For audiences who believe they have seen every possible version of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, Burien Actors Theatre (BAT) offers a hilarious and inventive challenge with the Northwest Premiere of The Past, a Present Yet to Come. This play, running November 28 through December 21, 2025, is not just another holiday tale, but an irreverent imagining of how Dickens’ famous story actually came to be written.
Set in Victorian London, the plot centers on a young entrepreneur who seeks to soften his Uncle Ebenezer Scrooge’s notoriously hard heart by producing a play. For this unusual mission, he engages the help of no-nonsense theatre producer J.B. Roth, who then hires the broke and philandering Charles Dickens. The mission begs the question: are there ulterior motives driving this unlikely theatrical attempt to save Scrooge?
A Comedy That Delves Deep into Change
The production is described as a hilarious fictional account that takes a well-known tale and twists it into a heartwarming story focused on motives, character, and the possibility of change. Director Adrian Cerrato explores profound themes beneath the comedic surface, asking what it takes to encourage change in someone we love and whether that change demands outside help or must come from within.
Cerrato notes that while people often resist change, the play argues that change is the only thing we can do. Ultimately, the characters discover that while transformation is fun and funny, change must truly come from within.
Even the Artistic Director, who initially declared, "I hate Holiday plays" and specifically despises new takes on A Christmas Carol, admitted to being won over by Matt Schatz’s script, confessing to "laughing as I read" it. The production promises laughs while still showing transformation, ensuring audiences will have fun watching the play unfold.
Star-Studded Script and Local Talent
The play is penned by writer and composer Matt Schatz, an acclaimed writer whose accolades include The Kleban Prize in Musical Theatre, The ASCAP Foundation Harold Arlen Musical Theater Award, and The Reva Shiner Comedy Award. Schatz has a rich background in both theater and screenwriting, having been a writer for shows for AMC and Sony, and co-writing the pilot for the upcoming Netflix Animation Charlie and the Chocolate Factory adaptation with Oscar-winner Taika Waititi.
The cast, which formed a "supremely entertaining" chemistry, brings this Northwest Premiere to life:
• Danielle Alexis Nicole Mitchell (Fred) makes her Burien Actors Theatre debut.
• Lauren Erwin (J.B. Roth) trained at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.
• John Dugaw (Charles Dickens), who previously worked with BAT in 2022, is thankful for the opportunity to tell a different kind of holiday story that still shows transformation, and wishes to remind audiences of the importance of change. He also notes he uses two accents in the show.
Adrian Cerrato, the director, previously directed an all-Latine production of The Glass Menagerie and has acted across many Seattle-area theaters, including Seattle Shakespeare Company and Seattle Children’s Theatre. The creative team includes Cyndi Baumgardner (props design), Rob Falk (light design), and Jester Kamps (costumer), with set design and music by Eric Dickman and Scott Barker, respectively.
The Past, a Present Yet to Come runs approximately 100 minutes with no intermission, and contains some adult content and a little adult language.
Performances take place at the Little Theatre at Kennedy Catholic High School in Burien, WA. Tickets can be ordered online, or by calling BAT at 206-242-5180. In a commitment to accessibility sponsored in part by 4Culture through the Public Free Access 2025 project, all student tickets are always $5, and those facing ticket barriers are encouraged to contact info@BATtheatre.org. Free on-site parking and ADA accessibility are also available at the venue
