Dick Terhune weaves Christmas magic in “A Christmas Carol” at Community Players

By Chris Berger

A Christmas Carol, Community Players, Thursday December 11, 2025

I was excited to see a version of A Christmas Carol that I had not seen before. Having had some experience with it some years before at OCP and seeing many, many versions over the years, I was especially excited to see a one-man show by one of Community Player’s founding members and Lincoln Community Playhouse Legend Dick Terhune! Also, even though Community Players is a bit of a drive for me I always love going to their theatre – not a bad seat in the house! Happy 50^th to Community Players! 

The music by Midnight Syndicate was darkly fun takes on some of the big songs of the season; very Danny Elfman-Nightmare Before Christmas vibes. The lights were simple but effective, never upstaging the performance, but augmenting it – well done. The set is very simple as, I think, it should be – a stuffed chair with a small table (a cup on top) next to a fireplace on the right, a large rug mid stage, a wooden coat/hat rack on the left and a small platform with a Scrooge & Marley Counting House desk and chair on top of the platform in the middle-back of the stage, behind the rug. 

Everything takes place in these four (mainly three; the coat rack only gets used twice) spaces over the course of the story. All of this effectively sets the stage (pun intended) for what, or should I say who, you should really go out of your way to see and that’s Mr. Terhune’s one man tour de force. His diction, clarity and vocal agility with his seemingly effortless ability to quickly jump from character to character are on full display here through the entirety of the show. Each voice is distinct and recognizable and clear and I was never confused about which character was speaking. I quite enjoyed his Scrooge and his Marley voice as well as his Christmas Present voice. I’ve heard Mrs. Cratchit’s toast to Scrooge so many times over the years and this may be my favorite rendition. Dick’s comedy timing and his ability to make comedic “moments” between characters is quite extraordinary. His pacing and timing in scenes with multiple characters is quite a thing to see and is really a masterclass in voice work. His physicality in portraying the different characters was equally as impressive and his jumping back and forth between the characters was very clean and always easy to follow. His movements and facial gestures  switching between the characters combined with his movements around the stage at several times during the show just seemed to flow, almost like a dance. Really fun to watch Mr. Terhune tell this story with his own style and pace. And I will say that again – his pacing throughout the show was spot on, I thought. The adaptation got a ton of Dickens’ prose into the show and really moved right along when it was needed. Patrick R. Spadaccino’s adaptation effectively hits all the usual story beats we are used to seeing very well. I was happy to see the inclusion of the two children with Christmas Present – Want and Ignorance. Also, the inclusion of Old Joe I love as he is not always kept in several versions I’ve seen. 

Overall, one of my favorite versions of Christmas Carol I’ve seen in a long time! I love one person shows and Dick has done an amazing job with this performance! I was completely engaged, enthralled and in parts – spellbound. If you are a Christmas Carol fan, absolutely make the trip to Community Players, you will not regret it! And for someone maybe seeing it for the first time or for the first time in a long time? See it in a similar way that Charles Dickens himself used to perform it all around the country! 

        A Christmas Carol

Adapted for solo stage performance by Patrick R. Spadaccino

From the Charles Dickens’ novel – A Christmas Carol

Directed and Performed by Dick Terhune

If you go: A Christmas Carol runs December 11^th – 14^th Thursday, Friday & Saturday at 7:30pm and Sunday at 2pm. Ticket information at https://www.beatricecommunityplayers.com/

Chris Berger is an actor currently living in Louisville, NE and co-host of The Platte River Bard podcast with his wife and co-founder/co-owner & performer in The Jolly Rogers – The Original Singing Pirates of the Midwest since 1991. 

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