Displaying items by tag: Scrooge

As someone who is ever the cynic about telling the same old stories every year under the guise of tradition, A Christmas Carol rarely draws me in. Manual Cinema’s latest production, however, takes a Christmas classic and makes it new again. Told through the eyes of a narrator who shares my skepticism, Dickens’ nearly 200-year-old tale becomes something modern and accessible, shaped by humor and a perspective that understands both the fatigue of repetition and the value of returning to the story.

The first Christmas following the loss of her husband, Aunt Trudy finds herself celebrating on Zoom, begrudgingly carrying on his tradition of performing a one-man puppet show of Charles Dickens’ Christmas Carol for his family. Throughout the night, Trudy experiences every stage of grief, struggling to complete the classic story, and is joined by three ghosts (Lizi Breit, Julia Miller, and Jeffery Paschal) who transform the puppetry from a faltering solo obligation into a fluid, ensemble-driven act of storytelling.

Everyone knows that for every moment that appears effortlessly onstage, there’s ten times as much unseen labor happening behind the scenes. In Manual Cinema’s production, however, much of the typically unshown work takes place on stage. Rather than hiding the mechanics of either the puppetry or music, the show invites the audience to watch its intricate systems at work, transforming the process itself into part of the performance.

The immediate set is Aunt Trudy’s half-packed house, allowing us to watch her in the behind-the-scenes reality of her puppet show. Above this is a projector screen that displays Trudy's show from the other perspective of the video call, allowing us to also watch the show as a member of the Zoom. On one side of Trudy’s space is a projection set-up where the three ghost/puppeteers perform what almost looks like a choreographed dance while creating some of the most intricate and beautifully animated visuals I’ve seen – not only are the puppeteers creating these images LIVE, but also while physically performing themselves. On the other side is the pit orchestra, playing live on stage and dressed in typical performance blacks, who feel almost like esemplastic shadow puppets who also provided beautiful instrumental and stunning vocals throughout the show.

At the center of it all – a smart adaptation of a classic, stunning puppetry, and haunting music – is everyone’s new favorite aunt, Aunt Trudy, played by LaKecia Harris. Truly incredible on every level, Harris portrays a grieving widow and beginner puppeteer on the big screen while simultaneously operating as a vital part of the onstage puppeteering machine, grounding the production with warmth, humor, and emotional clarity.

If you’re a fan of A Christmas Carol, then you have to see this show. And, if you’re a bit tired of the old story, this may be exactly what changes your mind.

Manual Cinema’s Christmas Carol is running at Studebaker Theater through December 28th, as well as live streaming the production on select dates. Tickets are available at

https://manualcinema.com/work/christmas-carol-live.

At Theater Wit, a Jeff Award–winning solo performance reimagines Charles Dickens with both comic absurdity and aching humanity. The great author, improbably alive more than two centuries after his birth, finds himself trapped in a ritual that has long outlived him: the annual retelling of A Christmas Carol. Since 1853, every December has brought another booking, another stage bathed in candlelight, another weary summoning of Scrooge, Marley, and Tiny Tim from memory.

What begins as a familiar recital becomes something stranger and more profound - a meditation on endurance, tradition, and the peculiar perpetuity of a single story. Dickens wrestles with the paradox of being eternally tethered to the story that won him immortality, even as time has turned him into a monument of his own making. What emerges is a portrait both tender and askew - an unexpectedly poignant glimpse of an artist suspended between legacy and fatigue, reverence and ridicule, comedy and elegy.

Under the deft direction of Jonathan Berry and brought to life by the inventive artistry of Blake Montgomery - who both conceived and performs the piece - we are treated to a holiday experience unlike any other. Charles Dickens Begrudgingly Performs “A Christmas Carol” Again transforms the familiar into the fantastically strange, as the enduring author himself returns to the stage with equal parts reluctance and wit. What might have been a simple seasonal retelling becomes a singular theatrical event: a blend of satire, intimacy, and absurdity that reimagines Dickens not as a distant literary figure, but as a weary performer bound to his own timeless creation.

Montgomery’s embodiment of Charles Dickens is nothing short of spellbinding. With remarkable nuance, he breathes new life into the familiar literary icon, reshaping Dickens into a figure at once startlingly fresh and profoundly compelling. What might have been a mere impersonation becomes instead a vivid act of re‑creation - an imaginative dialogue between past and present. Alone on stage, Montgomery commands the space with unyielding energy and precision, shifting seamlessly between wit, gravitas, and emotional depth. His performance is not simply a portrayal, but a tour de force that redefines what a one‑person show can achieve: intimate yet grand, inventive yet faithful, and utterly captivating from start to finish. With its inventive premise and captivating performance, Charles Dickens Begrudgingly Performs “A Christmas Carol” Again stands out as one of the season’s most unique and rewarding theatrical offerings.

