A Christmas
Carol
by John E.
Bielenberg and members of
The Cider Mill Playhouse
Snug
Harbor Presents a Sundog Theatre Production
of A
Christmas Carol
A New York City Premiere!
In this
adaptation, a troupe of actors on their
way to perform the Christmas play
experiences a change of events. They stage
it in another location for a sick child
and bring Dickens' holiday characters to
life for this young boy. The traditional
troupe of "Christmas Carol" characters is
still there, with all the redemption and
enchantment that Charles Dickens included
in his original story. The play has
original music composed specifically for
the production.
This version of "A Christmas Carol" is
performed yearly at the Cider Mill Playhouse in
upstate New York. This is the first time it has
been performed outside that locale. Musician
Andrew Monteleone has composed original music
to accompany and underscore the play directed
by Barbara Brandt.
The Crachits:
Diane Fisher-Flores, Alec Aaron Berg, Kerry Anderson, Whitney G-Bowley, and Daniel Scullin
Andy Meyers as Marley's Ghost
Douglas Coler as Ebenezer Scrooge
Photos by Jan Somma-Hammell and Susan Fenley
By Todd Hill – Staten Island Advance – December 10, 2005
Why Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” the classic morality tale about the positive transformation of a man, should be performed only at Christmastime is a question for another time. This version of the play, staged by Sundog Theatre, is both the definitive story you may remember, right down to the original, word-for-word dialogue, and something entirely new.
Well, it’s new if you’ve never before caught this particular show at the Cider Mill Playhouse near Binghamton, NY, the only place it’s ever been staged until now.
The conceit here is that Dickens’ old chestnut should be performed in its entirety within a child’s bedroom by an acting troupe after it finds the boy too sick to go out and catch their show. It’s a setup that’s largely unnecessary, although it does lend the proceedings a charming, shaggy dog quality that’s winning.
We find the cast making do with all manner of whatever’s-at-hand props, and they frequently break into song – little ditties that don’t stick in the memory, but serve nicely to break up the long stretches of Victorian-era exposition.
Douglas Coler
When it comes right down to it, however, it’s the cast that carries this production, and Douglas Coler above all, as our Scrooge, is a delight. Although he’s relegated to the sidelines when the various ghosts make their walkthroughs, Coler’s change of heart at the end is fully as expansive as we need it to be.
The overabundance of theatrical talent at Wagner College has also been tapped for this show, with Whitney G-Bowley, Dan Scullin, Timothy M. Pratt and Kerry Anderson in a variety of roles, among the freshest of faces. Alec Aaron Berg, Orville McCarter and Andy Meyers, each a bit more seasoned, are wisely cast in more charactery parts. Abraham Jacobs, age 9, appears as the sick child in the bed, but also gets to project that immortal line – “God bless us, everyone!” – not once, but twice.
Director Barbara Brandt walks a thin line between faithfulness to the original work and its potential fustiness, and falls on the right side of it. If you should happen upon one of the film versions of “A Christmas Carol” this month, particularly the 1938 movie, you may be shocked at how dated it can feel.
This production is most assuredly not that, and last night’s sizeable audience, replete with many youngsters, responded favorably. But then too, this is Christmastime, seemingly the one time during the year when we allow ourselves to swallow a story of such humanity without letting our cynicism show.
Alec Aaron Berg, Orville MacCarter, Daniel Scullin, Abraham Jacobs, Douglas Coler, Timothy Pratt, Kerry Anderson, Andy Meyers, Whitney G-Bowley