Advertisement

On Theater: ‘Christmas Carol’ thrives at 35

Share

Dozens of actors over the years have taken on the role of Ebenezer Scrooge in dramatizations of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” among them Alistair Sim, Reginald Owen, George C. Scott, Henry Winkler, Bill Murray, Donald Duck and Mr. Magoo.

Who is/was the most memorable? Ask theatergoers who read this newspaper, and probably the answer will be Hal Landon Jr. He’s been bah-humbugging it for 35 years every December at South Coast Repertory.

John-David Keller, who’s directed SCR’s annual holiday production every year since it was born in 1980, has assembled another splendid company for the 2014 version, including several actors returning to their roles. It’s another glorious day for the spirit — or spirits — of Christmas, as adapted from the Dickens classic by SCR’s Jerry Patch.

Advertisement

As grim and foreboding as the first act, and much of the second, can be, the show’s last 15 minutes are joyous enough to bring audiences to their feet when Landon takes his curtain call after yet another superlative performance. His embittered ultimate miser gives way to a giggling generosity calculated to warm the hearts of his audience, and his “hat trick” somersault never fails to generate loud applause.

Daniel Blinkoff extends his streak of playing Scrooge’s clerk, Bob Cratchit, to a dozen consecutive years, bringing layers of heart and humanity as a ringing contrast to his money-grubbing employer. Jennifer Parsons, now in her 11th year as Mrs. Cratchit, once again offers a healthy mixture of sweetness and sarcasm.

Richard Doyle, like Landon an SCR founding artist, makes his 31st appearance in “A Christmas Carol,” ably playing a charity solicitor and the wise Spirit of Christmas Past. The most ebullient of the ghostly visitors, the Sprit of Christmas Present, is once again lustily portrayed by Timothy Landfield.

Director Keller again turns up the holiday warmth with his gleeful Mr. Fezziwig, Scrooge’s employer as a young man, joined with equal fervor by Karen Hensel, returning as Mrs. Fezziwig (and also a solicitor and a street scavenger). Gregg Daniel is a ghastly, frightening presence as the ghost of Scrooge’s late partner, Jacob Marley.

Playing Scrooge as a young man is an earnest Alex Knox (nearly a head taller than Landon, however), while Erika Schindele has a heartbreaking turn as his onetime fiancee. Jonathan Melim-Honore as a young Marley is even more “businesslike” than Scrooge.

William Francis McGuire labors to lift Scrooge’s holiday spirit as the miser’s jolly nephew. Art Koustik, a third SCR founding artist, returns for a garrulous scene as cider salesman and stolen-goods receiver Joe.

Technically, the production is again first-rate with set design by Thomas Buderwitz, costumes by Dwight Richard Odle and lighting by Donna and Tom Ruzika. Odle and the Ruzikas have worked on all 35 productions of “A Christmas Carol.”

There is no better way to attain the holiday spirit than to attend a performance of “A Christmas Carol,” now celebrating 35 years of delighting its audiences each December at South Coast Repertory.

*

Other Christmas-themed shows on stage locally are “Striking 12,” a pop-rock musical comedy at the Laguna Playhouse, and “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts.

“Striking 12” weaves Hans Christian Andersen’s classic fable “The Little Match Girl” with a modern-day New Year’s Eve twist. It is geared toward audiences of all ages. “Grinch” is a musical version of the popular Dr. Seuss story.

For more information, call the Laguna Playhouse at (949) 497-2787 or the Segerstrom Center at (714) 556-2787.

TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Daily Pilot.

If You Go

What: “A Christmas Carol”

Where: South Coast Repertory, 655 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa

When: Through Dec. 27 (performance times vary by week; check online for calendar)

Cost: $26 to $68

Information: (714) 708-5555 or https://www.scr.org

Advertisement