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"A Christmas Carol" opened this past weekend at the Monroe Arts Center. This is the second year for this joint production of the Monroe Theatre Guild and the Monroe Arts Center.
Dave Bristow directed both productions.
"I must admit it was challenging to direct this show for the second year," Bristow said. "I found that, rather than telling the story from Scrooge's perspective, I had to look at it through the eyes of the others."
Bristow's direction is again superb.
"Though most of Dickens' characters have reason to live like victims, their story is of resilience," he said. "Scrooge's world is black and white and barren, yet in spite of the poverty, the people surrounding him seem to live in a world full of color. From Scrooge's vantage point, their traditions seem frivolous, lifestyles impoverished, and behavior impractical, yet in reality their life is full of wonder, hope and possibility."
Bristow concludes, "To me, that is what Christmas is about: Hope, wonder and the possibility of things yet to come."
The contrast Bristow has delineated is worth pondering. It is, at base, the contrast between material and emotional or spiritual wealth. The miserly Scrooge, competently portrayed by Ted Scheffer, has a vast surplus of the former and a dramatic deficit of the latter. And the opposite is the case for Bob Cratchit, Scrooge's employee, and many others.
Dickens' story, however, may ultimately be about Scrooge's transformation, his redemption. The Ghosts facilitate this dramatic change through their illustrations of injustice. The Ghost of Christmas Present, grandly characterized by John Baumann, lifts his heavy robe to reveal the plight of two "abject, miserable" children clinging to him. "This boy is Ignorance. This girl is Want," the Ghost informs the quaking Scrooge. Scrooge's fear is compounded by the prospect of the death of another child: Tiny Tim. It is the prospect of Scrooge's own death, though, that finally changes him at the core of his being: To a loving heart and generous spirit.
Dickens' story, adapted by Romulus Linney, fits well in the converted sanctuary at the Monroe Arts Center, especially with the extraordinary set designed by Suzanne Miller, and Bristow has made the most of this space.
The play continues today, Saturday and Sunday.
Dave Bristow directed both productions.
"I must admit it was challenging to direct this show for the second year," Bristow said. "I found that, rather than telling the story from Scrooge's perspective, I had to look at it through the eyes of the others."
Bristow's direction is again superb.
"Though most of Dickens' characters have reason to live like victims, their story is of resilience," he said. "Scrooge's world is black and white and barren, yet in spite of the poverty, the people surrounding him seem to live in a world full of color. From Scrooge's vantage point, their traditions seem frivolous, lifestyles impoverished, and behavior impractical, yet in reality their life is full of wonder, hope and possibility."
Bristow concludes, "To me, that is what Christmas is about: Hope, wonder and the possibility of things yet to come."
The contrast Bristow has delineated is worth pondering. It is, at base, the contrast between material and emotional or spiritual wealth. The miserly Scrooge, competently portrayed by Ted Scheffer, has a vast surplus of the former and a dramatic deficit of the latter. And the opposite is the case for Bob Cratchit, Scrooge's employee, and many others.
Dickens' story, however, may ultimately be about Scrooge's transformation, his redemption. The Ghosts facilitate this dramatic change through their illustrations of injustice. The Ghost of Christmas Present, grandly characterized by John Baumann, lifts his heavy robe to reveal the plight of two "abject, miserable" children clinging to him. "This boy is Ignorance. This girl is Want," the Ghost informs the quaking Scrooge. Scrooge's fear is compounded by the prospect of the death of another child: Tiny Tim. It is the prospect of Scrooge's own death, though, that finally changes him at the core of his being: To a loving heart and generous spirit.
Dickens' story, adapted by Romulus Linney, fits well in the converted sanctuary at the Monroe Arts Center, especially with the extraordinary set designed by Suzanne Miller, and Bristow has made the most of this space.
The play continues today, Saturday and Sunday.