PLAY PREVIEW Spoof 'Inspecting Carol' pokes fun at community theater naivet & eacute;

Adjustments had to be made for the annual production.
By L. CROW
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
Looking for a new twist on an old tale? New Castle Playhouse will present "Inspecting Carol," a spoof on "A Christmas Carol."
"It is about the Soapbox Theatre company putting on 'A Christmas Carol,' and Murphy's Law takes over," says director Becky Clarke, of New Castle. "Everything that can go wrong, does."
The company has put on this same play year after year after year with the same players, as their annual fund-raiser. Tiny Tim, now age 12, has outgrown his role. But they need their grant from the National Endowment for the Arts in order for the company to survive, so when a strange actor shows up to audition, they assume he is the representative from the NEA, really there to inspect them.
And that's where the mayhem begins. Alan McCreary of New Castle plays Wayne Wellacre, a data processor who wasn't feeling fulfilled in his work. "He decided to follow his bliss and got a 30-day bus pass, auditioning at every theater he came upon," said McCreary.
Terrible actor
"He auditioned at 53 theaters in 25 days, but when he arrives at Soapbox, they think he's from the NEA, so the company goes along with everything he wants. But he's really a terrible actor, and they don't want him there. They give him the part of the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come."
"The managing director's husband used to play the part, but he died, and the costume hasn't been washed since, so it smells a bit," said Clarke. "The other ghosts are played by a black actor named Walter E. Parsons (Joshua Stewart) that the company had to hire to fulfill their multicultural initiative required for last year's NEA grant. The part of Scrooge was always played by Larry Vauxhall (Ken Cole), but he was fired last year because he began speaking his lines in Spanish. He got rehired this year, because they couldn't find anyone else."
"Vauxhall likes to stir things up, make people think and make political statements," said McCreary. "So he teams up with Wellacre, and they rewrite the play. They turn the Ghost of Christmas Present into a giant third-world black baby wearing a sombrero and a diaper."
Eventually, after the play is in total shambles, they realize Wellacre isn't from the NEA when the real inspector shows up. "They are forced to put on this version of the play," said Clarke. "And that's when everything really goes wrong. The set falls apart. It is every actor's nightmare."
Clarke said it was a challenge to build the set for this production, because it is a play within a play. "We had to build a small stage on stage, with an auditorium for the 'audience,'" she said. "And the actors are playing actors who are actors."
Clarke also said that many people who have not been on the New Castle stage for a while have returned for this play, and she is glad to have them back. In addition to directing this production, Clarke is the Executive Director of NCP.
"Inspecting Carol" was written by Daniel Sullivan and the Seattle Repertory Company and published in 1991.
The play opens Dec. 2 and runs weekends through Dec. 18 on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sunday matinees at 3 p.m. For tickets, call (724) 654-3437.