“Bah, humbug!” will soon ring out in the Crocker Theater, as Cabrillo Stage hosts its first-ever winter play, “Scrooge,” the musical.

“This play is not going to be the conventional Scrooge,” said Zendrix Llado, who plays a puppeteer in the production. “We are really taking advantage of the fact that it’s a musical.”

Opening on Dec. 18, the play is directed by Andrew Ceglio and stars Cabrillo Theater teacher Joseph Ribeiro as the infamous Ebenezer Scrooge.

The local production is nothing like the traditional tale, in which four spirits confront a greedy man and warn him that his soul will be burdened by heavy chains for eternity if he does not change his ways. After all four ghosts make their visit, Scrooge than realizes that his material items do not mean as much to him as the lives of others, forcing him to make a much-needed change.

“There is so much symbolism in this play,” said Asha Kancherlapalli, who’s also involved in the production. “It makes it enjoyable on an intellectual level as well as visual. It’s my first musical since I was fourteen, so a I am thrilled to be doing it.”

The play takes the audience through a range emotions—excitement, suspense, fear—and a suspension of disbelief will come easily, Kancherlapalli said.

“Working on the Scrooge production made me realize how many morals and everyday situations the play reflects in reality, [especially compared] to the actual Scrooge movie, where the main value of the story is possessions,” she said. “In this production it was more about caring for others that was important.”

Scrooge viewers will perhaps leave the auditorium feeling enlightened this holiday season, as they realize that life does not revolve around materialism—that we all need to take time to just enjoy, love, and appreciate the people and family we all have in our lives.

The play premieres Dec. 18 and runs through Jan. 3. Showtime is at 7:30 p.m. and with a 2 p.m. matinée. Tickets are available at cabrillostage.com.