Andy Karl Plays Scrooge Under Hundreds of Lanterns at PAC NYC
The Old Vic's A Christmas Carol, the Jack Thorne and Matthew Warchus version that won five Tony Awards on Broadway, is back at Perelman Performing Arts Center for a second winter. Andy Karl plays Scrooge, the audience sits around the stage, and carols, handbells and strings are played live.
A Christmas Carol returns to PAC NYC this winter, the arts center at the World Trade Center site. Previews start Friday, November 20, opening night is December 3, and the run closes Sunday, January 3, 2027.
There are 49 performances, evenings at 7, 7:30 or 8 PM and matinees between noon and 3 PM. The show runs about two hours, with a 15-minute intermission.
Ticketmaster sells the seats. The card below opens the Friday, November 27, 8 PM performance, where you can pick seats and see current prices; the other dates are listed on Ticketmaster too.
A Christmas CarolFriday, November 27, 2026, 8 PM. Perelman Performing Arts Center, 251 Fulton Street, New York.ticketmaster.evyy.netA Five-Tony Staging, Now in the Round
Jack Thorne adapted Dickens for this production, and Matthew Warchus directed it at London's Old Vic before it came to Broadway, where it won five Tony Awards. At PAC NYC, Thomas Caruso co-directs.
The stage is a raised cross shape with seats wrapped around it, so nobody sits far from the actors. Hundreds of lanterns hang overhead. The cast sings carols and plays handbells, violins, cellos and piano themselves.
Andy Karl Takes Over as Scrooge
This season's Scrooge is Andy Karl, a three-time Tony nominee and Olivier Award winner. Tamika Lawrence plays the Ghost of Christmas Present, Anne L. Nathan the Ghost of Christmas Past, Chris Hoch is Marley and Jesse Aaronson is Bob Cratchit.
The photos from last winter show the same staging with the 2025 cast. The rehearsal shots are this year's company.
Clementines in the Aisles, Snow on Stage
Last winter, cast members in costume walked the aisles before curtain handing out clementines and cookies. You can say no to a treat, and ingredients are listed in the pre-show email and on signs at the theater.
Expect haze, smoke, loud bells, blackouts and falling snow. Actors come into the audience, props travel through the rows, and near the end one audience member is invited onto the stage.
Getting In, and Who It Suits
Take the 1 to WTC Cortlandt, the R or W to Cortlandt St, the E to World Trade Center, or the 2, 3, 4, 5, A, C or J to Fulton St. There are 34 steps up to the entrance, with an elevator through the tunnel on the left. Everyone goes through metal detectors, and the theater opens about 20 minutes before curtain.
The show is billed for families, but it includes a simulated slap and talk about the death of a child. Younger kids may want a heads-up.
📍 Perelman Performing Arts Center, 251 Fulton Street, New York, NY 10007, at the World Trade Center.
Get there half an hour early, grab a treat, and settle in under the lanterns.