One Man Christmas Carol Irresistible

The arts have a way of transforming expectations.  What’s astonishing is how well they sometimes succeed in refashioning the familiar into the spectacular and the beautiful.

Glencoe’s Writer’s Theatre likely did this twice with its Two Scrooges: A Christmas Carol, Two Ways.  Both productions opened on December 8^th and will run through January 3^rd, 2021.  Presenting two distinctly different versions of the Christmas mainstay, one emphasizing the classic’s text and the other featuring strikingly emotive visuals, the theater’s gambit of presenting two styles of A Christmas Carol consciously appeals to the broadest range of tastes. So far, we can only attest to the brilliance of the solo version, One-Man: A Christmas Carol.   Adapted by and starring the theater’s Artistic Director, Michael Halberstam, it’s hard to imagine the existence of a more satisfying rendering of Dickens’ holiday masterwork.  There have, of course, been many remarkable performances about an old man who thought “love is the only thing more ridiculous than Christmas”. This one has the luster of the Crown jewels.

Dickens himself did full readings of A Christmas Carol. Over 100 years later, in the late 1980’s, Patrick Stewart, that paragon of stage and screen, delivered a three-hour one-man performance with no props and employing 30 different character voices.  This year’s one man show at Writer’s Theatre is not its first.  Mr. Halberstam garnered enviable praise for his solo endeavor in a 2008 show, too. 

Working with Stanton Long as Director, Adam Veness conjuring genius in scenic design, Adam Friedland overseeing lighting, and in collaboration HMS Media, this effort’s spare veneer is lusciously deceptive.  Much like a little black dress can be devastatingly effective precisely because of its simplicity, keeping things minimal in this Christmas Carol adds voluminous elegance to the project.  Here, the emphasis is the story, the words used to tell it and the voice bringing it to life.  An approach that proves powerfully effective in keeping the spotlight unerringly on Ebenezer Scrooge and his journey from darkness to redemption under the escort of three electrifying ghosts.

Halberstam’s voice couldn’t be more beautifully matched to the splendor of the text.  It’s a voice that’s immensely comfortable in the plushness of Dickens’ language as he introduces characters we somehow know intuitively, as well as from many past encounters, and sheds both pointed and poignant insights into the human heart.  A voice that can insinuate with rakish ease and move like lightning to mirror the tone rising from any aspect of the story; whether it be one of danger, hope, fear, glee or regret.

Under Mr. Stanton’s exquisite direction, that battalion of talent behind the scenes makes itself known in only the most fleeting of moments.  Black and white video projections appear highlighting seminal images of Victorian London.  A horse drawn carriage rolls slowly along cobblestone streets, an etching of abject need appears from nowhere.  A table materializes at the center of the stage; humbly dressed for a hard-won Christmas feast.  The lighting is always soft and has an aged feel that suggests daguerreotypes and lace.  There’s a serenity to the setting and an easy beauty that becomes more and more appealing as the story blooms.  That calm acts as a powerful backdrop as Scrooge is led through the past, present and impending future of his life.  It also helps to emphasize the gravity of his hopeful revelation when he learns that he may have what very few people ever get; a chance to change a painful version of tomorrow to a better one.

With so many wonderful things to say about this gorgeously presented adaptation, one of its best attributes may be its appeal to people who may not consider themselves Christmas friendly.  People who may have a little Scrooge in their DNA attributed to childhoods that saw too much pain, known traumatic loss or didn’t have the emotional underpinnings of the Cratchits.  “Not a handsome family…but..happy and pleased with one another”.  For those people, One-Man:  A Christmas Carol will be a sumptuous morality play that happens to have a Christmas theme and comes wrapped in a great performance.  A big bang for a modest buck that just may make the holidays a little more endearing.

One-Man  A Christmas Carol

On Demand

December 8, 2020  – January 3, 2021

Writers Theatre

Tickets:  Call Box Office  847-242-6000;  www.writerstheatre.org