'More eccentric than last year.' Upper Cape Tech dinner theater with 'A Christmas Carol'

Embark on a trip to Christmases past, present and future with the Upper Cape Cod Regional Technical High School’s drama club during their upcoming dinner theater production of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol."

Straying from the group's "Café Murder," this year's production invites guests to get a taste of Victorian England through an immersive dinner theater experience. In preparation for opening night on Dec. 15, I caught up with the drama club to see what audiences can expect from this year’s production.

“We're hoping to make this a really fun, family-friendly holiday experience,” Bobby Genereau, advisor for the drama club said in an interview with the Times.

Upper Cape Technical School prepares for 'A Christmas Carol' dinner theater

Their dinner theater productions began in 2015 with “Café Murder,” a murder mystery comedy by Nathan Hartswick, hosted in the Canalside Dining Room — the school’s on-campus restaurant. The original success prompted Genereau to host “Check Please,” by Jonathan Rand the year following.

Some time passed between “Check Please” and the next dinner theater show, “Café Murder” in 2021. When the theater returned, the success was hard to ignore, according to Genereau, and he was asked to come up with another show for the following year.

While searching for his next dinner theater show, Genereau couldn’t find any script that spoke to him until inspiration hit.

“A vision of the Ghost of Christmas Present leading Scrooge through the dining room around to the tables just entered my mind and I said ‘I'm going to do ‘A Christmas Carol’ as dinner theater and have our chef come up with this amazing Christmas Eve menu,'” he said. “I don't know where it came from, but it just popped in there.”

With a play in mind, Genereau set out to find the script, landing on a more traditional script that allowed for the incorporation of service and carols into the play.

The first two courses of the three-course dinner, prepared and served by culinary students and created by Chef Joe Ellia, will be served prior to the show starting. But dessert is saved for a special moment in the play.

“When (the) Ghost of Christmas past (takes) Scrooge to Fezziwig’s party, we have a big dance number,” he said. “As soon as the dance is over Fezziwig is going to announce that dessert is being served so all our guests will feel like they're actually participating in Fezziwig’s party, so they'll be part of the action.”

Outside of a different genre of play, this year’s production is set to take place in the cafeteria, which seats 200 people, instead of the Canalside Dining Room, which only seats 60, thanks to the suggestion from UTC alum Chef Ellia.

“It’s more eccentric than it was last year,” Molly Petty, stage manager and a senior at UTC said. “I'm very excited for that. We're hopefully going to make a lot of money from this.”

For Petty, a larger venue means her job is more intense than in previous years, having to train people how to use lightboards and mic people up.

“It's like this whole big setup and it's like a whole 'nother step that we have to take,” she said. “So, it's a little stressful but we have fun while we do it … That's really the point (of drama) club is just make a family and have a fun time. Then in the end, you just see the bright smiling faces and you're just like, ‘I did a good job. We did a good job.’”

For her, being part of the drama club has added joy to the end of her school days since sophomore year.

“This club was probably the most fun I've had,” she said. “I look forward to it every single day. It's the kids in this club, they shine, their smiles are bright, they love it. They enjoy being on the stage. I find it so enjoyable to see how they grow from beginning to end. That brings me so much joy, especially as a senior because I know like, I'm leaving a legacy.”

For Genereau, his main goal is to give students experience in their vocations alongside a safe space to express themselves.

“A Christmas Carol” will take the stage at UTC at 7 p.m. on Dec. 15 and 16, 4 p.m. on Dec. 17. Tickets are $50 and must be purchased in advance of the show at www.uppercapetech.com/.

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Upper Cape Tech drama club, culinary students stage 'Christmas Carol'