Back in 1991, 100 years after Bob Womack’s discovery of gold in Poverty Gulch spawned a rush to the western slopes of Pikes Peak, Chris Armbrister drove over Tenderfoot Hill and got his first glimpse of The World’s Greatest Gold Camp. Dorothy Mackin had hired him as an Imperial Player. The town of Cripple Creek, its history and its spirit captured Chris’ heart. That summer Chris made some very important friendships, Chris Sorensen, Kevin Kennedy, Steve & Bonnie Mackin among them. Friendships, which were instrumental in making the dream of A Cripple Creek Christmas Carol a reality.
One night after a show, Chris and Kevin Kennedy were sitting in the Red Rooster Bar having a drink and talking about Christmas in the Rockies.  That night A Cripple Creek Christmas Carol was born. Over the years Chris shared the dream with his friends who knew Cripple Creek and the power of its spirit, having been drawn to it as Imperial Players. These friends, Chris Sorensen, Brian Coffey, Peter Boyer, Mel Moser, The Mackins, and others supported, nourished and helped in the growth of the story…thus becoming a part of the dream.
In 2002, after years of development, Chris Armbrister and Chris Sorensen began to put the ideas down on paper, and after many nights in the upstairs room of The Bullmoose Tavern in New York City they had the manuscript for A Cripple Creek Christmas Carol. Sorensen & Armbrister wanted to give the show more of a Melodrama feel, since Melodrama roots run deep in Cripple Creek. They quickly discovered that their sentiments were reflected by many in Cripple Creek, including Steve & Bonnie Mackin, Stacy Mackin (the 3^rd generation of Mackin to be involved in Cripple Creek Melodramas as producer of The Cripple Creek Players), and Mel Moser (no stranger to the Cripple Creek melodrama having been an Imperial Player in the early 80s and part of The Cripple Creek Players since they began performing at The Butte Opera House).
The final major melodramatic component to be added came from James Mablin, a London based Composer and Music Director. Mablin and Sorensen, who also directed the 2003 production, spent many hours working together via the internet from there respective countries collaborating on what the show needed musically. The musical score (and underscore) that Mablin composed for A Cripple Creek Christmas Carol was exactly what was need to put the icing on the melodramatic cake, as it were.
The show premiered in 2002 and has since become as a new Cripple Creek holiday tradition.