No matter how many A Christmas Carols you’ve sat through (whether voluntarily or under family duress), the multiple-Tony-winning production whose National Tour marks the grand reopening of the Ahmanson Theater is likely to be the most wildly imaginative, profoundly moving A Christmas Carol you’ve ever seen, or ever will see, performed live on stage.

The first thing you’re likely to notice upon entering the Ahmanson masked and vaxxed is Ron Howell’s scenic design, though what immediately meets the eye (Victorian lanterns hanging high atop the orchestra section like a skyful of stars) is only a suggestion of design wonders to come. (Indeed, A Christmas Carol’s whopping five 2020 Tonys were awarded to Howell’s uber-imaginative set design, Hugh Vanstone’s stunning lighting, Howell’s clever period costumes, Simon Baker’s enveloping sound design, and Christopher Nightingale’s evocative original score, performed live onstage and off by an assortment of cast members and musicians.)

Not that it’s immediately apparent how very different this A Christmas Carol will be from those that have preceded it.

Having cast members assembling on stage before the show has probably been done before, and the same can be said for having ensemble players provide the story’s iconic opening lines individually and in unison or for featuring live music on stage.

And ingenious design elements aside (the assorted strongboxes stacked in various configurations to form set pieces are a particularly clever touch), seeing Scrooge (Bradley Whitford) lord it over beleaguered clerk Bob Cratchit (Dashiell Eaves) or reject the holiday wishes of his cheery nephew Fred (Brandon Gill) are nothing new to anyone who’s had their yearly fill of Dickens since childhood.

There’s nothing all that different either about the sudden appearance of Marley’s Ghost (Chris Hoch) or his foretelling of the arrival of three spirits to haunt Scrooge’s Christmas Eve.

But then the one-and-only Kate Burton shows up as a grandmotherly Ghost Of Christmas Past and things start unfolding in fresh new ways, as when we meet a heartbreakingly lonely young Ebenezer (played by adult charmer Harry Thornton) whose only childhood friends are his beloved toys, or the brute of a man who sent him off to boarding school (Hoch doubling redoubtably as Scrooge’s dastardly dad), or his interactions with his sister Fan (an engaging Glory Yepassis-Zembrou), Old Fezziwig (a warm and winning Evan Harrington), or childhood crush Belle (Sarah Hunt, particularly lovely).

 Things really get rolling when Alex Newell (fresh from his gender-bending star turn on NBC’s Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist) shows up as a sassy Jamaican Ghost of Christmas Present and there’s no quiet offstage farewell to Tiny Tim (an irresistible Cade Robertson, who alternates with Sebastian Ortiz in the role) but quite possibly the most gut-wrenching scene in A Christmas Carol history (and only the first time a pocketful of Kleenex might prove handy).

That all of Act Two is devoted to Christmas Future (whose Ghost is embodied by a character we’ve already met, a brilliant touch) and the events unfolding on Christmas Day is yet another indication that adapter Jack Thorne and director Thomas Caruso (whose staging is based on that of Matthew Warchus, who conceived and directed this A Christmas Carol at The Old Vic in 2017) have trick upon trick up their sleeves.

Dickens purists might protest that liberties have been taken, but “Bah Humbug” to them. Heartfelt funeral eulogies from the most unexpected of voices pack a powerful punch, as do the amends a reformed Scrooge makes on those he has harmed.

And just wait till Christmas morning arrives with the most spectacular of feasts (and plenty of local SoCal references, a deliciously anachronistic touch).

I may have wept at Christmas Carols past, but that’s nothing compared to the emotional impact this one wields.

Whitford’s Scrooge may well be the most fully fleshed out Ebenezer to date, thanks both to Thorne’s script revisions and to the magnificence of the stage-and-screen star’s multifaceted performance, with supporting players earning their own cheers (the divine Newell chief among them), and L.A. favorites Chante Carmel, Alex Nee, Brett Ryback, and Grace Yoo completing the multitalented, multitasking cast, all of whom prove gifted bell ringers as well.

Cast members Harrington, Ryback, Thornton, and Yoo double as musicians alongside music director Remy Kurs, Hillary Smith, Mona Tian, and Micah Wright.

Andrew Mayer and dance captain Celia Mei Rubin are standbys. David S. Franklin is production stage manager.

 I could go on and on about A Christmas Carol’s gorgeous, ingenious design or Lizzi Gee’s graceful, joyous movement chorography, but a far better thing is simply to say this.

If you see only one A Christmas Carol this year (and you most definitely should now that this one is in town for the month), the Ahmanson is the place to be. You may enter the theater with “Humbug” on your lips but you’ll leave with a “God Bless Us, Everyone” in your heart.

Ahmanson Theatre, 135 N Grand Ave, Los Angeles.
www.CenterTheatreGroup.org

–Steven Stanley
December 1, 2021
Photos: Joan Marcus

Health & Safety Policy:
All guests are required to wear a mask and provide proof of full vaccination upon arrival. Unvaccinated guests, including children ages 6-12 or those with a medical or religious reason, must provide proof of a negative PCR COVID-19 test taken no more than 72 hours prior to attending an indoor performance.

Tags: Ahmanson Theatre, Center Theatre Group, Charles Dickens, Los Angeles Theater Review