By Jana Pollack, New Rep Reviewer
I have to start by admitting that, when it comes to holiday theater, I’m a bit of a scrooge myself. It’s not that I don’t get that fuzzy holiday feeling at this time of year – I can’t deny that I love the lights and the feeling of togetherness. However, I’ve never been big on Christmas plays. That being said, even I can’t deny that I did enjoy New Rep’s production of “Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.”
For those who do enjoy holiday theatre – and judging by the crowds these kinds of shows draw, that seems to be most people – this show hits the mark. It has carols, snow, good morals and plenty of cheer. It helps that New Rep has a fine cast and many adorable, talented children to tell the story.
Returning to the role of Scrooge for the fifth time, Paul D Farwell is a great deal of fun to watch. His transition from a selfish grump to a kind, giving man is believable and touching. Edward M Barker is also particularly good in the role of Cratchet - his scenes seem to sparkle, and are the most enjoyable in the production. The whole cast did an admirable job of bringing out both the morality and the humor in the tale, and there were quite a few funny moments. Although some scenes dragged (and the script could benefit from some cutting), by the final scene each emotional note had been hit with precision, achieving the intended outcome of good-hearted faith in humanity.
If you love Christmas and Christmas cheer, this is the play for you, and New Rep is the place to see it. As for me, I’m not a total convert, but I have to admit that Tiny Tim was pretty damn cute. Happy Holidays to all!
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