Review: A CHRISTMAS CAROL at The Premiere Playhouse

A most delightfully surprising and fresh production of  A CHRISTMAS CAROL  opened on Friday night at The Premiere Playhouse in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.  The classic story of the miserly Mr. Scrooge is brought to life with some innovative touches.  Starting with the first impression of the set  as you take your seat, and view the lighting that fills the stage behind a black scrim. The festive garlands with tiny lights that lined the loges and the proscenium arch, add an air of Christmas cheer to the air of old London.  There was a new three dimensional effect to the technical elements of this production that drew the audience right into the action on stage.

Kudos to the Production Team with Stage Director, Jesse Jensen at the helm providing some truly magical moments with actors on stage.  Matt Walicke as the Music Director composed  recorded 

musical interludes and brought some truly memorable production singing out of a young and enthusiastic cast. Christmas carols were delivered with passion and gusto and moved the action on stage along quite beautifully. I loved the effects of the lighting designs with the all the textures created, they were essential in creating the ambiance on stage.  There were some balance of sound issues between the background music in scenes at times overpowering  the  speaking of actors, and what appeared to be “live” body microphones of actors offstage having conversations, but those are things that can be fixed.

This cast has a delightful mix of veteran actors of the annual production, and newcomers to the cast creating a cohesive and tight production for the most part.   A few moments of what appeared to be dropped lines, late entrances, wonky blocking of  actors in a few scenes, and some overly exaggerated makeup on the Cratchit Family could not mar the overall effect of a delightful evening of live theatre.  The energy of the players was high and the commitment to characterizations was consistent and commendable. 

Some notable performances of ensemble work were evident in the Fezziwig party scenes that cap off Act One where it takes the audience through a series of years with attendance by the delightfully perky and sometimes squirrely Fezziwig daughters, played by Avianna Steen, Grace Kjelden, and Mo Plastow.  They were my greatest surprise of the evening, providing some truly joy-inducing characterizations for the party scene.  The transformation of Scrooge  throughout this section was very well done by Christian Heiberger, who showed some acting prowess in creating the range of character traits necessary to illustrate to the audience the arc and ultimate demise of his personality. The children of London were particularly animated (in a good way) and added a some nice energy to the opening street scene.  

I particularly enjoyed the characters of Casey Kustak as the Ghost of Jacob Marley with his more comically demented characterization of Marley. Jackson Heiberger as Fred Scrooge is a delightful polar opposite characterization to his uncle Scrooge.  Jamie Bowden as Dick Wilkins was most convivial and  then a little goofy and bubbly as Topper with a sculpted wig that added to his air of playfulness. Rosie Contreras as Bunty does a remarkable job of creating a memorable character with real and comic personality in her interactions with Scrooge. Tom Simmons is a veteran of the annual production, but new to the title role of Ebenezer Scrooge. An audience member who has attended all of the three previous productions of A CHRISTMAS CAROL might feel he has some large shoes to fill in his portrayal of the blustering and bombastic Scrooge, but Mr. Simmons is more than up to the feat.  He keeps the characterization of Scrooge’s miserly and curmudgeonly attributes in alignment of what the audience has previously experienced but then admirably sets his own pace and tenor to the role.  His portrayal of Scrooge creates the space for all the actors on stage with him to shine.  His pace and placement of his character’s stage business  is efficient  and moves the action forward with intention.  Well done Sir!

The true magic of this script as an annual production tradition of The Premiere Playhouse is that there are opportunities for families to perform on stage together.  Without calling out surnames noted in the program, it is there are at least five family units on stage together for this production. The director’s note in the program quite aptly dedicates the production to everyone who believes in second chances. For me, this production brought a “second chance” of appreciation for this particular adaptation of Charles Dickens'  A CHRISTMAS CAROL. It shines with it's own light  and stands out in the tradition being created by The Premiere Playhouse.  This production is a fresh, innovative and delightful production for the entire family. It would be a lovely evening out for your entire office as a holiday outing, for your book club, or couples “friend group” to mark the season of giving and sharing all that is beautiful and remarkable about humanity.

A CHRISTMAS CAROL plays this weekend and next weekend at The Premiere Playhouse at 315 N. Phillips Avenue, Sioux Falls, SD. Tickets are available by phone at 605-367-6000 ( the ACWashington Pavilion Box Office,) and at the theater before the performances, or online at the button below.

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