Revisiting theater classics is much like attending religious ceremonies: Both are deeply ingrained rites that deliver us, communally, to states that are otherwise inaccessible.
Charles Dickens’ crowning achievement, “A Christmas Carol,” offers this type of spiritual experience. In director Bruce K. Sevy’s production, running at the Denver Center Theatre Company’s Stage Theatre, we are treated in Richard Hellesen’s adaptation to a stunning series of images of Victorian England, as only the great writer was willing to describe it, in all its inequities and pleasures.
Sevy, scenic designer Vicki Smith and choreographer Christine Rowan keep a constant flow of characters and settings whirling across the stage, tapping into a dream state that ultimately transforms Scrooge’s hardened avarice and locked-down heart into the spirit of Christmas.
Mix this visual fluidity with David de Berry’s evocative and rich score and an astounding and lavish parade of costumes by Kevin Copenhaver, and you have — a classic.
Philip Pleasants takes the bold road as Scrooge, initially irrepressible in his heartlessness and vitriol. Where, we ask, will Pleasants find an iota of goodness in his dastardly counting-house overlord to change him into a man who knows how to celebrate the season? The first hint of the impressive level of detail in which Pleasants has wrapped his Christmas gift to us occurs when Scrooge, in private, picks up his nephew Fred’s present, gives it a curious look, shakes it, and then peeks inside before tossing it in the garbage and restoring himself with a “Bah, humbug!”
Pleasants maintains this electric hyper-realism throughout, shading the entire epic with the arc of Scrooge’s remarkable, step-by-step journey from cynic to heartfelt celebrant.
Sam Gregory, as Bob Cratchit, the gentle eternal optimist, strikes all the right chords in both his slavish relationship with Scrooge and his tender and tight-knit familial circle. John Behlmann is winsome as Fred, tirelessly pursuing his Uncle Scrooge’s higher self.
David Ivers’ Ghost of Jacob Marley arrives twice with startling effect and, like the tenor of the drama as a whole, achieves a visceral connection with both Scrooge and the audience. We wonder why, however, after so many years in the grave and as a specter, Marley’s getup wasn’t far worse for the wear and his skin a-moldering?
Chris Mixon and Leslie O’Carroll as the Fezziwigs provide a thoroughly delightful and laugh-filled comedic apex — with their merry dancing, jovial hospitality, and high farce, including a hilarious off-beat aria by O’Carroll — during Scrooge’s recollection of his once-sensitive youthful self, just prior to his engagement to Belle (Nisi Sturges).
In what is perhaps the most painful moment in young Scrooge’s life, and doubly so with older Scrooge’s recollection — when Belle returns his engagement ring — Sturges finds a compassionate yet persuasive tone to deliver another of Dickens’ exquisite moral homilies. Sturges’ later solo number as Belle — as well as her depiction of Martha, the Cratchit’s eldest daughter — also sparkles.
Leslie Alexander, as Mrs. Cratchit, the backbone of the family, is a perfect counterpoint to her mild husband, with well-aimed salvos of spunk and vinegar to underscore the righteousness of labor’s cause and give testimony to her husband’s character.
As the agents of Scrooge’s change, the Ghosts of Christmas Past (Stephanie Cozart), Present (Larry Bull) and Yet to Come (Andy Jobe) play off Pleasants’ elevated reality, opening an extra-dimensional dreamscape in which everything that ever was, is, or will be exists now.
Original orchestrations by Thom Jenkins and Gregg Coffin and additional solos by Christine Rowan, Paul Morland, Ellie Schwartz, and Bryce Baldwin add zest to Dickens’ beloved holiday recipe.
Most remarkably, the scope of the production gives us an appreciation for the elements that have made “A Christmas Carol” a universal epic revealing the psychological underpinnings of spiritual transformation. What could be more topical?
Bob Bows also reviews theater for Variety, for KUVO/89.3 FM, and for his own website, . He can be reached at bbows@coloradodrama.com.
“A Christmas Carol” ***1/2 (out of four stars)
Holiday classic. Presented by the Denver Center Theatre Company. Written by Charles Dickens. Adapted by Richard Hellesen. Music by David de Berry. Directed by Bruce K. Sevy. Starring Philip Pleasants, Harvey Blanks, Larry Bull. 2 hour, 15 minutes. Through Dec. 27. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday at 6:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m., Sunday at 6:30 p.m., Saturday and Sunday matinees at 1:30 p.m., Dec. 23 performances at 1:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.; Dec. 24 performances at 1 and 5:30 p.m. No performance on Christmas Day. $36- $57. 303-893-4100 or
This weekend’s best bet: “The Anonymous Mr. W”
Friday and Saturday (Dec. 12-13). War drama. With more and more soldiers coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan forever changed, the timing could not be better for LIDA Project’s “The Anonymous Mr. W.,” inspired by Georg Buchner’s unfinished “Woyzeck.” It’s about a young soldier who returns from war unable to fit back into the society he left, and soon descends into madness and murder. “Whether you are a hawk or dove on the war issue, we are still having to deal with the aftermath,” said director Brian Freeland. “This piece is designed to open up that conversation about how we what to deal with that issue as a society.” “Mr. W.” plays at 8 p.m. at The Bindery Space, 770 22nd St. $15, 720-221-3821 or .
John Moore
This weekend’s other openings
“Home for the Holidays” Colorado Homegrown Tales’ readings of short stories by Colorado authors Linda Berry, Ed Bryant, Wayne Faust and Carol McAdoo Rehme. Through Sunday. Byers-Evans House, 1310 Bannock St., 720-233-0811 or
“Jersey Boys” Walk (like a man) down memory lane as this rousing, national touring doo-wop musical tells the story of Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons. Through Jan. 3. Buell Theatre, Denver Performing Arts Complex, 14th and Curtis streets, 303-893-4100 or
“Joaquin’s Christmas” Su Teatro presents Anthony J. Garcia’s tale of a 7-year-old boy, his working-class family and his talking dog amid a time of holiday greed and giving in 1950s Pueblo. Through Dec. 21. King Center, Auraria campus, 303-296-0219 or
Complete theater listings
Go to our complete list of every currently running production in Colorado, including summaries, run dates, addresses, phones and links to every company’s home page.
Coming Sunday: Ovation Award nominations
The complete list of our eighth annual Denver Post Ovation Awards finalists, honoring the best in Colorado theater for 2008, will be published in the Dec. 14 Arts & Entertainment section.
