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A Christmas Carol, as conceived by Arden and scenic designer Diane Laffrey and adapted by Arden and Susan Lyons, weaves between the shock of spectacle like that sudden outage and the nimble close-up magic-like theatrics that Mays can accomplish on his own. He plays all the roles, from the jowly Scrooge to a tight-shouldered Tiny Tim, while also serving as the narrator. (It’s the mode of Carol-ing also performed by Patrick Stewart.) Arden and Laffrey often egg on the transformations with dramatic shifts in lighting (by Ben Stanton), but often that’s unnecessary. The spectacle of theatrical magic is less interesting than the spectacle Mays can conjure on his own.