Review: ‘A Christmas Carol Story’ @ Sierra Madre Playhouse

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Festooned with Christmas lights, the cozy village of Sierra Madre is particularly picturesque at this time of year. Make your way through the outlying craftsmen bungalows along the rows of inviting cafes on the main streets and you’ll find the Sierra Madre Playhouse, a neighborhood fixture since 1979.

A regular offering at the Playhouse since 2002, “A Christmas Carol Story” is an adaptation of Dickens’ Christmas classic written especially for the playhouse by the late Larry Davison. According to the program, director Alison Kalmus, who has staged the show in the past, has made several tweaks to Davison’s original version over the years. Whatever Kalmus’ input is, it’s obviously not that of synthesis. At almost 2 1/2 hours, the production is overlong and only intermittently faithful to its source material.

The show, which features a pleasing array of folk songs and time-honored carols, has been produced in association with the Southern California Lyric Theatre, and indeed, there are many sterling voices to be heard throughout the evening, some of near-operatic quality. The large and lively cast, clad in an ambitious array of uncredited costumes, brings genuine commitment to the proceedings.

Judging from the large and appreciative audience, “A Christmas Carol Story” has become a bit of a tradition around these parts, and in that regard, it holds plenty of charm. However, although certainly proficient by any community theater standards, this “Carol” does not quite reach the bar of a professional production.

Double-cast in the role, John Szura proves a competent Scrooge. However, his butt-length gray hair is an anachronistic distraction that could have been easily surmounted by an appropriate period wig.

--F. Kathleen Foley

“A Christmas Carol Story,” Sierra Madre Playhouse, 87 W. Sierra Madre Blvd., Sierra Madre. 8 p.m. Saturdays, 2:30 p.m. Sundays, 2:30 on Saturday Dec. 13 and 20, 7 p.m. Sunday Dec. 21. Also Monday Dec. 22 and Tuesday Dec. 23 at 8 p.m. Ends Dec. 23. $20. (626) 256-3809. Running time: 2 hours, 20 minutes.

Caption: Samantha Ozea, Megan Sanborn and Talia Saldana in ‘A Christmas Carol Story.’ Credit: Ward Calaway