The timeless tale of Ebenezer Scrooge comes to thrilling new life as Tony Award® winner Jefferson Mays (I Am My Own Wife, Gentleman’s Guide…) plays over 50 roles in a virtuosic, master class of a performance that must be seen to be believed. This theatrical achievement comes from the haunting and hope-filled vision of one of Broadway’s most imaginative directors, Michael Arden (Tony-winning Best Revival – Once on this Island).
Unlike the 2019 Broadway production of “A Christmas Carol” or the long-running production many years ago at the Theater at Madison Square Garden, both of which were enlivened by music, this version (adapted by Mays, his wife Susan Lyons, and Arden) is pure, serious storytelling. As a result, the show often feels like Mays is reading the book to us, which can occasionally have the unintended effect of lulling one to sleep -- especially given how dark the theater often is.
There are more than the usual number of miracles to be observed with the latest version of A Christmas Carol to hit Broadway. The usual suspects are here, all the ghosts and spirits and flights over ye olde town and all the witnessing of things past, present and future. And there's the miracle of one man - the great Jefferson Mays - breathing life into more than 50 characters and having us believe every single shift. And there's the perhaps more - if only slightly more - quotidian miracle of a creative team - directors of lighting and sound and costumes and projections - at the tops of their games coming together to create gobsmacking theater magic, a blessing director Michael Arden's Carol has in great bounty.
| 1994 | Off-Broadway |
Original Off-Broadway Production Off-Broadway |
| 1995 | Off-Broadway |
Return Engagement [off-Broadway] Off-Broadway |
| 1996 | Off-Broadway |
Return Engagement [off-Broadway] Off-Broadway |
| 1996 | Broadway |
Return Engagement Broadway |
| 1997 | Off-Broadway |
Return Engagement [off-Broadway] Off-Broadway |
| 1998 | Off-Broadway |
Return Engagement [off-Broadway] Off-Broadway |
| 1999 | Off-Broadway |
Return Engagement [off-Broadway] Off-Broadway |
| 2000 | Off-Broadway |
Return Engagement [off-Broadway] Off-Broadway |
| 2022 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
| Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Award | Jefferson Mays |
| 2023 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Lighting Design (Play or Musical) | Ken Elliott |
| 2023 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Solo Performance | Jefferson Mays |
| 2023 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Sound Design (Play or Musical) | Joshua D. Reid |
| 2023 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Video or Projection Design (Play or Musical) | Lucy Mackinnon |
| 2023 | Tony Awards | Best Lighting Design of a Play | Ben Stanton |
| 2023 | Tony Awards | Best Scenic Design of a Play | Dane Laffrey |
| 2023 | Tony Awards | Best Sound Design of a Play | Joshua D. Reid |
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