A Christmas Carol at the KC Rep makes Yuletide merry and bright

Many Kansas Citians would not consider making it through the holiday season without a visit to the Kansas City Repertory Theatre’s A Christmas Carol. And in 2010, this local tradition celebrates its 30th Anniversary production with a grand flourish, as superb stagecraft combines with dramatic storytelling to create an “anything can happen,” fairytale effect.

Of course, the story itself is sheer genius, crafted by the Master Storyteller himself, Charles Dickens. Dickens was a rock star of a writer who knew exactly how to give his audience what it wanted.

Director Kyle Hatley has done a terrific job of sprucing up the show, and a new set (on a turntable) by scenic designer John Ezell makes transitions between scenes easy and believable.

Gary Neal Johnson returns as Scrooge, and is so terrific at this role that he literally becomes Scrooge while onstage. (In fact, this reviewer found it almost incredible to observe him out-of-character at the Opening Night Party after the show.) Johnson is not merely an actor reciting lines and playing a part; he is transformed, body and soul, into the miserly curmudgeon, Ebenezer.

The special effects surrounding the three Ghosts (of Christmas Past, Present, and Future) and the Spirit of Jacob Marley are stunning and, in the case of Jacob Marley and the Ghost of Christmas Yet-to-Come, bone-chilling at times. You’ll get goose bumps as you watch some of the comings and goings, and then find yourself asking, long after the play is over, “How on earth did they do that?”

Jim Gall, as the Ghost of Christmas Present, is especially convincing as a jolly, convivial spectre who can turn on Scrooge with surprising sternness when the situation warrants it.

Mark Robbins, as Jacob Marley, sets a suitably scary tone at the beginning of Scrooge’s night of transformation. But the entire production is a perfect blend of both fear-inducing and heartwarming moments. The carolers wandering the streets of London on Christmas Eve in their Victorian costumes (designed by Lacy Hansen) will enchant you, while the ghostly writing, letter by letter, of Ebenezer Scrooge’s name on his tombstone will scare the bejesus out of you (just as it does to the watching Scrooge).

There is something so satisfying about this play. It’s truly about one man’s redemption, but the ending (with Scrooge giggling like a lovesick schoolboy and hoisting the soon-to-be-cured Tiny Tim high in his arms) seems to also represent some kind of redemption for us, the enthralled audience.

If we truly believe in Christmas and keep it always in our hearts, will we also be saved, like Scrooge, from a cold, lonely existence and even be able to cheat death?

It’s a tribute to the quality of this fine production that entertaining such a thought while applauding the final curtain call does not seem like humbug.

A Christmas Carol runs through December 26 at the UMKC Performing Arts Center. Call 816-235-2700 or go to kcrep.org.