Review: A CHRISTMAS CAROL at Hillcrest Center For The Arts

It's been a while since we checked in with Andrew Metzger, one of our favorite performers, so we were delighted to hear that Andrew was coming to the Hillcrest Center for the Arts to appear as Ebenezer Scrooge in SoCal Classic Theater Company's production of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, which played a single performance on December 20.

Metzger, a graduate of the theater arts program at California State University Channel islands, had been a staple of Ventura County theater appearances, performing in such shows as Les Miserables, The Addams Family, and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. His versatility and boisterous good humor, which often had to be restrained, made him a natural for Disney Cruise Lines, who hired him in 2019 to perform in such Disney products as Aladdin and Frozen. Although his outgoing, unleashed comic antics brought to mind performers like Zero Mostel and Robin Williams, he was also capable of delivering astonishing dramatic performances, such as his 2015 performance in the title role of Sweeney Todd at Ventura College. His major talents, however, were as an imaginative improvisational comedian as well as voiceover artist. Metzger's last appearance in the Conejo Valley was two years ago, when he played Mr. Bumble in 5-Star Theatricals' Oliver but soon after was signed to the role of Amos in the national tour of Chicago. In August, Andrew was appearing in the national tour of The Addams Family when he left  to care for his parents, both of whom were suffering from debilitating conditions. Sadly, his mother passed away in September.

SoCal Classic Theater Company's production of A Christmas Carol gave Metzger the chance to do what he loves best, performing a well-known character role while putting the patented Metzger spin on it. Produced and directed by Ari Stidham, this was not your ordinary, run-of-the-mill Christmas Carol. The expected trappings of a radio play were all there: the actors sitting in chairs on stage and moving up to three standing microphones while holding scripts to perform their parts along with an on-stage narrator and sound effects man. But Stidham and co-producer Beverlee Jean  imbued the production with extemporaneous humor, as the actors had fun with the story while still maintaining the integrity of Dickens' morality tale.

The pace was set by Zach Green, who played an especially eccentric narrator who would pronounce certain words as if they were French ("transparent" and "astonishment") and other curious pronunications (the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come was deemed a "phan-tome"). Beverlee Jean herself was a delight as an effusive Fezziwig while John Ryan Benavides played both Bob Cratchit and his son Tiny Tim, the latter using an astonishing and effective falsetto voice. Stidham, as a particularly inept sound effects man, doubled as the voice of Jacob Marley, rattling plastic chains and wondering why they didn't sound authentic.

As Scrooge, Metzger was wonderful, as he always is, clad in a white dressing gown, completed with nightcap, as he blustered, snored, and harrumphed his way through an exemplary performance of the odious, stingy Scrooge.

The production was heightened by two musical acts: The Yuletide Carolers, who prefaced the production with an array of holiday favorites, and an upstage jazz trio (Grant Heineman, piano; Ethan Furman; drums; James Gallardo, bass) who tinkled away, Vince Guaraldi style, in the background throughout the performance of the play. In all, A Christmas Carol was a delightful way to kick off the festive Christmas week.

Next up for SoCal Classic is a production of The Great Gatsby, which will come to the Hillcrest Center in April for a two-week run.