“Some people think Ebenezer Scrooge is [Jewish]
Well, he’s not. But guess who is: all Three Stooges.”
-Adam Sandler
By Eric George Tauber
SAN DIEGO — The holiday classic, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens is playing at the Cygnet Theatre. Everyone knows this story as it has been told and retold by the likes of Albert Finney, George C Scott, the Muppets and Mr. Magoo. So I need not elaborate on the plot. On the evening that I attended, the house was filled with young people from local middle and high schools. A new generation is –thank God- setting aside their phones to experience live theatre. I really enjoy these audiences as they are some of the most enthusiastic and brutally honest crowds you can play to. Prior to curtain, the cast got us going with carols and jokes. Melissa Fernandes really hammed it up with her goose a-laying and was really fun to watch.
Tom Stephenson had the appropriate Scroogey snarl as he spat out his “bah humbugs.” He later belted out his repentantly joyful greetings in a resonant, barrel-chested baritone. And Patrick McBride, with a very expressive face and eyes, was endearingly nebbishy as the obsequious Bob Cratchit.
“Mankind was my business!”
David McBean is captivating as always as Jacob Marley, canting his ghostly hymn, “Woe is me and woe is you.” Then his booming tenor fills the house while he saunters on stilts as the Ghost of Christmas Present. The children, specifically Ebenezer as a lonely boy and Tiny Tim are portrayed by beautifully hand-carved, table-top puppets made touchingly lifelike. Katie Sapper gave a special sweetness to the angelic Tiny Tim.
The whole ensemble had a delightful chemistry through their many wig and costume changes, playing a wide array of characters. And a table filled with sound effects like an old radio show added to the evening’s fun. The one character I missed was Scrooge’s nephew, Fred. In any adaptation, one must make judicious cuts, but I’ve always admired Fred’s persistence in finding a warm, human heart inside his uncle’s cold, prickly exterior.
Once again, the Cygnet delivers an enchanting performance that reminds us why we still go to live theatre. And even if Christmas isn’t your holiday, the themes are universal. For mustn’t we all be reconciled to the ghosts of our past, more cognizant of those in our present and mindful of our future? When our time comes, will our passing elicit tender tears or jocund jeers? It’s the choices we make today that tip the scales of tomorrow.
A Christmas Carol plays at the Cygnet Theatre in Old Town through December 24
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Tauber is a freelance writer specializing in coverage of the arts. He may be contacted via eric.tauber@sdjewishworld.com
David McBean, though definitely captivating, is not a tenor. He is very much a basso!