Every region of the country has a ballet performing The Nutcracker and a theatre doing A Christmas Carol. The Bay Area is large enough to be home to two of each every year, with American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco and Center Repertory Theatre in Walnut Creek covering the latter.
This year, South Bay residents need not travel to the East Bay or up the peninsula, because the San Jose Repertory Theatre has a production that opened officially Wednesday night and runs through a matinee performance Christmas Eve day.
Artistic Director Rick Lombardo presented his same interpretation while artistic director in Boston, and the Globe raved that "he treats the familiar classic with respect but makes it unmistakenly his own. Among the changes he makes are additions of Christmas carols (including some sung before the performance) and narration by different actors.
Most of the changes worked, but this is not a performance to take young children to. The apparitions are actually rather scary—the lights go out before the Ghost of Christmas past is accompanied by flying glow-in-the-dark spectres, the Ghost of Christmas Yet-to-Come is a giant, Grim Reaper-looking prop and the sound enhances the spookiness of these scenes.
The simulated snow works and the stage is appropriately adaptable while maintaining the somber feel of the times, but Lombardo focuses the story on how the poor are happy surrounded by their loved ones this Christmas, anyway—a good message for those of us too focused on the economy, especially in light of the comparitive wealth of the modern-day underclass compared to the time of Charles Dickens.
It is the tough times that make this overdone classic especially relevant. During the affluence of the United States, the nation has lost its perspective on what Christmas means. It has become about buying new toys; even in these times, record numbers of shoppers went out on what has indeed become "Black Friday" because of its material nature.
Christians are as much to blame on this score as anyone. Church congregations arrive in nice cars and their homes are filled with nice gifts for the holidays while people are going hungry and losing their homes. The faithful are spending their efforts trying to keep their taxes low while cutting the services to the poor. They are adapting Scrooge's take of no mercy—they need to find a job instead of charity, as if all of the poor are not trying.
We should be leading this society away from not towards one where the rich own a larger percentage of the nation's wealth than ever before—a Dickens-era economic culture. And some of us who lack the comforts we grew accustomed to prior to the economy collapsing before the 2008 presidential election are lamenting our losses instead of focusing on what God has blessed us with.
This is why Lombardo's interpretation of the play is more poignant than ever. His adaptation also features music with talented voices accompanied by piano, guitar, chimes and other instruments. There is even a little dancing, and the acting is solid top-to-bottom, including the children.
This is hardly the best play the San Jose Rep has put on in recent years and lacks the degree of difficulty and thus the impressiveness of Spring Awakening from this very season. However, even if you feel you have seen A Christmas Carol too many times, this unique version is worth a watch for anyone 10 or older.
Comments