Review: A CHRISTMAS CAROL at Portland Playhouse

Several years ago, I promised my partner I would take her to see some version of A CHRISTMAS CAROL every year. How fortunate that we moved to Portland, home of the hands-down best production of this Christmas classic!

What makes Portland Playhouse's A CHRISTMAS CAROL so special? After seeing it five times over five years, I've decided that the only plausible explanation is magic. It's like the Ghost of Christmas Present sprinkled his magic dust on Portland Playhouse and enchanted everything and everyone in it. I challenge anyone to watch this play and not laugh, cry, and feel all the feels as Scrooge makes his journey from cruel, money-grubbing miser to the epitome of generosity.

The play is an original adaptation of Dickens' story with music, by Rick Lombardo and Anna Lackaff. Directed by Brian Weaver, it is a visual treat, with actors and set pieces in near-constant motion. There's a fluidity that makes the show feel as much like a dance as a play. In addition to the actual magic, there is also a good dose of theatre magic - with sound effects being created on stage and set pieces (and sometimes characters) occasionally seeming to appear out of thin air.

While the Portland Playhouse production is fundamentally the same every year, the cast is always different, and there are usually a few other changes that are sort of like Easter eggs for repeat viewers. There are more than a dozen actors, often all on stage at once, playing several dozen characters. Although Scrooge is the central character, this is really an ensemble piece, and the ensemble as a whole is fantastic. The night I went, understudies stepped into several roles, including La'Tevin Alexander as Scrooge, and Anthony Michael Shepard as all of the roles usually played by Alexander (Marley, Bob Cratchit, and Young Scrooge). They were wonderful.

I realize that I may come off as an unobjective fangirl. But, readers, this show really is all that. I count on it every year to get me into the holiday spirit, and it has never failed. It will work for you too.

A CHRISTMAS CAROL runs through December 30. More details and tickets here.

Photo credit: Shawnte Sims

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