Rep’s ‘Christmas Carol’: Humbug Without Heart

Some directors let plays speak for themselves. Then there’s Scott Feldsher, whose staging of “A Christmas Carol” is a self-indulgent exercise that says “Look at me!” at every turn.

From the graffiti on the wall reading “The Dead no longer play a role except for urban planning” to the black crow on top of Scrooge’s hat, the San Diego Repertory Theatre production of Charles Dickens’ classic smacks of jokes and insights that may seem funny and profound to a select few, but are bound to baffle a larger audience.

It’s a shame, because the raw talent was there to make the Rep’s 16th annual “A Christmas Carol” one to remember.

The company assembled a fine cast of actors and designers for the Lyceum Stage show. The adaptation by San Diego Rep artistic director Douglas Jacobs provides a solid base from which to draw inspiration, and the key elements remain in the story of this cold old man of business who, with the help of four ghosts (working like a tag-team of rather colorful analysts), looks into his past, his present and his future and reawakens the long-calcified, vulnerable, loving child within.

This is a story that tracks a mythically large journey in one man’s life: spiritual death, painful self-awareness and regeneration. You can get away with almost anything, as long as you have heart, with “A Christmas Carol.” But Feldsher veers away from the heart at every turn.

The key figure of Tiny Tim, played by the adorable Edward Mout, who has a soaring, angelic voice, gets very little focus. He should be the little fellow that melts Scrooge’s heart, but he isn’t on stage long enough to accomplish that.

All of the characterizations get glossed over. Bob Cratchit (Damon Bryant) plays only on his fear of Scrooge. The usually marvelous Jonathan McMurtry, who plays Scrooge, has stellar moments, such as his withering, scornful “Bah, Humbugs!” and the childlike glee of his ultimate regeneration, but he is given very little with which to work. Even the frightful specter of the ghosts, which should trigger his transformation, are more silly than scary, and you never feel his fear of them. His work, like that of others in the cast, is further undercut by cute asides to the audience.

Instead of focusing on character development, the play hinges on Robert Brill’s stark, warehouse-like set with its jury box, where actors wait their turn to get into the action. The point of this staging is never made clear.

Also unclear is the meaning behind Emelle Holmes’ eccentric range of costumes, which tend to exaggerate images but belong to no particular period and have little relation to each other or the set at hand.

Ashley York Kennedy’s lighting gives us the show’s best effect-- the door from which the ghosts appear that seems to open up into smoky nothingness. But, when the ghosts finally come, from a smirking Jacob Marley (Osayande Baruti) to a Ghost of Christmas Past in a loincloth (T. Michael Ross), the magical buildup abruptly deflates.

Sean Thomas Murray, as the narrator, stood alone in taking the material seriously. He told the story with an intensity and depth of emotion that begs for a better version of the show to narrate. The entire supporting cast sang beautifully and looked good, but they all seem cartoonlike and two-dimensional.

Feeling is the indispensable element in “A Christmas Carol.” This is a show that should touch the Scrooge in all who see it, sending people off dreaming about their own pasts, presents and futures and, when the Dickens’ magic is really cooking, rediscovering the need to change one’s life.

Sadly, this “Christmas Carol” proves only that no classic is indestructible. This production does such a diligent job of stripping the show of its sentiment that it leaves us with nothing at all.

“A CHRISTMAS CAROL”

By Charles Dickens. Adapted by Douglas Jacobs. Director is Scott Feldsher. Musical supervision and sound design by Michael Roth. Sets by Robert Brill. Costumes by Emelle Holmes. Lighting by Ashley York Kennedy. Choreography by Osayande Baruti. Stage manager is Victoria Zakrzewski. With Jonathan McMurtry, Sean Thomas Murray, Damon Bryant, Cristina Soria, Antonio T.J. Johnson, J. Michael Ross, Osayande Baruti, Tracey A. Leigh, Gregory Linus Weiss, Therese Walden, Natalie Turman, Armando Ortega, Andres Monreal, Damon Lamont, Edward Mout, Olga Macias, Adrianne Racine, Weldon Cook Jr., Warren Nolan Jr. and Karen Osborn. Performances are at 8 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday and 7 p.m. Sundays with Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2 through Dec. 28. Tickets are $20-25. At the Lycem Stage, 79 Horton Plaza, 235-8025.