Stepping into the role of Dickens, Montgomery slyly nods to Goodman’s grand-scale A Christmas Carol - though he never names the theatre outright, instead referring to it as “that large production downtown with all the smoke, flying spirits, and special effects.” By invoking this spectacle without directly tethering himself to it, he cleverly sets the stage for contrast. His aim is clear: to remind the audience that imagination, not machinery, is the true engine of storytelling.

What follows is a masterclass in restraint and invention. Against the backdrop of a spare set, Montgomery’s performance brims with detail and nuance. His voice, gestures, and timing conjure entire worlds, allowing the audience to paint the scenes in their own minds. The absence of technical wizardry becomes a strength, sharpening our focus on the craft itself. I found myself swept into vivid mental landscapes - fog curling through London streets, spirits shimmering in the dark - summoned not by stage trickery but by the sheer force of Montgomery’s storytelling.

The result is a kind of theatrical alchemy: a performance that proves simplicity can be just as transporting as spectacle, and that Dickens’s timeless tale thrives as much in the imagination as it does under the glow of stage lights.

Dickens Again (for short) is truly a magical experience.

Arrive early! The festivities begin before the curtain rises, as Dickens himself roams the aisles, playfully engaging with audience members and filling the theater with holiday cheer to set the perfect Christmas mood.

Charles Dickens Begrudgingly Performs “A Christmas Carol” Again has firmly established itself as a beloved Chicago holiday tradition. Since 2011, Blake Montgomery has stepped into the role of Dickens, delighting audiences year after year with a performance that blends humor, heart, and timeless storytelling—warming spirits and cementing the show’s place in the city’s festive season.

This production comes from Clownshow, a boldly imaginative company dedicated to crafting live theatrical events from concept through performance. At the helm is Producing Artistic Director Blake Montgomery, whose vision drives the company’s inventive approach to storytelling.

Charles Dickens Begrudgingly Performs “A Christmas Carol” Again is being performed at Theater With through December 28^th. For tickets and/or more show information, visit https://www.dickensagain.com/.

The holiday season in Chicagoland brings with it many things: snowstorms, festive markets, twinkling lights, and cozy traditions that warm the soul on bitterly cold evenings. Holiday traditions also abound in the Chicago theatre scene with familiar favorites, comforting stories, and guilty pleasures easy to come by. If 2025 has taught us anything, it’s that what we choose matters; where we spend our money, where we focus on energies, and how we spend our money and, more importantly, our time. It’s a question at the heart of one of the most beloved holiday shows, A Christmas Carol, now playing at the Metropolis Performing Arts Center.

Charles Dickens’ enchanting tale of redemption, generosity, and hope comes to life in Arlington Heights’ favorite holiday tradition. On a snowy Christmas Eve brimming with memorable characters, ghostly apparitions, and festive holiday music, miserly Ebenezer Scrooge visits the past, present, and future and discovers the true meaning of Christmas. A Christmas Carol is adapted and directed by Metropolis Artistic Director Johanna McKenzie Miller and music directed by Cory Goodrich.

Despite the snowy weather on opening night and the lack of proper heating in the theatre itself, there was something distinctly cold about Metropolis’s staging of A Christmas Carol this year. The performance leaned heavily on Dickens’ traditional storyline, offering no room for modernization. The simple storyline was nearly impossible to follow, many voices hardly carrying past the first few rows of the chilly theatre. When the dialogue did reach audiences in the back rows, the speech was heavy-handed, garbled, and lacking any emotional substance behind it. Even Steve Connell’s brilliant and iconic performance of Scrooge felt unsupported by the ensemble cast. Actors around Connell had difficulty delivering their lines in forced English accents that came and went as swiftly as the fog dispersed, utterly devoid of conviction for such an emotional holiday piece. The performance was simply cold, distant, and clinical.

There is something to be said for traditions, but this calendar year has made us question if the traditions we uphold are worthy of such repetition. Do we do these things because we genuinely want to or simply due to muscle memory? Are these traditions worthy of putting on, or is it merely a bygone expectation? A Christmas Carol seems particularly scrutinizing in a year wrought with conversations of greed, corruption, and overconsumption. Dickens’ classic tale now skews towards sci-fi and fantasy with a moody and selfish protagonist whose sudden change of heart warms and delights. A wealthy businessman with disdain for the poor has a sudden awakening and gives back to his community? In what world? Certainly not this one. This year, the play feels farcical, sardonic, and more than a little tone-deaf. 2025 has challenged many preconceived ideas and traditions, and that same energy should be utilized when viewing Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. Before we call it cynical, we should ask ourselves if this piece of Christmas tradition should be shelved with the likes of Hello, Dolly, and Annie, beautiful pieces for their time that need to step away to make room for new perspectives, new voices, new stories. Is A Christmas Carol a beloved classic or merely a ghost of Christmas past (pun intended) that has nothing left to teach us?

