Here’s a toast to three Scrooges from three local Christmas Carol productions as dissimilar as you could imagine.  One is serving Ebenezer straight up (the Goodman). One has the miser singing the blues (HeadCheese Fat Boss). And one has a female Scrooge giving birth to a teddy bear with Donny Osmond (the Neo-Futurists). So if head-scratching, knee-slapping comedy is your taste, head to Andersonville to see Neo-Futurist Kristie Vuocolo offer a "real-life version" of the classic tale (Nov. 22nd to Dec. 23rd, $15, neofuturists.org). If beatnik jazz is more your flavor, count on HeadCheese’s Tyler Bohne to strip down the traditional accouterments and deliver an honest, urban reinterpretation with his ninth annual The Hipmas Carol (Dec. 5th to 20th, $25, theaterland.com). Traditionalists, don’t fret: The brilliantly hammy Larry Yando is returning to star in the Goodman’s long-standing, elaborate production (Nov. 21st to Dec. 31st, $25-$72, goodmantheatre.org). "It’s much easier to be miserable than happy," Yando says. But don’t forget, he adds, Scrooge gets a happy ending. "So many people connect with the story in so many ways. People don’t get tired of it."

Photography: Taylor Castle