Multiple versions of ‘Christmas Carol’ are running in Philly. Which one is for you?

Ebenezer Scrooge played by a female actor? Yes! Dee Pelletier, who has performed in New York and in many regional theaters, will play Scrooge — as a male character — in McCarter Theatre Center’s production of A Christmas Carol.

Given that Charles Dickens’ classic is a perennial favorite on holiday stages, it’s not surprising that theater companies work hard to find a fresh twist.

But a “fresh twist” is not how director Lauren Keating describes her decision to cast a woman in the lead role.

“For me, it’s the best actor for the job,” she said. “That’s all it is.

“There was a lot of intersection between this character and this actor,” Keating said. “Why would you keep an actor from this role when it’s so right for them?”

A female actor, Addie Seiler, plays a child Scrooge, while a male actor, Matt Monaco, is Scrooge as a young man.

Keating has served as a director on many other productions of A Christmas Carol, and what’s fresh about her approach this time, she said, is how she is looking at Scrooge as a person.

She describes him as a young boy with a harsh childhood who suffered from loneliness and insecurity, keeping his emotions and his money close so he could feel safe.

Some productions, Keating said, stage A Christmas Carol as a “scared-straight” story. A hard-hearted man experiences terrifying visits from ghosts and is changed.

“It’s a journey that he has to make,” she said. “External things happen to him. Ghosts arrive and there are those plot points. But there are also the changes he has to make within himself.”

Keating first saw A Christmas Carol at the age of 5 at the McCarter. “It was a big part of my gateway to theater.”

It’s a story that always resonates, she said. “Every year, somehow it seems even more urgent and more necessary that we come together as a community, and that we are reminded that kindness matters most when it is inconvenient to us. This annual reminder to get in touch with the best of ourselves is something people really connect to and really need.”

(Dec. 7-24, “A Christmas Carol,” McCarter Theatre Center, 91 University Place, Princeton, 609-258-2787 or mccarter.org)

Hedgerow Theatre Company’s take on the Dickens classic is decidedly comic, with only two actors playing all the characters. Written by Katie Leamen, A Christmas Carol Comedy is having its U.S. premiere at the Rose Valley theater.

“I am in awe that my silly script will have its American premiere by a company that has played such a significant role in American theater history,” said Leamen, a producer, playwright, actor, and founding member of Toronto’s No Porpoise Productions.

Dickens’ classic was published in December 1843. The theater, which had its start as a grist mill, was built in 1840, although it may be even older than that.

Benjamin Brown, who appeared as Marley in People’s Light’s A Christmas Carol last year, will play Scrooge at Hedgerow. Actor Christopher Patrick Mullen plays every single other character. Pete Pryor directs.

(Through Dec. 24, “A Christmas Carol Comedy” at Hedgerow Theatre, 64 Rose Valley Rd., Media, 610-565-4211 or hedgerowtheatre.org)

At Lantern Theater Company, A Christmas Carol is down to a cast of one. Veteran Philadelphia actor Anthony Lawton is alone on stage for 95 minutes playing more than 20 characters — from Ebenezer Scrooge to Tiny Tim, along with all the ghosts.

It’s a bravura performance, moving and inspiring. Lawton describes it as a tremendous physical effort. “At the end of the run, I’m exhausted,” he said, adding that the audience’s response renews him with every performance.

Lawton developed his version, titled Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, in collaboration with stage and lighting design pros Thom Weaver and Christopher Colucci.

(Through Dec. 28, “Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol,” Lantern Theater Company, at the Proscenium Theatre at The Drake, 302 S. Hicks St., Phila., 215-829-0395 or lanterntheater.org)

As an early Christmas gift for theater lovers, the Fat Ham team has announced they’re headed to Broadway, for a limited 14-week engagement at New York’s American Airlines Theatre. The Pulitzer-winning Fat Ham, written by Philly’s own James Ijames and directed by Saheem Ali, has been lauded for the ways it depicts Black masculinity and queerness. The play was commissioned by and received its world premiere as a filmed production at the Wilma Theater.

Tickets are now available for Wilma Theater subscribers at FatHamBroadway.com. Presale for American Express card members starts Dec. 7, 10 a.m. General onsale is Dec. 12, at 10 a.m.

The Cannonball Festival from September’s Philadelphia Fringe Festival is back as Miniball — 10 days, 12 shows, and dozens of back-to-back performances including contemporary circus, dance, and immersive works.

Actors from Kharkiv are battling oppression and the siege of their Ukrainian city, through the arts. Slovo Theatre Company, a team of Ukrainian and American artists, was founded in April to promote Ukrainian culture abroad. The company will present Mothermotherland, a story about the head of the secret police who must decide whether to execute his mother in service of a larger cause. Based on an autobiographical short story written in 1924, Mothermotherland will be presented at Christ Church Neighborhood House as part of Miniball.

If you didn’t catch sold-out performances by Rose Luardo, Linnea Bond, skullsdotcom, and Shavon Norris during Cannonball, you can check them all out and more at Miniball.

To make things more fun, ticket buyers can elect to participate in Blind Date nights, where they are matched with a stranger to share drinks, conversation, and the performance.

(Dec. 8-18, Miniball, Christ Church Neighborhood House, 20 N. American St., Phila. “Mothermotherland” at 5:30 p.m., Dec. 10, 856-441-2837 or cannonballfestival.org)

Theatre Ariel presents Ancient History by David Ives. Deliciously in love, Jack and Ruth are free and unconventional. Ruth has strong ties to her Jewish roots; Jack’s a lapsed Catholic/atheist. What role will her legacy play?

(Through Dec. 18, “Ancient History,” Theatre Ariel, the Oak Hill Clubhouse, 1660 Oakwood Dr., Narberth hosts the nearly sold-out Dec. 11 show. Dec. 17 and 18, Greenhill Condos, 1001 City Ave., Wynnewood, 610-667-9230 (theatreariel.org)

Mix up a historical house tour with songs, a drink, and a show from Tiny Dynamite. Home for Holidays runs Dec. 9-11 at the historic Powel House, 244 S. Third St., Phila., 215-399-0088 or tinydynamite.org.

Out in the suburbs, White Christmas, the Musical, dances its way on stage through Dec. 18 at SALT Performing Arts, 1645 Art School Rd., Chester Springs, 610-488-2825 or saltpa.com

Check with individual venues for COVID-19 protocols.