The SOL Theatre Company performs the classics. “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat”. “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying”. They open their performance of “A Muppet Christmas Carol” on Thursday. So what’s so special about the company?
The cast members are all kids.
“It makes me feel excited,” says HaverMuss-Nickles, a 10-year-old, who plays Scrooge in the company’s production of “The Muppet Christmas Carol.” “When I get that feeling when I walk on stage, I feel very excited because I’m going to perform, and I really love performing.”
He’s been in a bunch of SOL performances, including their version of “The Giving Tree”. He loves acting, and as Scrooge, he gets to take center stage from the very beginning.
The SOL Theatre company was founded by Jennifer Michaud and her friend Logan Carter almost five years ago. Since then, they’ve grown into a staple in Carbondale. They teach classes at the Ross Montessori School. They even got rights to put on “The Muppet Christmas Carol,” a production with no actual stage version. It was literally as easy as asking the people who had the rights to the muppets if they could put it on. The only condition?
“They want to see it,” says Michaud. “They want a DVD of it because they think it’s going to be adorable.”
And once the kids are fully in costume, that’s hard to argue with. The blonde wigs of a trio of little girls bounce as they prepare for their entrance on stage. The face of Bob Cratchit, or in this case, Kermit the Frog, is painted green.
Michaud, who is now the executive director, says the goal of the group is to help kids grow on and off the stage.
“The kids go into withdrawal after the show’s over because they’ve gotten so close with one another,” says Michaud. “It’s not just about them learning how to sing and dance onstage, and to perform as a character. It’s also learning a little bit more about themselves.”
Muss-Nichols says he thinks he might want to be an actor when he grows up. He already has a deep understanding of his character. His favorite scene he acts in is when Scrooge meets the Ghost of ChristmasYet to Come.
“You see the whole evolution of Scrooge,” he says. “How he’s all mean and angry at the beginning, but then he turns into this person - like a normal human being - who would have all of these emotions and stuff. That’s where you first see his emotions.”
The show opens Thursday night at the Third Street Center in Carbondale.
