It should be noted that the annual Milwaukee Rep production of A Christmas Carol is one of the longest-running Milwaukee Theatre traditions. As such, when one goes to see the show on any given year, there's a good chance that one will have seen it before. And any trip to see A Christmas Carol finds one confronted by the ghosts of A Christmas Carols past. The jovial robustness of Drew Brhel as Fezziwig. Torrey Hanson as a charmingly timid Bob Cratchit. The overwhelming dramatic density of James Pickering as Scrooge. And as this is such a long-standing tradition in Milwaukee theatre, I know I'm not alone in having preconceptions every year entering the Pabst Theatre in late November/early December.
This year's production finds a great deal of departure from the A Christmas Carols past. Some of the departure is staggeringly good. Most of it is bloody awful. If you've seen it before, you might not going to want to see it this year. It's a disappointment.
Aaron Posner directs the show. He does seem to be doing things here. Many of them disappointing.
At the center of the disappointment is Christopher Donahue as Scrooge. He's kind of a towering monster of a Scrooge . . . but not in a good way. He seems hunched over in this towering massiveness that calls to mind Boris Karloff in Frankenstein for some reason. It's an interesting re-imagining of the character, but somewhere halfway through the first act, I found myself imagining a mob of angry London peasants with pitchforks and torches storming Scrooge's home at the end of the play, which was an image that stuck with me throughout much of the performance.
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Okay, so he's tall. Fine. Doesn't mean he's a bad actor. No. But he's not putting in a very good performance here otherwise. The weight of the miserly anger isn't there. The cold lack of feeling isn't there. The malice isn't there. This isn't a miser . . . he's just some grumpy old rich guy. And there are plenty of those who aren't Scrooge. It's kind of weird seeing him attempt this sort of thing in the presence of Angela Iannone who was born to play cold, emotionless anger and malice. Here she's playing Mrs. Twyce and Mrs. Fezziwig among other roles and she's contrasted against a Scrooge who seems incapable of even one tenth of her darkly dazzling anger. You want a memorable Scrooge? Put HER in the role. As it is she seems grossly mismatched as Fezziwig---a role she seems to suck all of the joy out of. Put her in the role of Scrooge, though, and you've got something. She's got the kind of presence in a role like that capable of hitting the furthest seats of the Pabst and probably coating the whole block.
There are quite a few cuts in the script and various rearrangements. In almost every case, director Aaron Posner makes the production feel more rushed and less interested in delivering the story in any kind of compelling way. Getting into specifics here wouldn't be worth the time.
This is not to say that the production doesn't have its powerfully good moments as well. Melody Betts is a jovial diva in the role of The Ghost of Christmas Present. She's got an overwhelmingly impressive voice and the kind of spirit that animates all her scenes without coming across as too eager to make an impression. She's very natural in the role . . . a welcome addition to this year's production.
Emily Trask returns to the production as Catherine. She's also got an amazing voice that adds a dazzlingly radiant perfection to The Holly and The Ivy as sung in Christmas present. Always nice to see her again.
So, yes . . . Trask and Melody Betts. They were good. So was Smoots. (Jonathan Smoots returned to the production as well. Always nice to see him as well.) And Gerard Neugent showed up again this year . . . as Marley. That was kind of nice as well. He's good in anything . . . I just wish I didn't find myself imagining him strapping Young Scrooge to a table in Christmas past, throwing a switch and shouting "It's alive . . . .ALIVE!" The fog clears and there's a towering, lumbering Christopher Donohue staggering out of it all as Scrooge.
I'm being unfair. I'm sure Donohue's a good actor. I just wish he'd put in a better performance here. This production could've used a better performance in that role.
The Milwaukee Rep's production of A Christmas Carol runs through December 24th at the Pabst Theatre. For ticket reservations, call 414-224-9490.
