The storyline of A Christmas Carol is so familiar to most adults that one of the best ways to enjoy it is with children for whom the plot is new. I joined a crowd of youngsters at the Barrette Center for the Arts to view a theatrical version of Charles Dickens’ 1843 novella by the same name in White River Junction on Tuesday morning.
Aside from occasionally kicking a seat in front of them, the students from schools such as New England Classical Academy in Claremont, Barnard Academy, Oxbow Union High School and Windsor Schools were an attentive and appreciative audience.
They seemed engaged as Dickens’ classic critique of 19th century England’s treatment of the poor — a critique that certainly has modern day applications — unfolded before them. The production ably conveyed the classic tale with capable acting directed by Peter Hackett and adaptable sets by David Esler.
As the story goes, Ebenezer Scrooge (Bill Kux) initially appears oblivious both to the needs of others and to the joys of the Christmas season being celebrated around him, but after visitations from three ghosts foreshadowing his little-mourned death, his attitude changes.
Judging from their responses, the students took in the creepiness of the ghosts and the gruffness and then goofiness of Scrooge with fresh eyes.
After the scene in which Scrooge’s former partner Jacob Marley (Paul West) haunts Scrooge, a Barnard Academy student in the audience said, “That was creepy.”
Kux, whom some will remember as John Watson from last season’s The Hound of the Baskervilles, makes Scrooge’s transformation from a selfish old man to a generous one convincing.
When his clerk, Bob Cratchit (Eric Bunge, Northern Stage’s managing director) tries in vain to light a fire in their shared office, Scrooge stops him by asking, “Anything I can do for you?” Instead, he invites his employee to warm his hands at the candle on his desk.
Kux’s Scrooge is also immune to the entreaties of his nephew Fred (Max Samuels), who drops by the office to invite his uncle to Christmas dinner.
In response, Kux delivers the classic line, “bah humbug,” with gusto.
Scrooge’s initial glee at the prospect of collecting from his debtors is dampened by foreshadowing of the ghostly visits in the offing.
“Your time will come, Mr. Scrooge,” says Mr. Marvel, a clock vendor played by Eric Love.
In this production, the actors who play Scrooge’s three debtors also play the three ghosts that later haunt Scrooge. Love is a Darth Vader-like ghost of Christmas future on stilts.
David Esler’s set inside the Barrette Center for the Arts proves versatile. The blue-grey walls serve as both the interior rooms and exterior walls of 19th century London. Atmospheric shadows and shapes are projected onto those walls at key moments during the play.
The set was designed to enable creative entrances and exits by ghastly figures. Jacob Marley’s ghost appears through a portrait in the wall, as smoke billows out of the fireplace below. Flames appear projected onto the wall as Marley speaks.
Contributing to the ghostly effect of the production is a troupe of dancers dressed in flowing, ragged gray clothing and silver masks as they flit ghoulishly around the stage.
As the spirit of Christmas past, Susan Haefner leads Scrooge through scenes from his youth, including a festive dance complete with colorful costumes, joyful shouting and fiddle music. Scrooge begins to show regret for love lost and opportunities for kindness missed.
“I should like to be able to say a word or two to my clerk,” he says.
While the play, like the novel, conveys morals about the importance of being generous, it also has moments of levity when Kux shows some chops as a comedic actor. In addition to past work at Northern Stage, Kux has played numerous roles on Broadway and on screens large and small.
After intermission, we return to find Scrooge waiting for the ghost of Christmas present (Kurt Zischke), a Santa Claus-like figure who appears through a window.
As he waited, Kux dueled with an imaginary ghost using a fire poker in a playful moment that drew chuckles from the students at the matinee.
Later, upon waking from his rough night, Kux again brings a comic edge. “I don’t know anything. I’m quite a baby,” he says, drawing giggles from the crowd.
He exchanges snowballs with children in the street as he works to repair relationships with those he has wronged. “I think I can do this,” he says.
The production has some minor flaws. Despite its newness, the theater is slightly drafty. An exchange between Scrooge and his maid, Mrs. Dilber (Dorothy Stanley), in which the two agree to call each other by their first names, perhaps indicating a romance blossoming, seems gratuitous. And some of the props — bags of flour in a scene from Scrooge’s youth and the giant bird Scrooge acquires for Christmas dinner at the end — seem lighter weight than they should.
But overall, Northern Stage’s rendition of this classic captures the essence of the holiday spirit.
Northern Stage’s production of
Nora Doyle-Burr can be reached at ndoyleburr@vnews.com or 603-727-3213.
