ACT's Christmas Carol Makes It Feel New
We went into ACT Theatre's production of A Christmas Carol (twice a day, Tues.–Sun, through Dec. 27; tix $22–$47) with essentially low expectations: Given that it's nearly impossible to screw up such a classic, which gets half its power from the fact that just about everyone in the audience already knows the story, simply pulling it off doesn't count for much. The good people at ACT would really have to add something for us to walk out feeling as though this were anything more than a seasonal moneymaker (hey, they've been doing it for 25 years for a reason), and surprisingly, they actually delivered. When we left, we had a new-found respect for the old Christmas warhorse, because ACT managed to make us see the classic as though for the first time, tearing away all the horrible associations we've gathered from decades-worth of mediocre adaptations and reminding us of why Dicken's century-plus-old story is so essential.
The production itself is extremely well thought out, which in retrospect we'd expect given how much practice they've had. (The adaptation is by Gregory A. Falls himself, ACT's deceased founder.) Often we find ourselves unimpressed by the scenery in shows performed in the Allen Theatre, their big theatre-in-the-round. The lack of occasion for backdrops necessarily inspires a minimalist approach to design, which sometimes works (The Clean House) sometimes doesn't (Stuff Happens) and more often than not is just forgettable (what was the set like for Fathers & Sons?). But on this occasion, they really managed to achieve a richness of detail that surprised us. Making the same stage serve as a gritty London street, a chilly old bedroom, and countless other worlds of fantasy and action is difficult to say the least, but from the snow machine to the interactive setting for Old Fezziwig's place, the production design is minimal enough for lightning-fast transitions yet detailed enough that we easily suspend our disbelief.
As for the performances, as usual, ACT's casting was above average. The trying role of Scrooge is being traded between two actos, Seán Griffin and Allen Fitzpatrick, given that the play shows twice a day, six days a week. We saw Fitzpatrick, and he deftly managed the precarious twists and turns of the character, as the cold-hearted, mean-spirited Scrooge is broken down into a first doubting, then resistant, terrified, maudlin, and finally eviscerated man who opens himself up to his redemption. The rest of the large ensemble cast do their roles with varying degrees of skill ranging from passable to strong (including the children, a remarkable feat), but we can't close without giving special recognition to David Pichette. Pichette's quickly climbed the list of our favorite Seattle actors, particularly with his recent near-flawless performance as Henry IV in an otherwise lackluster production at Seattle Shakespeare. He plays a trio of roles in A Christmas Carol, but its his turn as Jacob Marley, pulled off with a gusto and zest that tells you he's jonesing to hear a couple squeals of terror from kids in the audience, that makes his performance the stand-out in the show. (Plus, ACT works some fantastic special-effects wonders in the scene deserving of praise in and of themselves.)
But the most rewarding part of the show was how it got to the core of story that's been obscured by countless lesser adaptations, from the Muppets to Disney to Scrooged. As a dark and dismal Christmas descends on the U.S. amidst unprecedented job losses and a worsening economy, it was striking to be reminded that Scrooge's greed isn't just the source of his wickedness but rather his fatal flaw, the source of his misery, too. Ah, timeless lessons! We need them now more than ever.
David Pichette as Marley and Allen Fitzpatrick as Scrooge in A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, adapted by Gregory A. Falls at ACT - A Contemporary Theatre. Photo by Chris Bennion.
