Christmas time is sometimes as hectic as it is joyful. Why, I've attended three different holiday parties this week alone, but when a friend of mine invited me on a group outing to see A Christmas Carol at Portland Center Stage (PCS) somewhere between fretting about gift buying and what to do for New Years, I found I just couldn't say "no." Maybe it was because Dicken's ghost of Christmas past was tugging at me, because I knew I would be in for a night of really interesting special effects, or because two of the Northwest's very talented theatre practitioners (Rose Riodan, direction, and Mead Hunter, adaptation) had brought the show to life this year, but despite the particular reason, I was compelled to go.I can honestly say, from the bottom of my heart, that it was my favorite production of A Christmas Carol I have ever seen. Yes, it's the same old story, yes, it's certainly a little silly, but for me it recaptured some of the magic of this season that tends to lose its sparkle as we grow older. Jacob Marley was terrifying, the snow was beautiful, the way objects would occasionally move about by themselves or voices would resound in eerie whispers across the house was ever so spooky, and Ebbe Roe Smith's Ebenezer Scrooge was charming.
I have to confess, I have an awful habit of getting teary in the scene where Scrooge is shown the Christmas of Tiny Tim's death. This year Michael Fisher-Welsh as Bob Cratchit just made me weep as he held his grieving family close. As comical as it sounds, my friend sitting next to me was understanding enough to pull a handkerchief out of his pocket for me.
So, I loved it. It was a nice dose of holiday cheer without all the hustle and bustle, and at the end of the show, when it began to snow once more, not just onstage but on us as well, I could not keep the smile from my face.
Merry Christmas. Happy New Year.
