Review: EBENEZER SCROOGE'S BIG SAN DIEGO CHRISTMAS SHOW at The Old Globe

EBENEZER SCROOGE'S BIG SAN DIEGO CHRISTMAS SHOW is the show for people that love the holidays but are looking for a more fizzy and fun take on a holiday classic. This one-act gets a San Diego twist on Dicken's classic story, playing through December 16th at The Old Globe.

"A Christmas Carol" is a holiday classic, but this version gets a transplant from Victorian England to San Diego in 1919, and instead of snow there are Santa Ana winds. This show moves quickly through the story of Scrooge, who after one night's visit from the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future undergoes a conversion from miserly curmudgeon to Christmas enthusiast.

This San Diego Scrooge came over from England, and once in San Diego helped fund the 1915 Panama-California Exposition. As the play starts the audience finds him a few years after that Expo, in his office in Balboa Park where The Globe will one day stand, and it is Christmas Eve. There are many San Diego references sprinkled throughout the show, from Coronado to Temecula, the beach to Trader Joe's, they all are well placed and appreciated by the audience.

Bill Buell plays Scrooge, while the rest of the cast, George Abud, Orville Mendoza, Cathryn Wake, and Jacque Wilke play the rest of the characters while also singing, dancing, and playing instruments. Directed by Gordon Greenberg the cast uses their energy and talents to use a few props, empty door frames, and ladders to build the world and create the story. The imaginative use of the props to play with height and scale and make for smooth and fun transitions as they tell the story.

Buell is a cranky and loveable Scrooge- just enough of a grouch to tell the tale but sweet and silly enough to fit in with the frenetic pace of the show. The rest of the cast is excellent, as they jump from character to character with ease. Hey all sing and play instruments as well, with a special shout out to Abud's beautiful violin playing in the joyful and merry finale.

How To Get Tickets

EBENEZER SCROOGE'S BIG SAN DIEGO CHRISTMAS SHOW is playing through December 26th in the Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre at The Old Globe. For ticket and showtime information go to www.theoldglobe.org or call 619-234-5623

All audience members are required to show proof of vaccine or a negative COVID test within 72 hours of showtime and be masked the entire time inside the building.

Photo Credit: Jim Cox