While December often brings a local production of Charles Dickens’ classic “A Christmas Carol” in one form or another, you might be surprised to learn it’s not such an obligatory holiday offering in its natural setting of England.

British-born actor John Wright, who is playing the role of Ebenezer Scrooge for the seventh time in this month’s Calliope Productions presentation of “Bah, Humbug!” said in the two decades he acted there before coming to the states, he never performed in it once.

“I don’t think it’s quite as popular in England, the actual show,” said Wright, who calls Scrooge “a fun role to do” and loves singing the bellowing songs the Dickens-based musicals call for. “It’s all got to be joyful, even the parts that are sort of dark and gloomy. There has to have a lot of humor in him — a lot of the humor comes from the fact that he’s miserable no matter what he does.”

Director David Ludt promises you’ll love the cute singable melodies of “Bah, Humbug!” a delightful collaboration of music and lyrics by Bill Francoeur following the storyline of a book by Rebecca Ryland, which will be guided by musical director Bill Condon.

“People will be humming the tunes leaving the theater,” Ludt assured. “It’s a great family show that’s light, cheerful and happy.”

“Bah, Humbug!” is a different kind of take on “A Christmas Carol” than previous versions offered by Calliope.

“The book it is based on is a little different with some of the characters changed around,” Ludt said. “This storyline was written for a female cast with the option to revert to a male cast if enough men were available.”

In the original text, instead of Bob Cratchit working for Scrooge, it was Beth Cratchit. But there was one logistical problem if they wanted to be historically accurate.

“In Victorian days, women didn’t work,” said Ludt, who plays Cratchit. “So we said the part should be more traditional.”

However, Young Ebenezer Scrooge (Ryans Beals) is tutored by a Miss Fezziwig (Ashley Dunstin) — instead of Mr. Fezziwig — and we learn more about Scrooge himself.

“There’s more development of the relationship between Young Ebenezer and the father who rejected him,” Ludt said. “We also find out what happened to Fanny, Young Ebenezer’s sister and guardian, who was almost a surrogate mother to him. Fanny died at childbirth, which molds Scrooge into a bitter man.”

The loss of his beloved Fanny makes him a more human and sympathetic character instead of the beast he’s usually portrayed as.

When Fanny (played by Halla Kalmansson of Leominster) returns from beyond the grave to sing a duet with Young Ebenezer, it’s one of the highlights in a show where Lauren Mahoney plays Tiny Tim and Grace Leslie returns as the Spirit of Christmas Past. Seven children, aged 7 to 12, are in the cast.

“Every production needs a little kid who’s a sparkler on the stage,” Ludt said. “For this show, we’ve got three.”

Performances of “Bah, Humbug!” take place Thursdays through Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m., tonight through Dec. 16 at Calliope Theatre, 150 Main St., Boylston. Call 508-869-6887 or visit www.calliopeproductions.org.

For some, the 1983 movie version of “A Christmas Story,” culled from a collection of Jean Shepherd stories that originally ran in “Playboy” in the 1960s and skits from Shepherd’s long-running New York City radio show has surpassed “It’s a Wonderful Life” as the quintessential Christmas movie. The theatrical version, adapted by playwright Philip Grecian in 2000, is becoming a fast favorite as well, and is presented by Foothills Theatre Company this month.

Based in a fictional Indiana town based on Shepherd’s hometown of Hammond, “A Christmas Story” is set in 1938. The storyline follows the adventures of 9-year-old Ralphie Parker, who walks by the window of a local department store where he falls in love with a Red Ryder 200-shot BB Gun which he then asks Santa for before enduring endless reminding by his mother that, “you’ll shoot your eye out.” Dad, of course, buys the gun for Ralphie, who promptly runs outside to try it out and gets picked off by a stray ricochet shot which threatens to sabotage the family’s long-awaited Chinese turkey dinner.

“Having the Christmas turkey is a big deal,” said Marianna Bassham, who plays the role of Mrs. Parker. “Otherwise, we always have meatloaf.”

While the movie was centered the 1950s, the stage version is set in 1938.

“We were in the middle of The Great Depression and things had just started in Germany,” said director Jeremy Johnson. “Shep (Jean Shepherd) said The Great Depression was the great leveler. Everybody was equal, everybody was poor.”

“I find when I’m playing the mother, it reminds me of my grandmother in the early ’40s when my mother was little,” she said. “I have a sense of what it was like when they grew up in Illinois and Wisconsin.” She grew up near Cleveland, where much of the movie version was shot.

While she hasn’t endured real life motherhood yet, Bassham’s enjoying dealing with the personalities of the show’s two youngest cast members, including Robby Healy, who is playing Ralphie.

“The kids are so funny,” Johnson said. “Our youngest, Nicholas Strafer, who plays Ralphie’s brother Randy, every word that comes out of his mouth has the audience smiling.”

As does the Leg Lamp that Old Man Parker (Bill Mootos) loves and adores having won it in a big contest, even if only to playfully torture Mrs. Parker, who despises it, and the scene where Flick (Mickey White) almost loses his tongue on a “triple dog dare” to a frozen street pole.

“There’s certain moments in the show where we said, ‘They’re waiting for this one,” Johnson said. “We know there’s a couple of moments the audience can’t wait for. There are few shows that are like that.”

“A Christmas Story” will run through Dec. 23 Foothills Theatre, 100 Front St. For ticket information, visit www.foothillstheatre.com or call 508-754-4018.