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Tom Chaney. November 25, 2007: A Christmas Carol Christmas at the Kentucky Repertory Theatre: Review of "A Christmas Carol" in Horse Cave, KY By Tom Chaney Last year I did penance for reviling continuous productions of Dickens' "A Christmas Carol." My reaction to that old saw had devolved into a fond hope that Ebenezer Scrooge will fail to be converted, that Tiny Tim will be run over by a stray reindeer, and that the nephew Fred will give a party to which no one will come. I had begun to hope that old Ebenezer would swill a dose of Pepto Bismol instead of quaffing an unbelievable draft of the milk of human kindness and sleep dreamless through the night of spirits, sacking Bob Cratchit if he is a minute late for work on December 26. I admitted I was wrong last year. I saw Kentucky Repertory Theatre's production on the last night it was shown. The show is back this year in repertory with "Tuna Christmas." Friends were in town last Sunday and the three of us traipsed over to see Scrooge again. I had sung them all praise to Director Robert Brock and company. My friends and I were not disappointed. In the first place, the production succeeded for me last year and this because of Brock's sensitive and dark adaptation of the original text. The wealthy Scrooge lives surrounded by dire and ignorant poverty amongst the lower echelons of Victorian London. The sense that hopelessness lies close to the veneer of holiday cheer is evident. This is a somber note seldom caught in other productions to which I have been subjected. In the second place Fred Willecke played the first believable Scrooge I've ever seen. Other productions have left me thinking that old Ebenezer is merely frightened into his conversion to kindness by the parade of spirits which come his way -- led by the clanking ghost of his dead partner Marley. Willecke lets us watch Scrooge's awakening motivated by the vision the spirits give him of his childhood and young manhood. The audience sees the elder Ebenezer watching the bashful boy verbally abused by his father. We see that same elder Ebenezer deliberately rejecting the sensitive side of his nature and opting for the security of the counting house instead of risking love -- losing Belle who wisely rejects the budding miser. Scrooge's conversion proceeds from within and is all the more genuine for it. He not only learns affection and generosity, he learns frivolity and joy. And the learning is clearly an inner awakening to the Scrooge that might have been. Much time has been lost, but it is not too late to shed the clanking chains which the dead Marley must bear. Perhaps the most unexpected delight of KRT's production is the music. Carols and melodies unfamiliar to the 21st Century ear -- drawn from the time when Dickens wrote -- contribute to the overbearing dissonance and fragile joy of life. The music creates a golden vocal thread. The strength of the production lies not just with sound, script, and Scrooge. It lies with a truly professional ensemble -- such a fine quartet of ghosts! Such a believably joyous party at the home of Scrooge's nephew! And that ensemble is the crowning achievement of Kentucky Repertory Theatre. The experienced professionals set high marks of quality toward which apprentices build.Dickens "A Christmas Carol" in the hands of Robert Brock and company provides the lesson of redemption possible in a dark and troubled soul and world. We can all be proud of the state of the performing arts in these parts. Hie yourself to Kentucky Repertory Theatre for "A Christmas Carol." Like Scrooge, you have time for redemption -- nigh a month. Tom Chaney can be found telling stories, smoking pipe-weed, and occasionally selling books at: THE BOOKSTORE Box 73 / 111 Water Street Horse Cave, Kentucky 42749 270-786-3084 Email: Tom Chaney bookstore@scrtc.com Visit website: The Bookstore This story was posted on 2007-11-25 08:00:33
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Tom Chaney, November 18, 2007: Robert Tanenbaum Tom Chaney, November 11, 2007: Dick Francis Tom Chaney, November 4, 2007: Davis McCombs Tom Chaney, Oct. 28, 2007: Rabbit Hunting in Lawson Bottom Tom Chaney: Miriam Grace Monfredo Tom Chaney, Sept. 30, 2007: Patricia Cornwell Tom Chaney, September 24, 2007: The Graftons of Kentucky Tom Chaney, Sept. 16, 2007: And Then They Came for Me Tom Chaney: Sept. 9, 2007: Jack & Lem Tom Chaney: Sept. 2, 2007: The Shape Shifter View even more articles in topic Tom Chaney: Of Writers and Their Books |
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