Plans were announced this afternoon for a star-studded version of A Christmas Carol to play the Civic Opera House Christmas week. F. Murray Abraham, Stockard Channing, James Garner, Timothy Hutton, Wayne Knight and George Wendt are all on the bill, an impressive (if a bit bizarrely eclectic) grouping. But before the Goodman gets worried, one important detail is of note: This Carol is adapted, directed and produced by one Kevin Von Feldt.

Wisconsin-based Von Feldt produced a similarly starry Christmas Carol last year at L.A.’s Kodak Theatre, with a lineup that included John Goodman, Jane Leeves and Christopher Lloyd. (You’ll notice none of them are back this time.) The L.A. Times’s Culture Monster blog, following up on reader complaints about the show’s shoddy quality, discovered that Von Feldt has a long history of “last minute financing problems,” running allegedly misleading ads, and non-payment of creditors and employees alike. Last year seems to have turned out similarly: Weeks after the show closed, Culture Monster fielded complaints from a number of Von Feldt’s non-union contractors that they were still awaiting payment.

Going even further back, this 1991 Times article details that Von Feldt, then already twice convicted of fraud, was charged with false advertising for “allegedly promoting theatrical plays he did not intend to stage.”

The advertisements said the series would feature “Death of a Salesman,” starring Don Rickles; “The Music Man” starring “WKRP in Cincinnati” co-star Gary Sandy or talk-show host John Davidson; “Born Yesterday,” starring Claude Akins; and “My Fair Lady” starring Noel Harrison. Ticket prices ranged from $78-$85.

“Von Feldt had no agreements with any of the actors he was promising,” Pais said. “And he was unknown to the Equity Union, with which he would have to post a $50,000 bond to satisfy union requirements for safeguarding the interests of actors and theater workers.”

Investigators also found that some of the actors listed in the promotional literature had asked Von Feldt to stop using their names, prosecutors said.

Perhaps Von Feldt has mended his ways since then, and the troubles with last year’s Kodak Carol were genuinely unforeseeable. But I’d say local ticketbuyers and contractors alike might want to use extra caution here.