The holiday season always arrives as a mixed blessing for this reviewer. Thanksgiving comes with homey warmth and usually extra padding on the waistline. But recovering from that triptophane hangover, I often find myself in a world gruesomely transformed. Suddenly, Minnesota has turned to ChristmasLand. KOOL 108 only plays Christmas songs now. There are wreaths and bows and bells on everything, sales everywhere you look, Santas on TV, Santa references, Santa sweaters. Don’t they know I have three papers, two finals and a photo project to finish before Christmas comes? It’s like a month away!
With this near hostile attitude toward the premature holiday season, I grumbled my way into my (awesome) press seats at the Guthrie last Sunday for the 27th annual production of “A Christmas Carol.” As the play unfolded however, like Scrooge himself, I felt the cold leave my toes and the humbug flee my heart. The sensual feast the production offered shook the chill out of my bones and warmed me to the season.
The play started off with a novel decision on the director’s part. With the house lights still up, players came onstage, and shortly following the warning to turn off cell phones they began to sing carols of welcome. With the lights still on I felt strange, as if there had been a mistake up in the light booth. But the achieved effect was grounding the viewers in their roles as spectators.
The heavy use of narration throughout the show also added to this effect. Several cast members would turn to address the audience directly to fill us in or to propel the plot. This took me back to the time I first experienced the story as a child too small for the couch, sitting on the floor in front of the TV. It was a time when it was OK to just sit and listen, a time before discussion-based seminars and heated debates. By taking the audience back to the role of one absorbing a story, this production evoked the childhood wonder that best suits the Christmas season.
The well-known story was told with the best the Guthrie has to offer. The color and texture of the dresses alone was a delight to take in. With musical numbers, dancing, and 12 children in the cast, the stage was never still. The set left much room for activity while not feeling overly bare. My favorite piece was the huge cornucopia on which the Ghost of Christmas Present rides down from the sky; it looked good enough to eat. Excellent performances were given by Barbara Byrne, Isabelle Monk, and Barton Tinapp. To top off the bill, Peter Michael Goetz played the full depth of the Scrooge’s transformation. From his haughty “bah-humbug” to a true sparkle-eyed “Merry Christmas,” Goetz was believable even to this part-time cynic-I mean, critic.
