Review - A Christmas Carol on Broadway

Whoops, I know I said The Inheritance was my last theatrical experience of the year, but I totally forgot that my other Tony voter boss was taking me to a show Friday night!  What can I say, my brain is swiss cheese.  Anyway, my last theatrical experience of 2019 was actually a trip to A Christmas Carol, which is currently running on Broadway, starring Campbell Scott.

You all know I love the story of Christmas Carol and you probably remember that I have a particular fondness for my friend Kevin Jones' production at Merchant House Museum (I'm sad I couldn't find the time to see it this year - remind yourself of how much I love it HERE and HERE).  Since that production is so faithful to Dickens' text, I had a few issues with all of the additions and reconceptions by this production's adapter, but it all came together for me by the end.

This production was extremely well-received in England for the past couple of years - it uses live musicians, story-telling ensemble members, and some audience participation.  When we arrived, we were greeted by Tim (not to be confused with Tiny Tim, he told us), who offered us clementines and pre-show cheer.  As the pre-show continued, other cast members were throwing bags of Tates cookies into the audience.  I told Tim I was having a flashback to the production of Nicholas Nickleby that I was a part of, where youngsters threw fruit AT the stage, instead of from it.  He couldn't promise it wouldn't happen during this show, either.  His charm was a little forced, but it did start the evening off on a light note.

photo credit: Sara Krulwich

The stage featured scads of lights and lanterns around, both above the stage and on it.  I thought the lighting effects were superb throughout.  The set was mainly door frames that lifted up and down from the stage, and boxes that came up out of the stage floor to represent desks, tables, and other set pieces.  I thought the spare set was used very well, but the lighting was used best of all.  The acting company was all very good, especially Andrea Martin as the Ghost of Christmas Past and LaChanze as the Ghost of Christmas Present.  In fact, I wish we could've seen more of them - most of the scenes were Campbell Scott both looking back at scenes and commenting on them, but also participating in them.  I did think it was effective seeing Campbell Scott as both the awful Scrooge and the person he was before, but I missed the Ghosts' participation as well.

Campbell Scott was terrific, though, a more-vigorous Scrooge than you sometimes see, but one you see has been defeated by life and has become a terrible person through that defeat.  I gather that the adapter of this version is interested in exploring father-son relationships and how the sins of the past can affect the present.  So, in this production, the cold, abusive father is the catalyst for Scrooge's descent into miserhood.  It's all a bit on-the-nose, and takes a few liberties with the original story, yet I was completely on board by the end.  I found this production's use of the Ghost of Christmas Future very moving and everything was tied together very beautifully.  Campbell Scott's turn was then touchingly authentic.

I was also incredibly moved by the performance of Jai Ram Srinivasan as Tiny Tim - a young actor with cerebral palsy, Srinivasan found all of the pathos and joy of Tiny Tim without descending into schmaltz or stereotype.  The final scene between Tiny Tim and Scrooge was truly beautiful.  And then the coda, with the magic of stage snow and carols played by hand bells, sent us out into the night with the warmth and charm of the holidays, having witnessed a person who thinks of money and only of himself, finally understand that they are of the world and in the world, and is responsible for more.  It was a beautiful message for this time of year and for this time in our history, I think.  I'm glad this was my capper to 2019.  God bless us, every one.