Michael Colvin and Chandano Fuller |
By Tina Arth
For this year’s holiday season Theatre in the Grove is
presenting a relatively new adaptation of Dickens’ classic A Christmas Carol by playwright John Mortimer. This version, first
performed in 1994 by the Royal Shakespeare Company in London, is essentially
faithful to the original story (and the host of subsequent stage and film
versions). However, it is a very distinctive approach – and the changes make it
especially challenging to stage effectively in a community theater setting, where
limited human and technological resources can be a handicap. Director Jeananne
Kelsey’s valiant effort to reproduce both Dickens’ and Mortimer’s vision is
neither an unqualified success nor an abject failure – some things work very,
very well and others seem a bit forced or awkward.
The principal difference I perceived between this and other
adaptations I have seen is the attempt to tell a lot of the story through the
eyes of the people of London. A great deal of the action takes place in London
street scenes, and much of the story is told by using the large cast as group
narrators, each delivering short sequential bursts of exposition. The approach
makes it clear that the story’s poverty and greed is not endemic to a particular
time, place, and people, but a problem perpetrated by and victimizing all; this
makes more possible the connection that the story’s moral is not limited to 19th
century London, and can be applied just as easily to our current political and
economic systems.
So – what works, and what doesn’t? The first thing the
audience sees is the set, and Zachary Centers’ design is superb. He and his
carpenters manage with paint and plywood to recreate the look of a street of
Victorian row houses, including the varying textures and styles of the era and
locale. The use of large folding doors and windows, combined with props on
wheels, allows the scene to shift fluidly from indoor to outdoor settings. Just
opening the huge second-story windows into the second story brings the audience
directly into Scrooge’s bedchamber and allows critical features like his
crimson bed-curtains to assume their proper prominence. The scene where we are
able to watch Scrooge disrobe and dress behind a translucent screen is one of the
most effective in the whole show, and it is made possible by this clever set
element. Another effective choice is the casting of Tanner Morton as both Bob
Cratchit and Young Scrooge. Morton manages both parts nicely, but is easily
recognized as being the same actor, which really enhances the fundamental
relationship between two seemingly very different men.
While the role is not huge, Lura Longmire does a nice job of
capturing Mrs. Cratchit’s anger toward Mr. Scrooge and her tenderness toward
her family, and Zach Centers totally nails the goodness and optimism of
Scrooge’s nephew, Fred. Many of the best moments are those involving the
children in the cast – their irresistible cuteness softens the edges of
practically every scene, and if space allowed I would rhapsodize about each of
them. Special props to Izzy Swendig as Tiny Tim. Tim is often played so
melodramatically that A Christmas Carol
starts to feel like “The Tiny Tim Show,” but Swendig shows restraint, allowing
us to perceive that illness and poverty are by no means limited to members of
the Cratchit family. Little Emma Klingler also demands recognition for her
three roles as a small Cratchit, Fan, and the haunting Want. Finally, all three ghosts (Wendy Bax, Ron
Hansen, and Michael Feuerbach) are fun – the audience clearly loved seeing
their friends done up in over-the-top costumes, exuding spectral excess.
What doesn’t work quite so well? First, the multiple
narrators are a problem, given the cast.
The 100% professional cast of the Royal Shakespeare Company may be able
to pull off the choppy narrative structure of these segments, but the TITG
actors are not all up to this challenge. Thus, some lines were lost from
failure to project, garbled accents, and the absence of the split-second timing
necessary to carry it off. Another problem area is Michael Colvin’s generally effective,
but sometimes rocky, performance as Mr. Scrooge. Colvin has the affect, the
attitude, the look, even the walk – but when I saw the show, he appeared to
occasionally forget his lines, which led to some awkward pauses and to other actors
filling in or trying to give him appropriate cues.
Should you go? Yes, but with the understanding that this is
not the traditional A Christmas Carol you
might expect. Had I boned up on the Mortimer version in advance, or had the
program included a director’s note that explained why it was structured the way
it was, I would have had a much better experience. It’s probably much too late
for that director’s note, but there’s plenty of time to do a Google search and
read up on the show ahead of time. The production retains the essence and
importance of Dickens’ themes – may it always be part of our Christmas story!
A Christmas Carol
is playing at Theatre in the Grove, 2028 Pacific Avenue, Forest Grove through
December 22 with performances Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at
2:30 p.m.
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