Dickens Dinner: Tam O'Shanter Time Travel

Performers will summon Scrooge and a variety of ghosts at this charming food-and-a-show tradition.

If you received an invitation to a fancy dress party, and the theme was "A Christmas Carol," what would you choose to wear?

The gussy-up options are pretty extensive for a story that clocks in at under 29,000 words. You've got Scrooge, with his pince-nez glasses and top hat, and Jacob Marley, with his rattling chains, and the various ghosts, including the Ghost of Christmas Present, a fashionable wraith who rocks a holly wreath atop his head.

It's a colorful tale, in short, both in costume and theme, and one that can unfold quite festively in a tight window of time.

And it has done just that at the historic Tam O'Shanter restaurant in Atwater Village for 32 years now, with year 33 on the near horizon. The annual Dickens Dinner, which happens on a select number of November and December evenings and afternoons, gives fans of Bob Cratchit, Tiny Tim, and ye olde London a chance to dine and see a merry tableside show, all at once.

The presentation of "A Christmas Carol" will happen pre-feast, with an acting troupe assuming the roles of the iconic characters.

Following Ebenezer Scrooge's timeless wake-up call? A multi-course meal that will include trimmings galore, so prepare to napkin-up that collar while digging into a holiday salad, roasted prime rib or English-style goose or Scottish salmon, and sticky toffee pudding, just to name a few of the delectables.

The dates? Saturday, Nov. 25, Monday, Nov. 27, and Tuesday, Nov. 28, as well as Saturday, Dec. 2. 

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Don't be surprised, now, with what we're about to say. As in, Scrooge-surprised, when he finds out that three ghosts really are going to visit him, to give him the life-changing what-for, in the middle of the night.

Here it is: This event sells out, due in part to the fact that only 60 people are seated for each performance.

So if this intrigues you, and you're a Dickens devotee, or a Cratchitian, which is a person who adores the ever-plucky Cratchit family, best be as fast as a phantom flies on Christmas Eve when it comes to reserving your spot.

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