Review: God Bless The Argyle Theatre's production of A CHRISTMAS CAROL THE MUSICAL

A Christmas Carol the Musical will always be in my top 20 favorite shows of all time because of the nostalgia I always experience with it. When I was younger, it was one of my family's holiday traditions to head into Manhattan and see either the Christmas Spectacular with the Radio City Rockettes or A Christmas Carol the Musical at the Theater at Madison Square Garden. While I loved both shows, the latter was always my favorite. Not just because I'm a huge fan of Charles Dickens, the classic Alistair Sim film version, and The Muppet Christmas Carol (the best Christmas movie of all time), I loved it because the show was always an experience. I always loved how upon entering the theater area at Madison Square Garden, you were immediately transported to Victorian England. The lobby and sides of the theater were adorned with Victorian shop fronts, ticket takers were donned in holiday attire, Victorian carolers would travel throughout the lobby singing and lifting holiday spirits. Then you'd walk into the theater to take your seats and you'd be on the streets of London. The atmosphere was truly magical. Then you got to hear the brilliant score by Alan Menken and Lynn Ahrens (two people who had a hand in writing the soundtrack of my life). Plus, have the opportunity to see immense talent take on iconic roles. I saw the show 5 times and saw 5 brilliant Scrooges (Terrence Mann, Roddy McDowell, Tony Roberts, F. Murray Abraham and the iconic Jim Dale). Not to mention some amazing supporting talent including: Ben Vereen, Ken Page and Reginald VelJohnson as the Ghost of Christmas Present, Didi Conn and Ken Jennings as the Ghost of Christmas Past, Emily Skinner as Scrooge's fiancé and a young Paul Dano as Young Scrooge, just to name a few. I also vividly remember during the finale how it would snow on the audience, which at that time in the 90's, was a huge special effect that rivaled a falling chandelier. It really was nice walking down memory lane as I got to experience The Argyle Theatre's magical production. 

Not only does the Argyle conjure magic onstage, but also offstage as well. Last summer, the Argyle's production of Bye Bye Birdie ended it's run on September 1st. A Christmas Carol began performances on November 7th. In 2 months’ time, the theater underwent significant renovations. The Argyle installed a brand-new marquee, refurbished the exterior Babylon sign, expanded the women's restroom, renovated the lobby to give it a more open, inviting aesthetic, and installed a beautiful new lobby bar. Not to mention the rehearsal for this great production. Again, all in 2 months’ time, now that's magical.

Evan Pappas once again puts on an outstanding production along with co-director/choreographer Debbie Roshe. It was also interesting to see Pappas masterfully interpret his friend/colleague Lynn Ahrens work. Pappas made his Broadway debut in the lead role of Ahrens & Flaherty's My Favorite Year, a very underrated gem of a show. The choreography by Roshe and assistant choreograph Saki Masuda was wonderful and represented Susan Stroman well. The scenic design by Tony DiBernardo was brilliantly symbolic. I loved the snow globe motif; it was almost like the audience was taking a peek into Dickens’ Victorian world.  The costumes by Amanda Scanze were beautifully authentic. Jonathan Brenner once again makes a 5-piece band sound like a full pit orchestra and truly makes the music come alive. 

The ensemble is absolutely fantastic led by Leland Burnett as Ebenezer Scrooge. Burnett made the part his own, which was quite refreshing as it is so easy to mimic a previous interpretation. While clearly exhibiting Scrooge’s miserly exposition, Burnett allows the audience to see Scrooge's willingness to change throughout the production as opposed to just at the finale. Burnett also made great use of comedy; at times he reminded me of one of the bankers in Mary Poppins. The Ghosts of Past, Present and Future are all high points. Grace Ellis Solomon, who I had the pleasure of seeing in Argyle's production of A Bronx Tale, gives a lovely, original interpretation of the Ghost of Christmas Past. Mekhi Holloway stole the show in the Argyle's production of Grease and does it once again here as the Ghost of Christmas Present. His voice is on another stratosphere. Saki Masuda has double duty with this production; not only is she the assistant choreographer, but she also portrays the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Be and she is, by far, the best one I've ever seen. She is a fabulous dancer and gracefully eerie in this role. I absolutely loved what she did with her hair too; it really gave the role character. Some other greats that stole the show were Garrison Hunt and Kyra Lynn Burke as the Fezziwigs and Tiny Tim, who is played alternately by Nicholas David Crocco and Tyler Maxwell Renaud; they will absolutely tug at your heartstrings. 

Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol is a tale that truly as stood the test of time. Its themes of social inequality, importance of compassion and the power of personal transformation still resonate especially in today's world. We can only hope that these themes continue to reverberate and help us continue to make the changes necessary to reject selfish mindsets and do the best we can with the time we have. God Bless the Argyle Theatre for keeping the themes alive!

You can check out photos from the production here: 

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