Ever wonder what Mrs. Cratchit did while her husband and son went out spreading Christmas cheer and melting mean old Scrooge’s heart? Well, Christopher Durang has the answer. Durang, author of the wildly popular Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All for You, brings us the comedy Mrs. Bob Cratchit’s Wild Christmas Binge. In the play, Tiny Tim’s mom is a bit of a mess — she’s fed up with taking care of a houseful of brats and tired of her husband’s endless optimism. The hell with making nice; no, this Christmas, Mrs. Cratchit’s got plans to get good and drunk. And she could get on with it, if only Tiny Tim would stop falling down every time he remembers he’s crippled and that damn ghost would stop popping in every few minutes. (Durang’s Tiny Tim’s a bit more of a whiner than Dickens’s, and instead of the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future, Durang offers just one, very inept spirit who keeps showing up at all the wrong times.)

“It makes fun of A Christmas Carol, Gift of the Magi and It’s a Wonderful Life all at once,” says Susannah Holmes-Kohler, the actress who plays the much-put-upon Mrs. Cratchit. “It’s a wild and zany romp through 1840s Dickens. Basically, Scrooge is teaming up with a disgruntled Mrs. Bob Cratchit.” So, is there the same message of love and goodwill? Ah, no. “There’s a message,” laughs Holmes-Kohler, “but it’s not that one.” 2:30 p.m. Sundays, 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Through December 30. The Strand Theatre, 2317 Ship’s Mechanic Row in Galveston. For tickets and information, call 1-866-STRAND-5 or visit www.strand-theatregalveston.com. $15 to $22.

Fridays, Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 2:30 p.m. Starts: Nov. 30. Continues through Dec. 31, 2007

This article appears in Dec 13-19, 2007.