A Christmas Carol is now playing at Metropolis Performing Arts Centre (111 W Campbell St., Arlington Heights) through December 24. Tickets are now on sale for $25-$49 at MetropolisArts.com.

I arrived at the Goodman Theatre for the opening of its 47^th annual production of A Christmas Carol, directed by Jessica Thebus, like many of us—not really feeling the upcoming holidays. I’m usually a real Pollyanna, trying to put on the happy face. I’m usually Bob Cratchit, the good soldier. I’m Tiny Tim Cratchit, even, throwing around “God bless us, everyone” like it’s tinsel. But not this year. This year, I got to the Goodman feeling like a regular Scrooge. And then I walked into the lobby and the whole thing hit me like a series of middle-of-the-night spectral visits upon a four-poster bed. It changed me.

From the balcony above we were greeted by Benet Academy’s Madrigal Singers, sprinkling down on us carol after carol. Seated next to a large, unlit Christmas tree was William Buchholtz, a Native American flautist and a haunting caroler himself. Thebus, back for her fourth Goodman production of this holiday favorite, addressed the audience, lighting the tree and spreading some cheer—and we hadn’t even found our seats yet.

Once the show began, the sets by Todd Rosenthal transported us back to a different beautiful but bleak era—Dickensian England. All of the trappings one expects of A Christmas Carol are there. Muffed carolers, chestnut peddlers and poultry peddlers, and Scrooge & Marley’s beckoning lending house. There we meet Christopher Donahue’s Ebenezer Scrooge—mutton-chopped and hunched and as unhappy as we expect Scrooge to be. But that darkness, very real and very dark, is constantly counteracted by the radiance of the rest of the cast. Anthony Irons’ Bob Cratchit, cheerful charity collectors played by Penelope Walker and Wai Kim, and Dee Dee Batteast’s ever-loving niece all fend off Scrooge’s glare and gruffness by not even acknowledging his grinchiness—their world, while perhaps less financially happy than Scrooge’s, is a completely separate and better world emotionally than his, down to the vibrant colors of their costumes.

(L-R) Anthony Irons, Christopher Donahue, Ava Rose Doty, Xavier Irons, Henry Lombardo, Isabel Ackerman, Viva Boresi, Tafadzwa Diener and Susaan Jamshidi.

Once back at Scrooge’s house (whose ghastly door knocker made both me and my young daughter jump, even though I knew what was coming) we are surrounded by this bleak world this miserable old miser’s made for himself. It’s drafty and dark and dusty and the perfect place for the jarring arrival of Scrooge’s long-dead partner, Jacob Marley, played by William Dick.

The sights and sounds of Marley’s visit are frightening, even when expected, but they contrast the joy and light spread by the first two spirits who visit Scrooge once Marley departs. Lucky Stiff’s Ghost of Christmas Past is buoyant and bright and over the top—meant to get Scrooge’s attention and ours. The spirit transports us all back in time where our hearts break along with a young Ebenezer Scrooge, portrayed brilliantly by Henry Lombardo, and then leap across the hardwood of Fezziwig’s warehouse-turned-dancehall, only to be broken again by Scrooge’s interaction with his true love played charmingly by Amira Danan. We see all the light Scrooge has lost—and it only makes him and the world he’s created that much darker.

Scrooge’s present is as sad as the present world around him is resolutely jolly, made all the more so by Bri Sudia’s Ghost of Christmas Present. The Cratchit children—Isabel Ackerman, Viva Boresi, Xavier Irons, Tafradzwa Diener, and Ava Rose Doty as Tiny Tim—counter Susaan Jamshidi’s tired and realistic Mrs. Cratchit, just as Batteast does at an evening party attended by other folks who are over it.

While Marley’s ghost was truly terrifying, this Ghost of Christmas Future was less scary and sadder—a dead flower, a faded dowager. But, of course, it’s the specter of a sad future that finally snaps Scrooge out of his life of being a scrooge.

And Donahue’s transformation is very real. We’re all used to a claw-handed and clench-jawed Scrooge from film after film. And we know the change to come—to that of a heel-clicking distributor of charity and cheer. But seeing it happen right there, before our eyes, was as magical an effect as any of the magic on display. A real Christmas miracle.

Now, I have no clue if transforming a Scrooge-like audience was Thebus’ intent (or Dickens’), although I’m sure that’s what both were aiming for. But just like the Victorians who Dickens was addressing, our world today could use some hope and some cheer. And just as Donahue’s Scrooge did onstage, I found myself leaving the Goodman Theatre a little more hopeful and a little more cheerful. I have no idea if you’ll experience the same transformation as I did, but I can promise you that this production of A Christmas Carol, at the Goodman Theatre from now through December 30, will at the very least entertain you and warm your heart this holiday season.