It’s a wonder if the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come let Charles Dickens in on what a holiday icon his novella, A Christmas Carol (1843), would become. Or how many times and in how many ways it would be adapted. In addition to the major film and stage versions, various cartoons, TV specials, sitcom episodes, commercials, and comic book issues have also taken a page from the story. And now, PCPA has chosen Richard Hellesen’s adaptation to open its 2011/2012 season.
The most memorable lines of dialogue—“There’s more of gravy than of grave about you!”—may echo in audience members’ minds before the cast even has a chance to say them. There’s a comfort to that kind of familiarity, especially around Christmastime—and especially in a classic tale.
It is, in fact, for the sake of tradition a synopsis is included here (it’s hard to imagine anyone needs it). Ebenezer Scrooge (Peter S. Hadres), the miserly old proprietor of a counting house, calls Christmas “a humbug” and verbally assaults anyone who shows a bit of seasonal cheer—such as his nephew Fred (Michael Jenkinson) or his long-suffering clerk, Bob Cratchit (Evans Eden Jarnefeldt). On Christmas Eve, Scrooge is visited by the ghost of his business partner, Jacob Marley (Andrew Philpot), who is forced to walk the Earth in chains for all eternity due to his cruelty in life. He tells Scrooge that three spirits will visit, and that only with their aid can he hope to avoid a similar fate. (By the way, why didn’t Marley didn’t get his own visit from the three ghosts while he still had a chance? Perhaps he did, but it didn’t stick? At any rate … .)
The last time PCPA staged this story was in the musical Scrooge! This is more of a “play, with music.” Instead of having the characters burst into Broadway-style tunes, beautiful Christmas chorales (by David DeBerry) are sung by the ensemble, usually playing carolers, wassailers, and partygoers.
A charcoal-gray London skyline looms over the stage, as if seen through a layer of fog and the soot of dozens of chimneys. Scrooge’s dilapidated office speaks to his tight-fistedness—there’s even a chunk missing from the wall he hasn’t bothered to repair! When the lights dim, the set takes on an eerie atmosphere for the “ghost story” aspect of the piece (set design: DeAnne Kennedy).
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Some of the theatrical devices used in this adaptation are almost Brechtian. Supporting and atmosphere characters (passersby, servants) take turns narrating Scrooge’s story, representing Charles Dickens’ voice, but also the collective voice of human society from which Scrooge has divorced himself. It gives the production a unique feel. One nitpick is that it would have been fun to actually see Jacob Marley’s face coming out of Scrooge’s door knocker, instead of just being told about it (though it might have been incongruous with the grim tone of the scene). Even more Brechtian is the moment when Scrooge looks out to see the miserable spirits who wander the Earth, regretting that they didn’t do more good when they were alive—he looks out at the audience, and the spectral lights swirl about us.
With the aid of costume and makeup (Frederick P. Deeben), Hadres looks like the traditional image of Scrooge: lean and mean, skulking about with his back crooked and his shoulders tight. He’s a fearsome curmudgeon when the play begins. But the most delightful moments of Hadres’ performance are his spurts of giddiness later on, such as when Scrooge relives the excitement of reading about the adventures of Robinson Crusoe.
The lighting design (Jen Z. Zornow) conveys how dim, dismal, and gray the world is from Scrooge’s perspective at the start of the show, and how bright it becomes once he begins to let Christmas into his heart. Lighting also defines who’s a flesh-and-blood human being and who’s an ephemeral specter.
The Ghost of Christmas Past (Kitty Balay, grinning elfishly, her dress aglow with “candlelight”) takes Scrooge among the shadows of his past.
Philpot also steps into the role of Scrooge’s first boss, Mr. Fezziwig, and makes him as lighthearted and merry as Jacob Marley was somber and tormented. He and Mrs. Fezziwig (Karin Hendricks) lead a sprightly, spectacular dance that is the highlight of the production (choreography: Michael Jenkinson).
Young Scrooge is in love with a girl named Belle (Cristina Gerla), who is the picture of youthful innocence. Needless to say, the relationship is doomed.
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The play lingers a bit long on the “Christmas Present” portion of the story, which is the least dramatic, since the characters are fairly content during it—thank goodness Mrs. Cratchit (the always-wonderful Elizabeth Stuart) pipes up about wanting to give Scrooge “a piece of her mind to feast upon.”
Milania Espinosa is adorable and sympathetic as Tiny Tim, the Cratchits’ sickly youngest son (role shared with Sierra Gardner). But the character seems to get less of the spotlight than usual, making it confusing why hard-hearted Scrooge so quickly becomes focused on the child’s welfare. Something as simple as having Tim sing a solo as part of the Cratchit Christmas celebration would have done wonders—for goodness sake, the unnamed beggar child from the opening scene got a solo, so why not poor Tiny Tim?! Oh well.
It’s hard to imagine anyone more suited to play the jovial Ghost of Christmas Present than Erik Stein, with his impressive stature, booming voice, and boundless enthusiasm. The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come is portrayed by a puppet, but the word “puppet” doesn’t convey how effectively creepy this towering specter really is. (Spoiler alert: It all ends happily.)
If you want to see Christmas Carol again this holiday season, what better place to see it than at PCPA, in this solid production directed by Mark Booher, with some of the best acting and singing talent the company has to offer onstage?
Brent Parker lives in the past, the present, and the future. Contact him through Arts Editor Shelly Cone at scone@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Nov 17-24, 2011.