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  The cast of "The Farndale Avenue...A Christmas Carol."

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  Lacy Camp

  - Lacy Camp

  The cast of "The Farndale Avenue...A Christmas Carol"

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With about 20 movie versions of “A Christmas Carol” and dozens of TV, radio and theater adaptations chances are you’re well acquainted with Charles Dickens’ classic story about Ebeneezer Scrooge. But it’s unlikely you’ve ever seen anything like the over-the-top version playing at the Armour Street Theatre this month.

A production of the Davidson Community Players, the play (take a deep breath), “The Farndale Avenue Housing Estate Townswomen’s Guild Dramatic Society’s Production of A Christmas Carol,” is about an inept but endearing group of ladies who “attempt and fail” to perform the Christmas classic, says director Matt Cosper of Charlotte.

The cast features five local actors who portray a dizzying lineup of characters who have to contend with an array of mishaps and misunderstandings. “It’s really a play within a play,” says Cosper. “It’s great because it’s a welcome relief from all the usual Christmas stuff. It’s irreverent and silly but still has a lot of heart.”

During his career Cosper, 31, has worked at some of the region’s most well-known theater companies, including Actor’s Theatre of Charlotte and Carolinas Actors Studio Theatre. He founded The Machine in 2009, a collection of artists who develop original performance pieces. This summer he directed “The Tempest” at The Green in uptown for Charlotte Shakespeare Festival.

This is Cosper’s first time working with Davidson Community Players, an award-winning theater company that draws more than 12,000 people in and around Lake Norman each year. The play also marks the debut of the theater company’s new artistic director, Marla Brown, who’s also director at the Warehouse in Cornelius.

“This is just a wonderful production,” she says of the play. “The characters and situations are just so extreme and larger than life you can’t help but have fun.”

The Farndale Avenue…A Christmas Carol

Nov. 29-Dec. 16

Armour Street Theatre, 307 Armour St., Davidson

Details: www.DavidsonCommunityPlayers.org

Admission: adults $20, seniors $18, students $12