There was more anticipation than usual as the Milwaukee Repertory Theater unveiled its 41st annual production of A Christmas Carol inside the historic Pabst Theater. If there ever was a Dickens play and a Victorian-themed theater so uniquely suited to each other, this would be it.
Audiences this year have been eager to see a new adaptation by Milwaukee Rep Artistic Director Mark Clements, who also directed this production. The “old” version had been playing at the Pabst for more than a decade, and Clements decided to shake things up a bit. Clements was inspired, he says, by his own five-year-old child. He wanted to create a version that was more inviting to children, and one that would bring out the inner child in all of us.
As with any large resident theater company, annual shows such as A Christmas Carol must draw large crowds in order to subsidize the entire season. The Milwaukee Rep basically has a “lock” on A Christmas Carol, so any changes had better be good ones. This had to be an audience-pleasing hit, or the Milwaukee Rep would face a far less rosy financial future.
The new version breaks from the past one from the first moment. Instead of a solemn procession of candle-holding carolers, this version introduces the audience to a call-and-response technique that is both very old and very new. Like two cheerleaders warming up a sports crowd before a game, the very talented duo of Angela Iannone and Michael Doherty encourage the audience to respond, on cue, directly to the actors. Whether one is happy about this decision or not (this reviewer is mixed), the call-and-response is put to good effect throughout the production. The most memorable of these moments belong to Jonathan Wainwright as the main character, Ebenezer Scrooge. More animated (and perhaps more frightened by ghosts) than many Scrooges, the relatively short, slightly built Wainwright puts his own personal stamp on the character. He has performed on Milwaukee stages for a decade or two, and Wainwright also has played Bob Cratchit in past Rep productions of Dickens’s well-known story. Although a relatively young actor, Wainwright (as Scrooge) quivers his chin and jiggles his hands in a remarkably realistic portrayal of an old man.
In regards to the call-and-response format, Wainwright gets a lot of laughter at first when the audience tells him something he doesn’t want to hear. He yells out to the audience that they are a bunch of liars. Further along in the story, he is friendlier. He entreats the audience – calling them “good friends” -- to make him aware of when the next spirit appears. It’s another way to suggest Scrooge’s inevitable transformation from a Christmas humbug to a Christmas hero.
For a show geared to families, the ghosts and spirits in this production are quite scary. The Ghost of Marley, formerly Scrooge’s business partner, is covered in fluorescent paint and wears a bedraggled outfit with long, clanking chains. Actor Jonathan Smoots (who has played Scrooge in past productions) is equally good here at giving us this hideous monster. This Ghost enters through a curtain (meant to be a wall) that is subsequently parted by numerous ghostly, grasping hands. Although director Mark Clements has a huge group of actors to shift around the stage, he has dispensed with the practice of actors entering from the wings. Instead, the fine artisans of the Milwaukee Rep production crew have created an enormous, moving version of ye olde London. The gigantic set moves on two turntables. The set’s movement is so awe-inspiring that it sometimes draws attention away from the story. It also squeezes many scenes into a small section of the stage, since all of the sets and props need to be quickly swept away before the turntable starts moving again. Clements’s adaptation offers fewer Old English Christmas carols and less singing and dancing. Scenes throughout the play have been clipped to a minimum, although a couple of new ones are added. Everyone is adorned in authentic-looking new costumes. They range from those intentionally lovely to those intentionally grim, depending on each character’s requirements.
Oh, yes. There is also “snow” falling inside the Pabst Theater for the first time. Here’s the trick: Tiny soap bubbles (that look quite realistic) pour out of jets located in the second balcony. On opening night, small children on the main floor happily scampered up and down the aisles in an attempt to catch the swiftly disappearing “snowflakes.” One can only imagine how delighted the cast must have been to look beyond the footlights to witness a “show” of their own.
