St. Petersburg City Theater is celebrating its centennial with a unique production of “A Christmas Carol” Dec. 12-21. The twist: actors play dual roles as both the original cast members from a 1942 radio broadcast at the theater and the classic Dickens characters.

The milestone kicks off Dec. 12 with an opening night celebration following the 7:30 p.m. performance. Tickets are sold separately. The celebration includes a brief ceremony with live performances and a reception featuring desserts, small bites and beverages. Those attending both the show and celebration will receive complimentary beverages from the concessions stand. Celebration RSVP by Dec. 11 at https://stpetersburgcitytheatre.regfox.com/spct-centennial-celebration.

Acclaimed director Michael Nower helms the production. Author and journalist Bill DeYoung plays Frank Joyner, who starred as Scrooge in the 1940s. Journalist and actor David Warner plays Capt. Patrick Walters and Spirit 2, Topper. Sara Nower serves as narrator, playing Barbara San, who narrated the original broadcast.

Both DeYoung, who writes about theater and music, and Warner have appeared in productions throughout Tampa Bay and beyond. Warner is currently featured in the new PBS documentary “Triumph.”

Many cast members know each other from Gulfport Community Theater. The production will be recorded and aired on RadioStPete during the holidays. Also starring are Donald Speirs, Aaron Bray, Ellie Stone, Richard Isaacs, Nathanial Beaver, Stan Gurvitz, Velda Gauthier, Laura Banks, Miranda Reyes, Samantha Lee, Eric Kennedy, Lorelei McGarry, Clark Kennedy and Clifton Kennedy.

Sara Nower has played the narrator before at St. Petersburg City Theater. For more than 30 years, she acted and directed in London, Essex and Sussex in the United Kingdom. She now spends winters in Florida and has acted locally with The Off Central Players, St. Pete City Theatre, Gulfport Players and the Radio Theatre Project at Studio 620.

Michael Nower, an accomplished actor and director from England who now lives in Gulfport full time with his wife Sara, is excited about this year’s production.

“Last year we did something similar in the little studio theater in the foyer with just a few actors,” the director says. “It was a similar concept, but without using a radio studio as a background.”

His directing credits include “Whiskey & Soda,” “The Birds,” “Blackbird,” “Lion in Winter,” “Breaking the Code,” “Blithe Spirit” and “God of Carnage.”

In the show’s opening, audiences see the actors as real people setting up for the 1940s radio broadcast before stepping up to the microphones to stage “A Christmas Carol” as an audio play.

DeYoung likes the concept and has experience with Studio@620‘s RadioTheater.

“It’s theater of the mind,” he says. “I get to voice Scrooge, but I don’t have to be Scrooge because I’m reading the script.”

Warner finds this incarnation meaningful and credits dramaturge Stefanie Lehmann.

“It’s a re-creation of an actual radio broadcast of ‘A Christmas Carol’ that the company did in 1942 on WSUN,” Warner says. “All of the characters are played by actual people who were part of the theater in the ’40s, including my role: Capt. Patrick Walters, a British expatriate who led the theater at that time. Both as Walters and as the Ghost of Christmas Present, I get to make observations about the rich, the poor and the powerful that are as relevant today as they were in the 1840s and the 1940s.”

DeYoung agrees that “A Christmas Carol” can still teach a lesson or two, especially about Scrooge’s redemption.

“There’s always something to learn there about how you treat other people and how you interact with other people,” he says. “I think that’s a timeless lesson we shouldn’t forget.”

Both Warner and DeYoung agree their favorite Scrooge was Alastair Sim.

A CENTURY OF THEATER

The theater’s board of directors president, Stephanie Lehmann, explains the original production’s back story.

“From the beginning, SPCT members knew they wanted the final show of the 100th year to directly connect to the theater’s history,” she says. “We wanted something that felt like a capstone for the century.”

The theater has a multi-year tradition of performing “A Christmas Carol” for St. Petersburg audiences, making a new adaptation an obvious choice.

“SPCT has a large archive of fascinating newspaper articles and documents lovingly saved since our founding,” Lehmann says. “In 1925, a group of 20 citizens came together to form a community theater club called the Sunshine Players, a play reading group that encouraged freedom of expression by staging works by young writers.”

As the Little Theater Movement grew, membership in 1933 voted to become the St. Petersburg Little Theater. Members later voted in 2011 to rename it St. Petersburg City Theater. Readings and skits evolved into formal staged productions, and membership grew from dozens to hundreds.

“While most Little Theaters closed during World War II, St. Petersburg Little Theater’s members refused to give up when they saw the growing needs of their fellow citizens and service members,” Lehmann says. “They felt the call to serve through our theater’s mission.”

While reading through archives focusing on 1939-1945, Lehmann stumbled upon documents of an actual “Christmas Carol” radio show broadcast on WSUN.

“It felt a bit like fate,” she says. “During this period, we had an especially impressive group of members who were stewards of our mission, so we thought our new production could honor these unsung local heroes.”

As for the play’s moral message, Lehmann says it’s timeless.

“In Dickens’ story, Jacob Marley advises Scrooge: ‘Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, benevolence, were all my business,'” she says. “This new adaptation’s characters knew this ‘business’ and felt it strongly as they faced each day’s challenges. They remind us how our actions today, no matter how small, can shape the legacy we leave behind.”

Warner notes the appeal of the old-time radio version.

“It recalls a time when stories told over the radio held audiences rapt and provided a respite from the difficulties of the world,” he says. “As with all radio theater, it triggers listeners’ imaginations. Also, the costumes, the sound effects and the ads — wait till you hear the one for ‘Liver Loaf’ — are lots of fun.”

Founded in 1925, St. Petersburg City Theater is the longest continuously running community theater on Florida’s West Coast. It’s located at 4025 31st St. S in St. Petersburg. For more information, visit https://spcitytheatre.org/.