Review: A CHRISTMAS CAROL at McCarter Sings!

The reimagined production of A CHRISTMAS CAROL at McCarter Theatre is an entertaining mix of big and small, loud and quiet, poignant and irreverent. Most of all, it is good for the soul: delivering the cathartic joy of Scrooge's transformation with a playful nod to Dickens' Victorian England and the community of Princeton.

One of the most noticeable changes in this new production, and arguably the biggest risk, was using a community ensemble of more than local twenty adults and twelve children. These ensemble members sing in the lobby before the show, engage the audience in conversation, and mingle and dance with the professional cast in the iconic but freshly choreographed, party at Fezziwig's. They are delightful, at home, and a guiding hand into an experience that feels very much in touch with the audience's yearning to be included and moved.

Greg Wood leads the company as Ebenezer Scrooge and finds a freshness and humanity in the character even at his grouchiest and most cold-hearted moments. The hard-working Cratchit family, with Warner Miller (Bob) and Jessica Bedford (Mrs. Cratchit) have a tenderness that is matched only by dear Tiny Tim, played with heartbreaking fragility by Liam McKernan. Sue Jin Song and Anne L. Nathan bring bright moments, as does the rest of the cast, including JD Taylor, whom audiences may recognize from THE UNDERSTUDY.

Director Adam Immerwahr has pulled together an impressive design team and surprise and suspense is conveyed not only through special effects (Jeremy Chernick) but also in the sound design by Darron L. West. Throughout the production, and to Immerwahr's credit, it's the humanity, and not the bells and whistles, that lingers long after the lights go down.

Charles Dickens' A CHRISTMAS CAROL runs December 9 - 31 in the Matthews Theatre. Single tickets range from $25 - $93 and are on sale now online at mccarter.org, by phone at (609) 258-2787, or in person at the McCarter Theatre Ticket Office, located at 91 University Place in Princeton.

Photo credit: T. Charles Erickson