That’s the premise forSunset Playhouse’s production ofInspecting Carol by Daniel Sullivan, who based the idea on Gogol’s The Inspector General (performed earlierthis season in an excellent production by the Milwaukee Repertory Theater). Forthose wanting to cast Christmas tradition to the winds of winter, this might bethe zany antidote to familiar Christmas fare.
The challenge for theaudience is to hang in there. The real laughs begin halfway through the secondact, with the attempts to perform the revisionist Carol within Inspecting Carolall while under the watchful gaze of the real inspector. The play requiresprecise comic timing, and not all of the actors are up to the task.Fortunately, Carol Z. Dolphin keeps the farce moving with her hilarious sendupof a proper British woman playing a seductive, frizzy blond Mrs. Cratchit, moreinterested in igniting the passions of husband Bob Cratchit than igniting thetraditional flame on the Christmas pudding. And as part of the effort to regainthe NEA grant through multicultural casting, Kid Beat Box adds life and laughsas the lone black actor adapting to outlandish costumes and no chance torehearse. His mute stage fright is made all the more funny by his wide-eyedexpression, as Spencer Mather’s “updated” Scrooge tries to get him to say hislines to no avail.
If you’re patient enoughto actually wait until Dec. 25 to open your holiday gifts, your patience willserve you well in waiting for the laughs in InspectingCarol.
Sunset Playhouse’sproduction of Inspecting Carol runsthrough Dec. 31.
