The ghosts of ‘Carol’s’ past
The Dickensian saga of the ongoing troubles of “A Christmas Carol” -- onstage through Sunday at the Kodak Theatre -- has been chronicled in Calendar and on The Times’ Culture Monster blog.
To recap: Jane Seymour left the cast, citing a bronchial infection. Gene Wilder, who was scheduled to portray Marley’s Ghost as a hologram, also failed to materialize because producers decided the gimmick would be “ineffective in the production.”
And audiences complained volubly to Culture Monster (latimes.com/culturemonster) about glitches during preview performances on the evening of Dec. 22 and the afternoon of Dec. 23, offering such reserved comments as: “Wow! That was the worst show I’ve ever been to in my entire life.” (Thank you for sharing, Neil.)
As it turns out, producer Kevin Von Feldt is haunted by his own ghost of “A Christmas Carol” past -- and it’s no hologram: Back in October 1994, a Los Angeles city prosecutor said she would ask Los Angeles police detectives to investigate advertising claims for a Von Feldt-produced staging of “A Christmas Carol” at Pasadena’s Raymond Theatre, planned for Nov. 15 to 20. Newspaper ads and promotional fliers for the Pasadena run of the touring show touted “narration by Sir John Gielgud” while omitting that his voice would be recorded. (Through a spokesman, Von Feldt said charges were never filed.) Creditors, including Giel- gud, also complained of unpaid bills.
The 1994 production finally opened several days late after planned opening weekend performances were called off because of technical problems; ticket holders for those performances were invited to see later shows. Times reviewer Don Shirley offered a lukewarm review: “Considering the producer’s problems finding financing, the set was surprisingly lavish, though it wasn’t always used sensibly. . . . Sound effects, lighting and lush (recorded) incidental music created a few mildly spooky moments.”
Through a spokesman, Von Feldt said of the 1994 production: “The show opened and was reviewed without incident.” The problems, he said, “obviously didn’t impact the actual performances.”
Another Von Feldt “Christmas Carol” production, at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre in 1989, was canceled after George C. Scott, cast as Scrooge, quit a few weeks before opening night, saying “payment had not been made in a timely fashion.”
In a comment posted on Culture Monster over the weekend in response to F. Kathleen Foley’s review of the current show, Von Feldt was frank that this time around, the preview performances were not up to snuff. His letter blames the Ghost of Recession Present -- that is, the economy.
Last-minute financing problems, Von Feldt wrote, led to difficulty in scheduling enough rehearsal time at the Kodak.
“With only five days of rehearsal and one day on the stage at the Kodak (Dec. 22, the day of the opening), we limped through the first performance Monday night, a remarkable achievement by the cast and crew,” he wrote.
Von Feldt goes on to say the show is now much improved -- and is inviting those who attended the 7:30 p.m. Dec. 22 and 3 p.m. Dec. 23 previews to see the show again free.
The last performance is at 3 p.m. Sunday. And don’t call the Kodak, a theater spokesman pleads -- all of those ticket holders will be contacted by the theater to make arrangements.
--
Times staff writer Daryl Miller contributed to this report.
The biggest entertainment stories
Get our big stories about Hollywood, film, television, music, arts, culture and more right in your inbox as soon as they publish.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
