STAGE REVIEW : ‘Tis the Season to Be a Scrooge

If I had my way, every actor who plays Ebenezer Scrooge at Christmastime would be boiled with his own pudding and buried with a stake of holly in his heart.

There are exceptions. George C. Scott’s Scrooge would have been worth seeing at the Wilshire Theatre, if its producer had come up with enough scratch to actually put it on. Patrick Stewart’s Scrooge--playing Saturday at UCLA--is definitely worth seeing.

TV watchers know Stewart as Capt. Jean-Luc Picard on “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” Theater-watchers know him as a lean and canny classical actor from across the pond, a mainstay of the Royal Shakespeare Company when it was the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Stewart’s “A Christmas Carol,” seen last weekend at UC Santa Barbara, is a one-man show. Technically, it’s a reading. Stewart holds Dickens’ text in his left hand and points to it at the curtain-call, to remind us that stories have authors.

Dickens would have appreciated this. Stewart clearly appreciates Dickens. By sticking to the letter of the text, the actor places the lights and the shadows of the tale exactly where the author wanted them. Especially the shadows. We feel the darkness of winter in Victorian London, the prevalence of crutches and poorhouses.

It’s the world of the RSC’s “Nicholas Nickleby.” And just as in that tale, a moment will be acted out even as it’s being described.

When there’s dancing at the Fezziwigs, Stewart kicks up his heels. When the three hardhearted businessmen discuss Scrooge’s death, Stewart gives us all three voices.

The result is a show that can go wide and come in close, without benefit of camera. We see the blue sky over London on Christmas morning and we see the look on Scrooge’s face when his door knocker changes shape. (A subtler effect than showing us Marley’s face.) The images are wrought with an economy that is part of the pleasure of fine acting. Actor and audience imagine the story together.

The show could be purer still. Its elaborate light plot and its occasional sound effects strike a distractingly mechanical note, and its intermission breaks the spell. Dickens used to recite “A Christmas Carol” in 90 minutes, followed by a shorter Christmas piece for dessert. Stewart might think about following his example.

Still, this is the most authentic “Christmas Carol” around. You may even choke up a bit.

At UCLA’s Wadsworth Theater, Saturday, 8 p.m. This performance is a benefit for UCLA’s community outreach organization, Design for Sharing. Only a few tickets are still available at $18; Benefit tickets: $100; (213) 825-7681.