Submitted by Island Stage Left.

Island Stage Left offers the San Juans two holiday shows this year: one an old favorite, the other brand-new to the islands.

Beginning Dec. 17, Daniel Mayes, together with singer Laura Concord, will give four performances of the ever-popular “Christmas Memories,” based on stories of Dylan Thomas’s childhood. Then on Dec. 23 and 24, Stage Left presents veteran Broadway actor Allen Fitzpatrick in four performances of his one-man “Christmas Carol.” It’s a brilliant piece of theatre: touching, funny, and full of life.

“Christmas Memories” takes the audience to a small town in Wales, a hundred years ago. Daniel Mayes weaves an enchanting story, by turns funny and romantic, starring the language of Dylan Thomas: “All the Christmases roll down toward the two-tongued sea, and they stop at the rim of the ice-edged, fish-freezing waves, and I plunge my hands in the snow and bring out — whatever I can find!” Laura Concord, who performed in the show when it first premiered, returns to sing the tunes of Thomas’s women – from the tearful wife longing for her husband, far away in the WWI trenches, to the tipsy aunt serenading the stars in the dark yard.

Allen Fitzpatrick’s “Christmas Carol” is a very special event. A seasoned Broadway actor who has worked with everyone from Stephen Sondheim to Vanessa Redgrave, Fitzpatrick will appear as 26 different characters in this one-hour solo adaptation of the Charles Dickens classic.

“Let the words speak for themselves,” is Fitzpatrick’s motto. The result is a show that brings across a familiar story with special immediacy and great personal impact.

The inspiration for a one-man version of the story goes straight back to Dickens, who gave dramatic readings of the novella that were so popular he kept them up for two decades, until shortly before he died. “It popularized many aspects of mid-Victorian Christmas celebrations, including family gatherings, seasonal food and drink, and a festive generosity of spirit,” says Fitzpatrick. “But its most important theme is to shine a light on mistreatment of the poor. And of course, it clearly shows the path by which selfish, acquisitive men may redeem themselves.”

Though working extensively in New York, Fitzpatrick maintains a close connection to the Pacific Northwest, having appeared dozens of times at the 5th Avenue Theatre (where he won a Footlight Award for his star turn as “Sweeney” in Sweeney Todd) as well as at ACT, Seattle Rep, the Intiman Theatre, and in a Sondheim tribute at Benaroya Hall with the Seattle Symphony.

Both of ISL’s holiday shows will be performed at the San Juan County Fairgrounds, in the Marie Boe building. “Christmas Memories” runs Dec. 17, 19, 20, 21 at 7 p.m.. Allen Fitzpatrick’s “A Christmas Carol” runs Dec. 23 and 24 only, two shows each day, at 3 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.. Admission is free, donations gratefully accepted.

Reservations are highly recommended for the Christmas Eve shows. For more information visit www.islandstageleft.org.