Delaware Theatre Company's “A
Christmas Carol” is a wildly inventive take on the Dicken's
classic. The transformation of DTC under ED Bud Martin is moving with
Amtrack's Acela type speed (one of their sponsors). There is a whole
new inventory of NY trained and experienced actors arriving here at
warp speed.
The tech crews have been revamped as
well. Aisle Say has seen neither the dramatic lighting nor the
creativity of set pieces in this 4 decades old performing arts venue.
Credit goes to Chris Lee and Brian Prather respectively.. Lee, for
example, has lit over 150 shows on Broadway, London's West End and
overseas.
DTC's recent history BB (before Bud)
was to attempt to pacify both the budget and the audiences with small
casts and unit sets.
While there are only 5 is this cast,
all but Scrooge (Andrew Long) played more characters than one could
count. Playwright Patrick Barlow solved the dilemma for the audience
by simply naming them Actors 1 through 4. (Barlow also wrote
Broadways' “39 Steps” which was staged at Philly's Walnut Street
Theatre last season).
Huzzah to Director Joe Calarco -
winner of 2 Barrymore Awards and 4 Helen Hayes Awards – for keeping
the action apace.
3 of the actors play instruments,
adding so unequivocally to the gaiety of this message of Christmas
humanity. Steve Pacek plays the drum and the flugelhorn; Tina
Stafford the accordion - of all things! (I was waiting for the
Dickensian take on “Lady of Spain” but it didn't happen); and
Jessie Shelton (making her professional debut after graduating from
Carnegie Mellon only last year), the violin.
While there was no choreography per
se, the paced movement of the actors – and their costume changes –
was reminiscent of the UD's REP Ensemble presentation of “Our
Country's Good” last year. It was as fluid as the Brandywine Creek
being diverted into the millrace and then back again to the creek.
You thought you saw a change, but then again it was so sinuous you
weren't quite sure.
It's the small things, the devilish
details that this whole new era of DTC is about. Tiny Tim is a wooden
puppet. It would have been easy to buy one from a theatrical house
and train his Dad, Bob Cratchit, how to mobilize that woodeny
character. DTC went to one Thomas Getchell, a puppet designer who
recently graduated from U of Connecticut's Puppetry Program. He
designed and built Tiny Tim expressly for DTC.
Forever imprinted in my Christmas
movie mind vault is Scottish actor Alistar Sims' portrayal of Scrooge
in the black and white version of 1951. Scrooge awakes realizing he
is still alive and the night's torment was only a dream. To call him
positively giddy is to say that Rodney Dangerfield was 'somewhat'
funny. Sims is deranged, beside himself and we love it. He opens the
window and sees the boy passing by. He screams, he cavorts, he
implores the boy to go buy the turkey to give to the Cratchits. I am
not saying that Andrew Long would replace my image of Alistar
Sims..but he was close.
This is a show for the entire family.
It was good to see that in DTC's
program was an insert for New Candlelight Theatre, opening with “The
Producers' on 25 January. Theatres helping other theatres is a good
thing.
Through December 30. 302.594.1100
DelawareTheatre.org
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