Review: Fifth Third Bank's A CHRISTMAS CAROL at Actors Theatre Of Louisville

The cast of Fifth Third Bank's A Christmas Carol, 2016, Actors Theatre. Photo by Bill Brymer.

Fifth Third Bank's A Christmas Carol

Review by Taylor Clemons

Entire contents copyright © 2016 Taylor Clemons. All rights reserved.

Tis the season to be jolly! A Christmas Carol has returned to Louisville just in time for the holiday season, in a wonderfully lavish and splendid production.

Held as a holiday tradition for many, A Christmas Carol is a staple around this time every year. For that one person out there who doesn't know the story, a mean, greedy, old man who hate Christmas, named Ebenezer Scrooge (WilLiam McNulty) is visited by the three ghosts of Christmas (Lauren Hirte and DeMone respectively) to help him see the error of his ways and escape his current fate.

The cast is uniformly strong, lead by the wonderful WilLiam McNulty as Scrooge. His journey as Scrooge is very apparent as the story goes on, which I contribute to McNulty's top notch acting chops. Shanara Gabrielle was another absolute standout as the Narrator of our story. She commands the stage with grace and power, all while moving the plot along at the perfect pace. Jason Martin's Marley was indeed very scary. The desperation of his voice really showed the character's torment of the afterlife he has been given. Taylor Abels as Mrs. Fezziwig was an absolute scene stealer in the best possible way. She was a wonderful flash of light in what is somewhat of a darker story. Lauren Hirtie as the Ghost of Christmas Past was very impressive. This production portrays her as a sky dancer, and her training was evident as she seamlessly floated in mid air. DeMone as The Ghost of Christmas Past was boombostic and full of life during his segment of Scrooge's adventure.

The show's costumes by Khristopher Castle's are wonderful and evoke the period very well. The set, by Antje Ellerman is nothing short of spectacular. It so effectively transports the audience to London. Lighting by Thomas C. Hase was beautifully done, and really conveyed the mood of each scene.

The direction by Drew Fracher was mostly very very good. The only trouble I really had with it was that the tone seemed to shift from super serious to overtly campy. They didn't particularly mesh together well, and it was always a bit of a distraction switching between the two.

Overall, this is a beautiful production of a holiday classic. The performances are wonderful, the period costumes are splendid, and the set is absolutely mesmerizing. I wholeheartedly recommend this show. It is the perfect thing to bring in the Christmas spirit, it sure did for me!

Fifth Third Bank's A Christmas Carol November 22, 2016 - December 23, 2016

Actors Theatre of Louisville

316 W. Main Street

Louisville, KY 40202

Tickets: (502) 584- 1205

actorstheatre.org