Theatre: The SpongeBob Musical ( Elliot Norton Award Winner). Hackmatack Playhouse: Once. Sh!t-faced Shakespeare: Hamlet, A Midsummer Night's Dream. Peter received his BFA in Acting from Boston University and a Certificate in Classical Acting from LAMDA. His original music is available to stream on all platforms. Peter would like to thank his mentors, friends, and family for their constant love and support.

Neal Ferreira* (Fezziwig) – CSC: Carol '24. Boston Symphony Orchestra: Die Tote Stadt, Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, Wozzeck, La bohème, Der Rosenkavalier. Boston Lyric Opera: Eurydice, Omar, Champion, Trouble in Tahiti, In the Penal Colony, The Magic Flute. Odyssey Opera: Lysistrata, Of Thee I Sing/Let 'Em Eat Cake, The Voyage of Edgar Allan Poe , L'assedio di Calais, The Importance of Being Earnest. Boston Modern Orchestra Project: Haroun and the Sea of Stories. Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra: Don Carlo, Norma, The Magic Flute, Carmen, Otello. Emmanuel Music: The Beggar's Opera. The Shakespeare Concerts: Hamlet, The Tenor's Suite, The Tempest. Other engagements include the American Repertory Theater, Handel & Haydn Society, and Glimmerglass Festival. Neal is an Assistant Professor of Voice at Berklee College of Music.

Maia Ettinger (Fan, Belinda Cratchit) – CSC: A Christmas Carol '24 & '25. Wheelock Family Theatre: The Prom, Make Way for Ducklings, Matilda, A Year with Frog and Toad, and more. Reagle Music Theatre: The Little Mermaid. Hovey Players: Appropriate. Boston Playwrights Marathon: Strawberry Shortcake. Curtain Call Theatre: The Wolves. PBS Kids: Pinkalicious and Peterrific. Maia received the 2023-2024 EMACT DASH award for Best Youth Performer in a Play for her performance as Cassidy in Appropriate (Hovey Players). Maia is a sophomore at The Cambridge School of Weston and trains in acting and voice with Katie Pohlman and Desi Oakley .

Jack Greenberg* (Young Scrooge) – CSC: A Midsummer Night's Dream, Romeo & Juliet, Macbeth. REGIONAL: The Hills of California, We Had a World, John Proctor is the Villain (The Huntington); The Hills of California (Berkeley Repertory); Dear Evan Hansen (The Fulton Theatre), Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (Reagle Music Theatre); The Soldier's Tale (Brandeis Theatre). Education: BFA (Boston University '25), BADA Oxford Program.

Cora Hertz (Fan, Belinda Cratchit) returns for a third season of A Christmas Carol. Previous credits include multiple roles in Boston Ballet's The Nutcracker and featured ensemble in MassOpera's Alcina.

David Jiles, Jr.* (Topper) – CSC: Carol '25. Greater Boston Stage Company: All is Calm, Miracle on 34th Street, It's a Wonderful Life, Jonah and The Whale, Sweet Charity, The Full Monty, Sunfish. Wheelock Family Theatre: The Prom, The SpongeBob Musical, A Wrinkle in Time, The Wizard of Oz, Bud Not Buddy, James and The Giant Peach. David has also been seen at The Company Theatre, Speakeasy Stage, North Shore Music Theatre, Porchlight Theatre, and Bailiwick Theatre. David's band, Flipside, performs over 60 private events each year. He is a proud member of Actors' Equity and the Musical Theatre Educators Alliance. David is a designated Linklater voice teacher and an Assistant Professor at Berklee College of Music, where he teaches voice and musical theatre. He also teaches voice at Emerson College.

Penelope Kaminsky (Turkey Boy) – CSC: Debut. Credits include Tessie in Annie (Greater Boston Stage Company), London Child in A Christmas Carol (North Shore Music Theatre), Nemo in Finding Nemo Jr. (NSMT Education), and Gavroche in Les Misérables School Edition (Misfit Artist Co.).

Paul Jagger (PJ) Karger (Boy Scrooge/Tim Cratchit) – CSC: Carol '24 and '25. Rhode Island Youth Theater: Mary Poppins, Cinderella (Knight) and Pinocchio (Pinocchio). Previous model at ModelClub Inc. and studying music at Community Center of Music Boston.

Laura McHugh * (Mrs. Fezziwig) CSC: A Christmas Carol '24, '25. Tulsa Opera: Into the Woods. Odyssey Opera: Of Thee I Sing, Let 'Em Eat Cake. Opera51: Sweeney Todd. Awards: 1st Place, Classical Singer National Competition; 1st Place, Vermont Vocal Competition; 2nd Place, Classical Idol. Opera roles include the title roles in Rusalka, Suor Angelica, and Gräfin Mariza, Mimì and Musetta (La bohème), Countess (Le nozze di Figaro), Fiordiligi (Così fan tutte), Vitellia (La clemenza di Tito), Zerlina (Don Giovanni), and Valkyries Gerhilde and Ortlinde (Die Walküre), alongside numerous contemporary and world-premiere works. She was the featured vocalist in Yury Yanowsky's world-premiere dance piece Subject 41 with Lam Dance Works, subsequently performing the work at its Tanglewood premiere. Recordings include the GRAMMY-nominated The Lord of Cries (Pentatone), with upcoming releases of The Last Savage and The Padrone (BMOP/sound).

Kathryn McKellar * (Ghost of Christmas Past) – CSC: Carol '24 and '25. Boston Lyric Opera: Le Nozze di Figaro, The Rake's Progress, Aida, Carmen, La Traviata, I Puritani, Merry Widow, The Magic Flute. Lyric Stage Company: My Fair Lady, The Mikado. Odyssey Opera: Patience, Giovanna D'arco, Lucio Silla. Boston Modern Orchestra Project: The Chronicles of Nine, Haroun and the Sea of Stories. Reagle Music Theater: My Fair Lady, Les Miserables. MassOpera: Carmen. OperaHub: Divas, L'incoronazione di Poppea. Other credits include The Boston Pops, Opera Providence, Anthem Theater Company, Purcell Society of Boston, Cambridge Chamber Opera, and Boston Opera Collaborative. Kathryn is a graduate of The Boston Conservatory and artistic director/co-founder of Opera on Tap Boston.

Xavier Rosario (Tiny Tim) – CSC: 3rd year as Tim Cratchit in A Christmas Carol.

Previously he played Young George in Machine Learning at Central Square Theatre.

Eviva Rose (Turkey Boy) – CSC: Third season with CSC, including Mamillius in The Winter's Tale and Young Macduff in Macbeth at Shakespeare on the Boston Common. Previous credits include Charles Wallace in A Wrinkle in Time and a duckling in Make Way For Ducklings, both with Wheelock Family Theater. Eviva is also a competitive dancer with Kinetic Dance Studio.

Tamara Ryan* (Mrs. Cratchit) – CSC: Carol '25. The Huntington: The Light in the Piazza. Beth Morrison Opera Projects: Sensorium Ex Workshop. Boston Opera Collaborative: All I was

_Originally reported by [BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/boston/article/A-CHRISTMAS-CAROL-Cast-Announced-at-Commonwealth-Shakespeare-20261007)._