Yes, that right, see the December 7 performance of Charles Dickens Begrudgingly Performs A Christmas Carol. Again. for only a penny. Other performances are only $5. JUST GOT MY TICKETS!

In 1853, ten years after having dashed off his enormously successful holiday story A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens gave his first public reading of the work. The performance was so well received that Dickens continued to perform these celebrated readings for the rest of his career. Now, nearly 160 years later, the work has become one of theater’s most enduring holiday traditions. The only problem is that Dickens himself has long grown tired of this annual reading. Reports of his death in 1870 were greatly exaggerated, and year after year he has sustained himself financially through these solo performances — albeit with dwindling enthusiasm as he has moved from the grand concert halls of London to finally, this year, The Building Stage in Chicago’s West Loop. As the world celebrates the 200th anniversary of his birth, Dickens has finally reached his breaking point. He knows he must grant the holiday wishes of his audience but desperately hopes to entertain them with anything but another performance of his tired story. Charles Dickens Begrudgingly Performs A Christmas Carol. Again debuted in 2011 to packed houses. Whether you’ve seen A Christmas Carol one or 100 times, this affectionate skewering of the popular tale is a fun antidote to the inevitable holiday weariness.