AVERY BRUNKUS
Anthony Marble, right, as Ebenezer Scrooge, with Ty Lane as Fred in “A Christmas Carol” at The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey.
The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey does a play every holiday season, and sometimes it is “A Christmas Carol.” And when, in recent decades, it has done “A Christmas Carol,” it has used Neil Bartlett’s 1994 adaptation. It did so in 2007 and 2011, and again in 2019 and now, once again, this December, with Paul Mullins directing. And the results are, once again, magical.
The appeal of Bartlett’s adaptation is easy to see. It is authentic — he used only Charles Dickens’ original words — but it can be performed by a relatively small cast. (Eight actors play dozens of roles in Madison, down from the 10 actors used in 2019.) And it has more than enough inventive — and even, at times, fanciful — touches, to make the 1843 tale seem fresh
Scrooge’s clerks intone “Scratch scratch scratch scratch” and “Tick tick tick tick tick” to evoke their dull days and the slow way time passes when they are working. Scrooge cries out with an emphatic “Lock! Lock! Lock!” when locking his door. Various actors chant “Ding dong ding dong” to represent the tolling of bells; give voice to the tenuous buzz of Scrooge’s light bulb; and throw some sort of confetti-like substance to represent blowing snow.
While seven of the actors in this production take on multiple roles, Anthony Marble plays Ebenezer Scrooge and only Ebenezer Scrooge, the rich, hard-hearted businessman whose journey from “Bah, humbug!”-spouting jerk to Christmas-embracing softie is the core of the story. Scrooge is often portrayed as a withered old man. Anthony Marble, who plays him here, is somewhat young and robust for the part, which makes him even more of a tragic figure: It is disconcerting to see a relatively young man be so sour. (On the other hand, it is encouraging to think that the transformed Scrooge still has a large part of his life ahead of him.)
AVERY BRUNKUS
Jeffrey M. Bender, right, as
The Ghost of Christmas Present, with Anthony Marble as Scrooge in “A Christmas Carol.”
Marble is appropriately imposing as the pre-transformation Scrooge. When the character’s nephew Fred (Ty Lane) explains that he got married “because I fell in love,” Scrooge can’t even comprehend it, and Marble’s “Because you fell in love! Good afternoon!” was delivered with just the right amount of harshness and condescension.
Similarly, when he is asked for a charitable donation, and told that “hundreds of thousands are in want of common comforts,” Marble’s haughtiness is perfect as Scrooge mutters, in response, “Are there no prisons?”
Other cast members, and some of the major roles they play, include Jeffrey M. Bender as both the merry Fezziwig and the regal, life-affirming Ghost of Christmas Present; Emily S. Chang as the sickly Tiny Tim and the gloomy, harrowing Ghost of Christmas Past; Andy Paterson as the humble Scrooge employee and family man Bob Cratchit; Gina Lamparella as Cratchit’s wife, who oversees the family’s love-filled Christmas feast; Celeste Ciulla as Scrooge’s deceased business partner Marley, who appears, in chains, to warn Scrooge to end his misanthropic ways; and Fiona Robberson as the luminous Belle, Scrooge’s one-time fiancee, in the distant past. (I don’t know who played the daunting Ghost of Christmas Future as a character’s face was never seen.
At other plays that have featured actors playing many different roles, I have sometimes found it hard to keep everyone straight. But here, the actors, Mullins and costume designer Kristin Isola do a good job of helping audience members differentiate everyone.
Charlie Calvert’s set has lots of moving parts that enable quick changes from scene to scene, and includes a vintage depiction of London on the back wall.
AVERY BRUNKUS
Emily S. Chang as The Ghost of Christmas Past in “A Christmas Carol.”
I mentioned before that Bartlett used only Dickens’ words. I should add, though, that sprinkled throughout the play are snippets of various well known Christmas carols that date back to Dickens’ time or earlier, including “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen,” “I Saw Three Ships (Come Sailing In)” and “In the Bleak Midwinter.”
Barlett wrote in his introduction to his adaptation that “A sense of shared ownership is crucial to any re-telling of a much- and deservedly-loved story; in this particular case the use of well-known carols fosters implicit sense that everyone — everyone except Scrooge, that is — knows the words.”
Dickens’ story is “much- and deservedly-loved,” as Barlett writes, because it touches on something that is universally true. We could all afford to be less Scrooge-like — particularly, one might say, going into 2025, which looks like it will be a difficult time, in many ways.
“A Christmas Carol” offers hope, though, that even the unlikeliest transformations are always possible.
The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey will present “A Christmas Carol” at its F.M. Kirby Shakespeare Theatre at Drew University in Madison, through Dec. 29. This play is the last of the theater’s 2024 season; the 2025 lineup has not been announced yet. For information, tickets and updates, visit shakespearenj.org.
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