Dancing With Dickens

For a glimpse of how 20th century Hollywood musical director Busby Berkeley might have handled dramatic material by 19th century writer Charles Dickens, check out a live production Saturday of “A Christmas Carol” at the El Portal Theatre in North Hollywood. It’s a trip.

It will be presented by Synthesis Performing Arts Company, based in Universal City, which is composed of nearly 50 teen and preteen dancers and singers, augmented by adult actors.

Music and lyrics from the Alan Menken-Lynn Ahrens’ Broadway musical of the same name premiered several years ago and have been much revised by Synthesis’ director-choreographer Gagik Manucharian.

“I’m a choreographer,” he said during a recent rehearsal.

He made sure his writer, Richard Diamond, and music arranger, Arsen Tovmasian, provided lots of big dance numbers and dramatic scenes emphasizing the optimistic parts of the original Dickens tale.

The result is a balletic, operatic and melodic fantasy that is fun to watch and probably would have put a smile on the face of the usually quite serious Dickens.

There’s even a dance number set to Dixieland jazz.

The Synthesis production presents it all in 10 swiftly paced scenes, complete with dancing demons, sprites and choirs.

“The story of Scrooge is really not far away from our own life condition,” Manucharian said. “Each of us has guardian angels teaching us and prompting us to explore our highest essence, the reality of love.”

Manucharian said his goal for Synthesis is to present children’s musicals in the North Hollywood theater district on a regular basis.

For the current production, he auditioned more than 200 performers. In the role of young Scrooge, he cast Sean Collado, a 14-year-old TV actor from the Orange County High School for the Performing Arts.

For Little Emily, he cast another TV veteran, 10-year-old Joelle Georgeff of Westlake. The adult Scrooge is played by stage and TV actor Michael Goetz.

The dancers and chorus were chosen from students in Manucharian’s dance and music studio in Universal City.

Each of the two shows Saturday will be preceded by a performance by magician Robert Baxt.

And each young theatergoer will receive a small present from Santa Claus.

BE THERE

“A Christmas Carol” performed by the Synthesis Performing Arts Company, Saturday, 2 and 5 p.m., at the El Portal Center for the Arts, 5269 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood. Tickets: $15 for children, $18 for adults. Call (818) 754-1760.