Master Storyteller
Jonathan Kruk
entertains, enchants, educates
Literacy through Listening
"A Christmas Carol"- The Virtual Solo Show
2020 Christmas, a Humbug?!?
Here's How to "keep Christmas well!"
Join me for a unique virtual performance of "A Christmas Carol!"
Please click below to bring a dramatic, intimate live online version of "A Christmas Carol" to your home. Together we shall get through these trying times with this "perfect holiday story of hope."
Jonathan Kruk, Master Storyteller
Charles Dickens"A Christmas Carol"
Virtual Solo Shows
December 5th, 11 am Facebook Live, $25.
with limited socially distanced seating in the theater.
The Musical Theater of Connecticut
Accompanist - Tom McCoy
December 6th - 4pm Youtube Live Donation
St. Vincent College, McCarl Gallery
Accompanist - Jim Keyes
December 15th - FB Live Free
December Holiday Stories
December 16th- 7:30 pm Facebook Live Free
"Santa on the Hudson - The Origin Story"
December 18th, 7 pm Zoom Link Free
"A Christmas Carol" - retold
December 20th 4pm Facebook Live 4pm $15.
Boscobel Historic House
Accompanist - Tom McCoy
December 21st 7:30 pm Facebook Live Free
"The Lonely Christmas Tree by Hans Christian Andersen retold by Jonathan Kruk"
December 22nd 7:30 pm Youtube Live Donation
1st Presbyterian Church, Sparta, NJ
Accompanist - Tom McCoy
Granted, nothing matches live shows in lovely settings, like Sleepy Hollow's The Old Dutch Church. This perfectly crafted story, however, glows through even on the pixelated Facebooked screen.
Count on me this December to give all my voice heart and soul to Dickens' classic in live online performances. Look forward to shows with original music scored and performed by Jim Keyes or Tom McCoy.
We'll film and broadcast from settings atmospheric and stunning: The Boscobel Historic House Museum, and the stage of Musical Theater of Connecticut.
Ask for a show specially tailored to your company, school, or group.
"We were very happily inundated with praise for your show! "
Christie Chumney, Librarian New Canaan Library.
"Everyone who attended absolutely loved your performance!"
Cynthia Gwiazda, Community Services Librarian
Hagaman Memorial Library
Excerpts of Jonathan's "A Christmas Carol "
Charles Dickens' classic, "A Christmas Carol"
A Virtual Solo Performance,
by Jonathan Kruk, Master Storyteller
The New York Times describes Jonathan Kruk as having
"a way with the spoken word, the telling gesture, the sprinkling of humor, and the appropriate costume for a smorgasbord of stories."
Celebrating thirty years of experience, as a Master Storyteller, he is renowned for his performances of " A Christmas Carol."
Using a treasure trove of voices and gestures he creates over thirty characters, to inhabit Dickens' classic. The result is a singular show, intimate, and imaginative. Performing in Dickensian garb, the storyteller creates gripping vignettes with dynamic dialogue. Kruk employs his legendary eloquence, and wit, quickly transforming into Scrooge, Cratchit, Marley, Tiny Tim, and all the spirits.
Jim Keyes opens the show with a rollicking sing-along. His original score blends traditional Christmas carols noted in the story with ambient motifs. Further, he delivers an amazing range of sound effects gleaned from a pipe organ, violin, harp, bells, and a rattling chain.
This December 2020 the stately 19th century Boscobel Historic House will provide an elegant setting for most of the virtual shows. Unlike many Facebook live events, the audience is brought on a virtual tour as this timeless tale unfolds.
The online audience inspires this unique blend of theater and storytelling. It is filled with quotes from Dickens’ original but alive with spontaneity.
Look forward to experiencing hope and redemption for the holidays in this animated performance.
"And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God bless Us, Every One!"
Purchase your ticket now to see the live virtual show on
Sunday, December 20th, 4pm
Ticket holders may view the replay here on this Facebook event page until January 1st.
VIRTUAL FEES
Ask for a professionally filmed broadcast made exclusively for your company, school library, or organization for your online platform viewable until January. $1200
or
Ask for a high-quality film version of the show to post on your FB or Youtube site.
$290.
Creating a Storytelling Solo Show of
"A Christmas Carol"
by Jonathan Kruk
How could I top a smash run of my solo show, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow?” Do another one! “A Christmas Carol!” My first reaction to this suggestion made by my accompanist Jim Keyes? Bah, Humbug!
Dickens’ December masterpiece, I explained, runs over twice as long as Irving’s October classic. Dare I reduce Scrooge, Cratchit and Tiny Tim to cartoon caricatures? A fan then reminded me. “ A Christmas Carol” is the perfect tale of hope and redemption. I could transform this ghostly tale into a unique dramatic retelling. Thus, my solo show of “A Christmas Carol” began in 2011 at the Old Dutch Church in Sleepy Hollow.
Every year a run of twenty shows for Historic Hudson Valley sells out. Jim Keyes has accompanied me at many venues including; the Union County Performing Arts Center, Rahway, NJ, Saint Vincent College, Latrobe, PA, and at the Tompkins Corner Cultural Center, Putnam Valley, NY, The show has filled libraries in Glens Falls, NY, New Canaan and East Haven, CT. It enchants many school audiences too. This year, students in Birmingham Michigan will enjoy this unique performance.
The show runs one animated hour. Using a treasure trove of voices to create over thirty characters, this version of “A Christmas Carol” is immediate, intimate, and imaginative. Some have said I'm “an elegant Robin Williams.” This show brims with Dickens’ original quotes and is alive with spontaneity humor and pathos.
Children find all the character voices and movements especially compelling. The performance meets common core calls for listening skills, reacting to literature, and understanding. Please ask for a school guide.
Jim Keyes provides far more than background music. He blends traditional Christmas carols noted in the story with original ambient motifs. Further, he provides an amazing range of sound effects gleaned from a pipe organ, violin, harp, bells, and a rusty chain. Jim also sets the stage with a spirited sing-along.