Theater Review : Von Feldt’s ‘Christmas Carol’ Finally Gets Off the Ground

After two earlier, aborted attempts in other years at other theaters, producer-director Kevin Von Feldt finally opened his “A Christmas Carol” Tuesday evening for an audience of several hundred at Pasadena’s Raymond Theater.

Some of the theatergoers were actually using tickets from last weekend, when performances were called off because “the stage collapsed” or because of “technical problems,” in the words of box-office workers.

Even on Tuesday, there were no programs or lobby placards saying who was playing what or who designed what. Too bad, because a few of the lesser-known actors and the designers did the production’s best work.

An Actors’ Equity official who was monitoring the production said she was told that programs would be available Wednesday. But the only credit on Tuesday went to the three well-known stars billed on the marquee (as opposed to the longer list of stars who had been billed in ads).

One of these three, Kevin McCarthy as Scrooge, was the production’s worst feature. He groped through his lines with hardly a trace of an English accent and with plenty of stiff posturing. As Marley’s Ghost, Brian Keith was better, though his words weren’t very crisp. Shirley Jones exuded her usual brisk professionalism as Mrs. Cratchit.

Considering the producer’s problems finding financing, the set was surprisingly lavish, though it wasn’t always used sensibly. At one point we were told that “the city had entirely vanished”--even as a giant image of city rooftops dominated the stage.

Sound effects, lighting and lush (recorded) incidental music created a few mildly spooky moments, though the music occasionally slowed down the pacing. The taped voice of John Gielgud narrated.

* “A Christmas Carol,” Raymond Theatre, 129 N. Raymond, Pasadena. Tonight through Saturday, 8 p.m.; Friday-Saturday, 2 p.m. Ends Saturday. $20-$35. (800) 567-9627 or (818) 792-6200. Running time: 2 hours.