Review: 'Scrooge!'

A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens' classic holiday tale of greed, selfishness, and redemption has been the source of countless film and stage adaptations over the years. Feeling that none of the existing musical versions perfectly captured the spirit of Dickens' tale, director Joe Cascone successfully sought permission to use numbers from several previous incarnations and created his own musical adaptation called Scrooge! The show was last seen at Fairview Library Theatre in 1999, but this season The Civic Light Opera Company has revived it with the original star, Lloyd Dean back again in the title role.

Dean creates a vivid portrait of the miserly Scrooge, described in the opening number as "The Stingiest Man in Town." Intense and unforgiving, his song "I Hate Christmas" is loaded with so much vile you wonder how the Christmas Ghosts will ever work their magic. It's a star performance, and so rewarding to have a chance to see it again.

Dickens' colourful gallery of unforgettable characters is brought to life in a cinematic staging that bubbles with inventive ideas. The production is ingeniously designed and enhanced by Gareth Crew's fine lighting that allows a unit set by David Haines and Blain Berdan to have both an indoor and an outdoor feeling as required.

Cascone's design aids in speeding the story along, while still offering allowing plenty of moments to savour. From the tender "Winter Was Warm" beautifully and expressively sung by Andrea Barker as Scrooge's long-ago love, Isabel to the lively "Thank You Very Much" sung by the ensemble enthusiastically led by David Haines.

Damien Gulde portraying Scrooge as a young man subtly displays the shift in Scrooge's thinking during "Money is Your Very Best Friend," a duet with Larry Gibbs playing Jacob Marley. You can literally see the seeds of Scrooge's miserly behaviour being sewn.

In one of the show's most touching interpolations Peter Loucas as Bob Cratchit offers a simple and ultimately heartbreaking "Happy Christmas Little Friend" to young Tiny Tim, winningly portrayed by Koby Lee.  On balance there is the amusing "Abundance & Charity" number choreographed by Stephanie Douglas that opens Act Two.

Douglas also appears as the mysterious Ghost of Christmas Future, joining fellow Ghosts Bob Deutsch as the wry Ghost of Christmas Present, and Dean Deffett whose appearance as the Ghost of Christmas Past was a highlight of the first act.

Scrooge! overflows with music, containing some two-dozen songs. The idea is to present the story as an operetta with the musical numbers offering different perspectives on the characters and their situations. It's a feast that will leave you feeling stuffed but satisfied.

Performances of Scrooge! continue at Fairview Library Theatre, 35 Fairview Mall Drive until Sunday December 21. For tickets go to www.civiclightoperacompany.com; or call the box office at (416) 755-1717.

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