The Second City's A CHRISTMAS CAROL: TWIST YOUR DICKENS! Begins Tonight in LA

There is a casting change in The Second City's "A Christmas Carol: Twist Your Dickens!" presented at the Center Theatre Group's Kirk Douglas Theatre. Ron West will join the cast to play the role of Ebenezer Scrooge. Joe Flaherty was originally announced in that role but needed to leave the production for personal reasons. The twisted telling of Charles Dickens' holiday classic will open November 29 and continue through December 30, 2012. Previews begin tonight, November 24.

Ron West ("3rd Rock from the Sun") is an alumnus of the famed comic proving grounds of The Second City and joins the all-Second City cast of Frank Caeti ("MADtv"), Larry Joe Campbell ("According to Jim"), Dan Castellaneta ("The Simpsons"), Amanda Blake Davis ("Second City Does Dallas"), Brian Stepanek ("The Suite Life of Zack and Cody") and Jean Villepique ("Up All Night").

Written by Second City alums Peter Gwinn (formerly of "The Colbert Report") and Bobby Mort (currently of "The Colbert Report"), "A Christmas Carol: Twist Your Dickens!" is directed by Second City alum Marc Warzecha.

The scenic design is by Tom Buderwitz, costume design by Leah Piehl, lighting design by Brandon Baruch and sound design by Cricket S. Myers. The production stage manager is Kirsten Parker.

With its trademark humor, irreverence and originality, The Second City, in a creative collaboration with CTG, is taking the classic Charles Dickens' Christmas tale and giving it a hearty twist. In addition to Scrooge (played by Ron West), the ever-morphing ensemble will bring the famous Victorian streets to frenzied life with Tiny Tim, that fat, plucked goose, all those know-it-all ghosts, a host of anachronistic characters and hilarious improvs which will have Dickens guffawing in his grave. The cast will be joined by an ever-changing stable of starry, drop-in special guests.

The Second City specializes in sketch comedy and improvisation and has delighted audiences for over 50 years. With resident stages in Chicago and Toronto and touring ensembles, The Second City entertains over a million guests each year. It is also the largest training center in the world for improvisation, sketch and acting, with schools in Los Angeles, Chicago and Toronto, and 20,000 registrations per year. The Second City served as a training ground for a host of famous alumni, including Mike Myers, Bill Murray, Gilda Radner, John Candy, John Belushi, Catherine O'Hara, Tina Fey, Steve Carell, Stephen Colbert and more. Colbert said, "The Second City was everything to me," and Murray said, "Second City is the best job anybody in the American theatre can get. It's incomparable." The New York Times reported that "The entire recent tradition of American satire can be summed up in three words: The Second City."

Tickets for "A Christmas Carol: Twist Your Dickens!" are available by calling (213) 628-2772, online at www.CenterTheatreGroup.org, in person at the Center Theatre Group box office at the Ahmanson Theatre or two hours prior to performances at the Kirk Douglas Theatre box office. The Kirk Douglas Theatre is located at 9820 Washington Blvd., Culver City, Calif.