Charles Dickens, one of the most popular and prolific writers of the nineteenth century, was born on February 7, 1812, in Portsea, England, to John and Elizabeth Dickens. His father was a clerk in the Naval Pay Office, and in 1824, he was arrested for debt. While his family was imprisoned in the Marshalsea Prison in London, Dickens, then only twelve, was forced to work at Warren’s Blacking Factory. After his father was released from prison, Dickens attended a day school in London. In 1827, he was taken from school and worked in a law office and later as a freelance reporter at Doctor's Commons Courts. In 1833 he began writing sketches of London life under the pseudonym Boz, which appeared in newspapers and magazines and were published in the collection “Sketches by Boz” in 1836. That year, Dickens also married Catherine Hogarth, met John Forster, his close friend and biographer, became the editor of “Bentley's Miscellany,” and began publishing “The Pickwick Papers” in monthly installments, a form that he would use for his other works. Over the next six years, Dickens published four novels in serial form, “Oliver Twist” (1837-1839), “Nicholas Nickleby” (1838-1839), “The Old Curiosity Shop” (1840-1841) and “Barnaby Rudge” (1841). In 1842, he went on a lecture tour of the United States and Canada, where he urged the abolition of slavery and international copyright. When he returned to England, he published “American Notes” (1842), a critical account of his experiences there, and the novel “Martin Chuzzlewit” (1843-1844), part of which was set in America. He also wrote “A Christmas Carol” (1844), the first of his popular Christmas books, which include “The Chimes” (1844) and “The Cricket on the Hearth” (1845). After returning from a tour of Italy, Switzerland, and France with his family, Dickens established an amateur theatre company. He also founded and edited two periodicals, “Household Words,” which ran from 1850 to 1859, and “All the Year Round,” which ran from 1859 until his death. In 1853, Dickens gave the first of many public readings from his work. During this period, Dickens wrote his most successful novels, “Dombey and Son” (1846-1848), “David Copperfield” (1849-1850), “Bleak House” (1852-1853), “Hard Times” (1854), “Little Dorrit” (1855-1857), “A Tale of Two Cities” (1859), “Great Expectations” (1860-1861), and “Our Mutual Friend” (1864-1865). After several tours of the British Isles and America to give public readings, Dickens suffered a mild stroke. He died in London on June 9, 1870, leaving his final novel, “The Mystery of Edwin Drood,” unfinished.
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Michael Wilson’s adaptation of A CHRISTMAS CAROL, A GHOST STORY OF CHRISTMAS enjoyed its 22nd holiday season at Hartford Stage, where Wilson was Artistic Director from 1998 to 2011. Published by Dramatists Play Service, his adaptation premiered in 1990 at Houston’s Alley Theatre, where it celebrated 24 years in December 2019. In 2020, with theatres closed around the world due to the pandemic, Washington D.C.’s Ford’s Theatre commissioned Wilson to adapt and direct an all new radio version of the Dickens classic. This new aural production featuring music and sound by Wilson's long-time collaborator John Gromada will be broadcast Christmas Day by Ford's presenting partner, WMAU 88.5 American University Public Radio. On Broadway, Wilson directed the revival (as well as the 2014 Emmy and DGA Awards nominated and NAACP Image Award winning) Lifetime/Ostar film adaptation of Foote’s THE TRIP TO BOUNTIFUL, for which Cicely Tyson received the Tony Award for Best Actress. He received Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards for his direction of Foote’s nine-hour, three-part epic, THE ORPHANS’ HOME CYCLE, which premiered at Hartford Stage in 2009 before moving to New York and winning every major new play award that season (sans the Tony, for which as an Off-Broadway production it was not eligible). On Broadway, he directed the Tony nominated revival of Gore Vidal’s THE BEST MAN; and the Tony nominated new plays, DIVIDING THE ESTATE and ENCHANTED APRIL, among others. Off-Broadway, he has directed premieres by Eve Ensler, Marcus Gardley, Rebecca Gilman, John Guare, Beth Henley, Tina Howe, and Christopher Shinn, among others; as well as revivals of Arthur Miller (INCIDENT AT VICHY at Signature Theater Company, subsequently filmed for television by WNET 13 and Broadway HD); Tennessee Williams; and Lanford Wilson. His other screen work includes the award-winning film “Showing Roots” by Susan Batten, starring Uzo Aduba, Maggie Grace, and Elizabeth McGovern. A recipient of the Princess Grace Fellowship and Statue Awards, the Daryl Roth Creative Spirit Award, the 2017 Bay Street Theater Visionary Award, and, along with Ben Brantley and Howell Binkley, an inaugural inductee into the R. J. Reynolds Arts Magnet High School Hall of Fame, Wilson recently directed the acclaimed American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) revival of Tennessee Williams’ THE NIGHT OF THE IGUANA starring Elizabeth Ashley, Dana Delaney, Bill Heck, James Earl Jones, and Amanda Plummer, and the 2018 premiere of “Fellow Travelers” by Jack Canfora. Wilson, a Morehead Scholar of UNC Chapel Hill, serves as Treasurer of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC). Current projects include Bryan Batt's new play “Dear Mr. Williams,” Daisy Foote and Steve Earle's new musical “Tender Mercies,” and the live stream benefit captures of THE BEST MAN (Broadway's Best for The Actors Fund) and Stan Zimmerman's “Right Before I Go” (La Vie Productions/Quick Center for the Performing Arts at Fairfield University for Jed and American Foundations to Prevent Suicide). Wilson lives with his long-time collaborator and life partner, scenic designer and visual artist Jeff Cowie.
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