GLTF reimagines a holiday classic, while still remaining true to form
Michael Suglio
Issue date: 12/5/08 Section: Focus
For many, the amazing Black Friday sales mark the start of the Christmas season. Many Clevelanders, however, look to another event to mark the start of the Christmas season: an annual performance of the classic Charles Dickens story A Christmas Carol. This year marks the 20th anniversary of Great Lakes Theater Festival's production of the holiday staple at PlayhouseSquare.
Similar to Bill Murray's Scrooged and Disney's version of A Christmas Carol, starring Scrooge McDuck, the play is about the journey of Ebenezer Scrooge, played by veteran actor Aled Davies, as he travels through the past, present, and future with the guidance of three different ghosts in hopes of changing his stingy ways to avoid a terrible afterlife. This production takes place in 1864 in London, England. The performance starts off with a mother reading A Christmas Carol to her children right before bedtime. As she tells the story, Scrooge appears on the opposite side of the stage and begins to act out her story. With a smooth transition we begin to see the story of Scrooge for ourselves.
The set was simply spectacular. As the audience travels with Scrooge, the set transforms from his bedroom to the streets of London to even graveyards. Each set piece flowed offstage and new ones appeared onstage with a smooth transition, which offered a dream-like quality to the production. The use of trapdoors for ghosts as well as the tombstones was exciting for the audience, especially for people who are new to live theater. The level of craftiness and creativity of the set design was phenomenal. The transformation of the doorknocker into Marley's face was amazing and left me wondering, "How did they do that?" I also liked a lot of the subtle aspects of the set. For example, Scrooge's bedroom was filled with giant faces on his wall. The eyes of these giant faces would glow each time a ghost entered. It is these subtle nuances that really added to the production.
The lighting did an excellent job reinforcing the story as well as the mood of A Christmas Carol. Light commonly streamed down as if it was moonlight from a window, which emphasized the time, but also set a feeling of eeriness when the ghosts arrived. The ghosts' entrances and exits were spectacles with great bursts of light, which glimmered through the large amounts of fog that filled the stage. Also, the costumes were all period to 1864 London, but were very colorful to further generate the Christmas vibe.
I was pleasantly surprised by the strong performance by many of the young actors. Many of the characters in this show are children, including the famous part of Tiny Tim. These young actors did an exceptional job for their age and were very professional. I'm sure many of these children have a long and bright future in the performing arts.
If you really want to get into the Christmas spirit, especially right after you finish finals, check out A Christmas Carol at the Ohio Theater in PlayhouseSquare. Tickets are $28 for students for any time or day and up to $59 for adults. The show runs to Dec. 23. You can order tickets one of three ways: call 216-241-6000, order online at www.greatlakestheater.org, or visit PlayhouseSquare ticket office prior to each show, but performances may sell out.
Similar to Bill Murray's Scrooged and Disney's version of A Christmas Carol, starring Scrooge McDuck, the play is about the journey of Ebenezer Scrooge, played by veteran actor Aled Davies, as he travels through the past, present, and future with the guidance of three different ghosts in hopes of changing his stingy ways to avoid a terrible afterlife. This production takes place in 1864 in London, England. The performance starts off with a mother reading A Christmas Carol to her children right before bedtime. As she tells the story, Scrooge appears on the opposite side of the stage and begins to act out her story. With a smooth transition we begin to see the story of Scrooge for ourselves.
The set was simply spectacular. As the audience travels with Scrooge, the set transforms from his bedroom to the streets of London to even graveyards. Each set piece flowed offstage and new ones appeared onstage with a smooth transition, which offered a dream-like quality to the production. The use of trapdoors for ghosts as well as the tombstones was exciting for the audience, especially for people who are new to live theater. The level of craftiness and creativity of the set design was phenomenal. The transformation of the doorknocker into Marley's face was amazing and left me wondering, "How did they do that?" I also liked a lot of the subtle aspects of the set. For example, Scrooge's bedroom was filled with giant faces on his wall. The eyes of these giant faces would glow each time a ghost entered. It is these subtle nuances that really added to the production.
The lighting did an excellent job reinforcing the story as well as the mood of A Christmas Carol. Light commonly streamed down as if it was moonlight from a window, which emphasized the time, but also set a feeling of eeriness when the ghosts arrived. The ghosts' entrances and exits were spectacles with great bursts of light, which glimmered through the large amounts of fog that filled the stage. Also, the costumes were all period to 1864 London, but were very colorful to further generate the Christmas vibe.
I was pleasantly surprised by the strong performance by many of the young actors. Many of the characters in this show are children, including the famous part of Tiny Tim. These young actors did an exceptional job for their age and were very professional. I'm sure many of these children have a long and bright future in the performing arts.
If you really want to get into the Christmas spirit, especially right after you finish finals, check out A Christmas Carol at the Ohio Theater in PlayhouseSquare. Tickets are $28 for students for any time or day and up to $59 for adults. The show runs to Dec. 23. You can order tickets one of three ways: call 216-241-6000, order online at www.greatlakestheater.org, or visit PlayhouseSquare ticket office prior to each show, but performances may sell out.
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