A Christmas Carol At the Guthrie Theater Just Keeps Getting Better Every Year

I always open my review with: If you’ve lived in the Twin Cities for a decade or more it’s likely you’ve seen one of the Guthrie Theaters annual productions of A Christmas Carol. It’s sort of a MN tradition, like Lefse at Thanksgiving. But this year I learned I was wrong. This is the third year of the latest adaptation and reinterpretation of the classic and I was going to give it a miss in light of the busy schedule that always fills up too quickly this time of year. But a young woman named Jayla, with little exposure to theater but with a curiosity and enthusiasm to experience it, came into my families life. She has lived in the Twin Cities for more than ten years, but has never seen a production at the Guthrie let alone A Christmas Carol. When she asked if we could see it, I immediately changed my plans to skip it. Like the play itself which teaches Ebenezer Scrooge the true meaning of Christmas, Jayla reminded me of the true meaning of blogging. I began doing this years ago in hopes of encouraging people to leave their homes and go out and experience the rich theater community that the Twin Cities has to offer. I wanted to create new theater going audiences, show people who didn’t know the magic of live theater, what was out there, what they didn’t even know they were missing. Though I’d seen this version of A Christmas Carol twice before seeing it through the eyes of a first timer, makes everything seem fresh and new. What was Jayla’s experience? This was the 7th show she’s seen in the last 30 days, 8th show ever, this is now her favorite. The best part? on the ride home after the show she said if she ever has kids, she is taking them to the theater!!!

Now every production is different of course, some cast changes occur from year to year certainly, but for many years they utilize the same costumes, set designs, and script. The script for the last three years is by Lavina Jadhwani, and it is directed this year by Addie Gorlin-Han taking over from Guthrie Artistic Director Joseph Haj, who helmed it the previous two years. This production features much of the same cast, Matthew Saldivar returns as Scrooge and has really come to own the role. It’s a testament to all involved that a story we know so well can be enjoyed over and over again. I like that The Guthrie has created this tradition. I like to think of families getting together once a year at the holidays to take in a live show every year. Theatre as a tradition. I’m not implying that people should see A Christmas Carol at the Guthrie every year, but create that tradition and there really isn’t a better place to start than The Guthrie’s A Christmas Carol. If you’ve seen it in previous years and enjoyed it, I encourage you to bring someone new, share the experience. What happens on the stage at your performance will never happen again precisely as it did and that is what makes live theater special. For myself I have to confess, I find the production to get better with every passing year. It’s impossible to remember exactly what happened one year and over a hundred and fifty shows ago. But I felt like there were changes this year, more humor perhaps? or maybe it’s my mind trying to rationalize how I could like it better and better every time I see it.

A Christmas Carol was first published as a Novella in 1843, in 1844 the first stage adaptations appeared. It tells the story of a miserly old business man Ebenezer Scrooge, who is visited on Christmas Eve by three ghosts sent by his old business partner Jacob Marley. The ghosts are spirits of different times. The first is the Ghost of Christmas Past and shows him scenes from his past. Second, the Ghost of Christmas Present, which gives him a look into the lives of those celebrating Christmas that year, including his nephew Fred, and the family of his clerk, Bob Cratchit. Lastly, the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, wherein he sees his own future and people’s responses to it. The point of these visitations sent to Scrooge by Marley is so that he might learn the error of his ways and change while there is still time. Scrooge of course comes to realize how he changed over time and of the fruitlessness of such a selfish existence. By the end of the play he has found the spirit of Christmas and no longers thinks of it as a humbug. What this adaptation does that is different from some others, is introducing earlier in the story Scrooge’s desire to change. Not simply from being frightened by the ghosts, but we sense very quickly he has seen the error of his ways and is trying to find the path to redemption. Rather than being afraid of the results should he not change, we see a Scrooge who is seeking change. This shift in focus doesn’t alter the plot but it does make Scrooge more of an active participant in his own redemption. It is a positive message and fits well with Dickens themes and message.

Matthew Saldivar in his Third year as Scrooge finds humor when appropriate but also sells the desire for redemption. The Guthrie always puts together a fine ensemble of actors. Some standouts in this production were John Catron back again as Bob Cratchit, whose embodiment of the glass is always half full philosophy felt like a sincere representation of a deeply good person rather than a fool who doesn’t realize how badly off he is. Also Emjoy Gavino who reprises the role of Mrs. Cratchit, who is not quite as charitable as Bob, but is won over, as we are, by his unwavering goodness. They play a very well matched couple and their banter rings true. Charity Jones as the Ghost of Jacob Marley is a performance that felt rather fresh, it wasn’t the usual slow talking moaning ghost, there was a little more there and that definitely worked well and marked this as a fresh take on the material. Eric Sharp as Scrooge’s nephew Fred wonderfully captures the amiable nature of a man who simply refuses to be offended by his uncles constant rejection. It’s nice to see a cast made up principally of local actors and including area favorites like Tyler Michaels King, Paul de Cordova, and China Brickey to name just a few.

One of the greatest successes of this production are on the technical side including set design, lighting, and projection effects. I like the set design, this old London cityscape that seems to tower over the characters. Shifting into different configurations so that new elements can be brought forward or rotated to reveal a new environment. There is a brief scene during the journey with the Ghost of Christmas present that shows a ship out at sea, in previous years I had issues of different sorts with this scene. This year it felt like they nailed it, reading back through those reviews I suspect it was more technical mishaps than design. The ship set is combined with a sea projection which is an effective technique and gives the moment and epic feel. Another very well executed technical aspect was the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. The Costume Designer Toni-Leslie James has created a costume that feels like something out of a Guillermo del Toro film. It frightened Scrooge onstage and the little girl in the row ahead of me was hiding under her coat. This is primarily the moment that informs my advice to parents that the production might be to scary for those under ten to twelve years of age. The ghost costume must stand ten feet if not more and is a marvel to behold and is impressively worn and controlled by Andy Frye. Though there is no dialogue for the actor it’s as impressive a performance as any on the stage, movements that are otherworldly yet extremely expressive.

A Christmas Carol runs through December 30th at the Guthrie Theater for more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.guthrietheater.org/shows-and-tickets/2023-2024-season/a-christmas-carol/

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