2 Scrooges and 2 Baileys among holiday productions

St. Nick, two more Scrooges and two more George Baileys join the ranks of Utah Christmas productions this week.

• A CHRISTMAS CAROL is having its 23rd annual production at Hale Centre Theatre, 3333 S. Decker Lake Drive, West Valley City, Monday through Dec. 22.

Directed by John Sweeney, this production uses a script that was refined in 2006 by combining the best of more than 40 years of various Hale Centre Theatre and Glendale Centre Theatre scripts, along with Charles Dickens' original text. (The Glendale theater in California was founded more than 50 years ago by Ruth and Nathan Hale.)

Dickens scholar and purist Richard Wilkins, who has directed and starred in several versions of the show, will take on the role of Ebenezer Scrooge for his 23rd straight year. He will be double-cast with David Weekes. Tom Stam, as the Ghost of Christmas Present, is also returning for his 23rd year. Also in the cast are Brad Charon and Gary Ceran sharing the role of Bob Cratchit, E.J. Meyere and Ashley Petersen as Christmas Past, and Eric Armstrong and Josh Richardson as Jacob Marley.

Performances are Mondays-Saturdays at 8 p.m. (a half-hour later than usual to accommodate additional matinees and early-evening performances). There will be 5:30 p.m. performances daily from Dec. 7-22, with Saturday matinees at 12:30 and 3 p.m., as well as 3 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 21. Tickets range from $22-$27 for adults and $15-$20 for children (984-9000 or www.halecentretheatre.org).

• MERRY CHRISTMAS, GEORGE BAILEY, adapted, produced and directed by Shirlee H. Shields for the Babcock Performing Readers, is staged as a radio broadcast version of the classic film "It's a Wonderful Life."

This also marks the Babcock Performing Readers' annual return to its namesake venue, the Babcock Theatre, located on the lower level of Simmons Pioneer Memorial Theatre.

"Bailey" will be performed Thursday-Saturday at 7:30 p.m., featuring a large cast of mostly professional radio, television, film and stage performers, including Ken Sansom, Richard Scharine, E. Craig Costin, Gary Pimentel, Brad Nygren, Gordon Jones, Boyer Jarvis, Tom Drury, Julie Blatter, Tim Lineback, Dan Christensen, Gloria Murdock, Jan Frederickson, Joyce Skidmore, Mark Merkley, Janelle Jacobs and others.