‘Tis the season to celebrate the holidays with an annual visit to see A Christmas Carol.
But this is no typical holiday season. This is Christmas in the Age of Pandemic. So, the Milwaukee Rep’s annual live, large-scale production of the Charles Dickens’ classic has been replaced by a virtual production of the one-actor show, Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol. And if you’re wondering how Scrooge’s lesser known partner has his own story to tell, Tom Mula’s cleverly written, darkly humorous story shows us the other side of the darkness—and redemption for both miserable misers.
How fitting, then, that the lone actor first appears on stage in the large but empty theater, facing a dark landscape of unoccupied theater seats. It’s a perfect metaphor for this “pandemic pause” as well as the vast desolation that surrounds Marley, echoing his soullessness.
Playwright Mula has created a highly-inventive storyline with Marley now given the chance to change his fate and find freedom from the chains and accounting ledgers that bind him. The condition? He must redeem Scrooge’s soul—and Marley has just 24 hours to do it, according to the Record Keeper. But even Marley gets some spiritual aid; an elf-like sprite, the Bogle, who guides and assists him throughout his own journey.
The Rep has produced a stellar staging with this version of a Carol, wisely casting the multi-faceted veteran performer Lee E. Ernest playing multiple roles in a performance of a lifetime. Rep Artistic Director Mark Clements maximizes the production, smoothly integrating the “live” stage performance with the technology of virtual viewing. The expertly professional videography by HMS Media deftly captures all angles that even a front-row seat would miss. All the better given Jason Fassl’s superb lighting effects that veer from the purgatory of afterlife to the faint glimmers of hopeful change for both men. Arnold Bueso’s fully realized set design complements the synergy of all the talent in front, behind and in the shadows of the stage.
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That includes Music Director and Foley Artist Dan Kazemi, whose many sound effects are simply yet engagingly visualized; a rattle of paper, a crank on a handle, a clunking of chains. His piano bits and tinkering add much to the production’s overall light/dark mood.
But this is, after all, Ernest’s performance, er, performances which make the 97 minutes fly by (intermission is at the viewer’s discretion). His remarkable ability to move back and forth quickly among the characters he populates is a credit to his depth and range to visually and verbally distinguish them so easily. He brings a quick change three-dimensionality to the characters stepping forth, even showing a new, defiant side to Scrooge. But it’s the warmth and inevitable compassion that he brings to Marley that has us rooting for this stuck spirit as time is running out.
“My we all find our way home,” exclaims the Narrator at play’s end. And “home,” wherever we call it today in these times, is the best place to be for the holidays.
Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol is available for online viewing through December 24. To purchase tickets, call the Ticket Office at: 414-224-9490 or visit MilwaukeeRep.com
