`A Christmas Carol' offers traditional entertainment
The Alley Theater presents a solid and entertaining show in their eighth
season of the traditional
A Christmas Carol
production.
Plotwise, the first act moves along at a good pace and does not allow itself to be mired down. Marley's warning to Scrooge and Fred's speech on the joy of Christmas drag a bit (more a fault of the script than the actors), but the action picks up again quickly.
The second act spends too much time observing the good cheer at the Cratchit's and at Fred's, but if you view the saccharine attitude as ironic melodrama, the scenes are much more entertaining. Scrooge has a fine moment when he realizes that Fred and his friends are making fun of him. The ghosts are portrayed well, though I was not overly impressed with the steam-powered ghost of Christmas Yet To Come.
One of the good things about this production is that it does not dwell too much on Bob Cratchit or Tiny Tim, who unconventionally says his famous line in profile so that he does not completely mug for the audience.
It is really Scrooge's show, and James Black performs fantastically. He is deliciously bad-tempered and cynical, though what makes his performance excellent is the portrayal of Scrooge's weakness followed by flashes of bravado (as when he banters with the Ghost of Christmas Present over drinking the elixir of life).
The other highlight was his positively giddy transformation. I had figured that following the ghosts, I would have to sit through a fairly dull period of "look at me, I am a changed man, I have found the spirit of Christmas." To my pleasant surprise, this section was amusing and entertaining -- mostly because of Black's over-the-top good humor.
John Fletch gives a funny performance as Scrooge's housekeeper, Mrs. Dilber, fussing and flashing the audience several wonderful knowing grins. His Jacob Marley is also pretty good, and other fine performances included Paul Hope as a solid, good-hearted Fred; Gordon Fox as a nervous, cowering Bob Cratchit; Bettye Fitzpatrick as a non-traditionally aged ghost of Christmas Past; Alex Allen Morris and Rutherford Cravens as entertaining solicitors; and Charles Krohn as a booming ghost of Christmas Present.
The set, designed by Jay Jagim, is fairly complex, with several walkways, ramps and a large staircase. Though the basic set never changes, different effects are created through judicious use of props, lots and lots of smoke machines and lighting, which was designed by Howell Binkley. Binkley (who received a Tony nomination for Kiss of the Spider Woman ) creates everything from frigid nights to warm fire-lit houses to violent thunderstorms. His lighting adds immensely to the ghost scenes and is the technical highlight of the program.
Ghostly apparitions, dressed in the height of historical fashion, danced and glowed with the aid of a black light. Thunder clapped, chains rattled and the doors creaked. It is eye-candy -- quite enjoyable to watch -- with little thought required.
The Alley Theater has put on this same production of A Christmas Carol every year for the past seven years, and there are rumors that this year will be the last. So try to find a couple hours and go. Though you may not leave the theater a changed person, you will be entertained.
This item appeared in the Arts & Entertainment section of the December 6, 1996 issue.
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