Much like the lighting of the National Christmas Tree on the Ellipse or the Christmas Market in Penn Quarter downtown, “A Christmas Carol” at Ford’s Theatre is a longtime Washington tradition.
Charles Dickens wrote the story in just six weeks in 1843. It was published as a novella Dec. 19 that year, and the initial run of 6,000 copies ran out by Christmas Eve. Since then, the story has been retold countless times on stage, film and television.
This adaption by Michael Wilson is directed by Michael Baron. It’s no small feat with a couple dozen actors, including a handful of children, on stage at times. Not to mention the evolving storyline from a paltry candlelit office to snowy city streets and eerie nighttime visits from the spirits. Take note that there are some bright flashes of light and some very loud noises throughout.
In a nutshell, the story is about a miserly man visited by four spirits and the capacity for changing hearts — redemption.
Craig Wallace steals the show playing Ebenezer Scrooge again. His deep, rich vocals and booming nature bring to life the daunting figure feared by man, woman and child.
It’s Christmas Eve and Scrooge won’t spare a lump of coal for Bob Cratchit, played superbly by Jonathan Atkinson, to warm the office where they work together late in the night. After being asked, Scrooge reluctantly pays Cratchit his wages, while griping that he must pay him for a day off for Christmas.
“Bah Humbug,” Scrooge’s iconic response to anything Christmas-related is heard throughout the first half. His nephew, Fred, played by John Floyd, comes with an invitation to Christmas dinner, but Scrooge refuses.
After attempting to collect unpaid debts, Scrooge goes home for a quiet night that becomes the longest night of his life. Things start with the appearance of the spirit of Jacob Marley, brought to “life” by Stephen F. Schmidt, his work partner who died seven years earlier that same day. Rattling chains and looking less than living, Marley appears and warns Scrooge that he’ll be doomed if he doesn’t change his ways and that he’ll be visited by three ghosts that very night.
Grab your armrests because the staging is impactful. From the first appearance of Marley within the portrait over the fireplace, to the spinning four-pillar and curtained bed, to a couple ghosts suspended on wires as they fly around the stage, and the emerging headstone that slowly appears from below stage that bears Scrooge’s name.
The Christmas music throughout is predominantly songs with religious undertones from “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” to “What Child Is This?” The production is spot on, scary in spots, joyous in others with the cast engaging the audience before the show and after the finale.
If you need a primer — the Ghost of Christmas Past, played by a high-flying Justine “Icy” Moral, appears to show Scrooge how he became the miser he is from his solitary childhood, reminding him about Mr. Fezziwig’s generous Christmas party for his employees, and how Scrooge lost his fiancée, played by Julia Wheeler Lennon, because of his love for money.
Disturbed by what he’s seen, Scrooge is then met by the Ghost of Christmas Present, played by Erin Weaver. Scrooge is shown how others are celebrating Christmas; he sees the Cratchits and their ailing son Tiny Tim, who find joy despite their poverty. Scrooge sees his nephew, Fred, mocking him as he gathers with his wife and friends and toasts to his health.
Scrooge begins to see what the ghosts are trying to show him and realizes he needs to change.
Finally, the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come appears, also played by Moral. This, the scariest of the ghosts, never speaks but gives Scrooge a glimpse of his future if he doesn’t change. He hears people discussing an indifferent rich man who had died. He sees the Cratchit family without Tiny Tim. And the ghost reveals Scrooge’s neglected headstone.
Scrooge becomes a changed man and begs for another chance.
The strong cast performances are rounded out by Joe Mallon as the clock vendor and Erin Driscoll as Mrs. Cratchit.
If the moving story doesn’t get you, just being in the theatre where President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated makes you stop and reflect on history and life.
“A Christmas Carol” runs through Dec. 31 at Ford’s Theatre.
Augherton can be reached at [email protected].
