A CHRISTMAS CAROL – Adapted by Richard Helleson from the novel by Charles Dickens; Directed by Anthony Powell; Music Direction by Dan Graeber; Choreography by Grady Soapes. Produced by the Denver Center Theatre Company (14th and Curtis, Denver) through December 29. Tickets available at 303-893-4100 or DenverCenter.org only.
Attending the Denver Center’s version of A CHRISTMAS CAROL is the traditional opening to the holiday season. It always brings the familiar story to glorious life with color and music. Redemption never looked so good. There’s a certain comfort to knowing that – no matter what has happened in the outside world in the past year – Scrooge will start out a grump and end up a saint. Tiny Tim is going to be as cute as a button; Christmas Past is going to have a beautiful white gown; Fezziwig’s Ball is going to be fun; the Cratchits are going to start with a small bird for dinner and end up with a big one; and Christmas Future is gonna put the fear of God in everyone. It means that what the rest of the world is doing, for two hours, all is right in the world of the audience.
We have a new Scrooge this year in the person of David Studwell, an experienced thespian who travels the world doing lead roles all over the country. He is a ferocious Scrooge in the first third of the production, shouting at street singers, being truly nasty to his clerk who just wants another chunk of coal and Christmas Day off work, his nephew who only wants to invite him to dinner, and two gentlemen who are only collecting for the poor. He is almost overwhelmingly spiteful, yet seems to accept the presence of even the first Ghost calmly without surprise. It takes him a while but, by the time the Fezziwig’s Ball is over, he’s begun to understand where his life went wrong.
A show like this – large cast, long run, Equity house – is always a magnet for those actors who travel to perform in multiple theatres all year. This cast is a mix of ten local actors, twelve visiting performers, and eight child actors. (And a partridge in a pear tree – joking!) They all work together like a well-oiled clock.
Among the local actors, Geoffrey Kent is a heartfelt Bob Cratchit, full of love for his family and even good-natured toward his crotchety boss. His tenderness with Tiny Tim is tear-inducing and his incredulity at the change in Scrooge is fun to watch. Jacob Dresch gets to make a truly amazing entrance as the ghost of Marley. He clanks his chains around the stage like a supermodel on the catwalk. Brian Bohlender, a relatively new face but making a welcome splash in productions from Boulder to Lone Tree, plays multiple parts. The award for Best Variety in Roles goes to Marco Robinson who makes a very handsome young Ebenezer, but then scares the bejesus out of Scrooge and the audience when he appears out of the dark as Christmas Future. The night I saw the production, a young girl in the audience literally screamed when he appeared! Christian Ray Robinson who has appeared in shows in the Springs and Fort Collins charms as a guest at both Fezziwig’s Ball and Fred’s Christmas party. Denverites Justin Walvoord (who understudies Scrooge), Landon Tate Boyle, Katie Jackson, and Jack Wardell lead the understudy team.
While this Anthony Powell-directed production seemed a little darker both in tone and physical color, he captured the humor and the heart of the story. There are always a few little new things and lots of old familiar landmarks in the set pieces and costumes, but the falling snow during the curtain call always brings a lump to your throat.
Start your Christmas with this show this year and you’ll start a new tradition for your family.
A WOW factor of 8.5!!