Seven Poor Travellers

By adapting one of Charles Dickens’ short stories to the stage, local dynamo Charlie Bethel has established a one-man counterpoint to the raft of more elaborate holiday spectacles (though granted, Seven Poor Travellers, now in its second year, rather quickly became a success in its own right). With a dramatic but subtle recital of Dickens’ beautifully rendered tale—the language is kept largely intact—Bethel paints a vivid portrait of a particular holiday dinner. This feast unfolds in a hotel on Christmas Eve, where six poor Englishmen become the beneficiaries of another poor but spirited guest, who treats everyone to food, drink, and lively storytelling. Hennepin Center for the Arts, 528 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis; 612-339-4944; www.illusiontheater.org