GARDINER – The Open Book Players, Maine’s only performing readers-theater company, will present the classic holiday favorite, “A Christmas Carol” adapted from the short story by Charles Dickens.

This is the fifth year that the group has presented this performance in Johnson Hall in Gardiner. This year, some new festive short stories have been added to the program.

The entire Dickens tale will be told by five young local performers, now freshmen and sophomore students, who premiered with this group five years ago when they were 10 and 11 years old. They are Hannah Lennett, Cora Waterman, Lindsay Heald, Chris Ellis and Harry Mickalide, all from Litchfield. Other cast members include Anna and Connor Doyle, Kenyon and Gwenyth Fraser, Emily Hewett, Nicole Ellis, Cindy Turcotte, Bob and Kay Demers, Andy Tolman, Jay Barnett, Jim Gill and Chris Hatch. The show is directed by Lucy Rioux, the players’ artistic director.

Performances are at 2 and 7 p.m. Dec. 4. Tickets are $5 and may be purchased at the door. FMI: call 582-5717.