A Christmas Carol
The Alley Theatre is abuzz. I haven’t seen such a crowd in months, maybe more. Selfies were snapped by the dozens in front of the various decorated trees on display all over the theater, super-charged kids were hopping about, moms were lined up at the bar, carolers entertained, and sharp elbows were needed to get around the multitude, many of whom seemed not to know where to look or what to do. This is good news for theater. First-timers are always welcomed. A Christmas Carol may be their only exposure to live theater, and a better starter option would be hard to find.
Debuted in 2022, director Rob Melrose’s adaptation is one of the most faithful around. Line by line, there’s more Dickens than any other production I know. Which is a good thing, a very good thing. There’s nobody like Dickens. His prose is rich and thick as goose gravy. The story, need I add, is Christmas personified. He cemented our holiday traditions ever since his “ghost story of Christmas” was published in 1843. An instant success, the book changed the world in how we view the holiday. It opened our hearts to charity, the under-served, the needy, the good generous spirit to be shared without recompense. It made us better.
Melrose’s Carol, in synced conjunction with Michael Locher’s magnificent and impressionistic sets, Raquel Barreto’s elegant period costumes (the emerald brocaded great coat of The Ghost of Christmas Present is fantastically good), Cat Tate Starmer’s pin-spot lighting, and Cliff Caruthers’s haunting sound work, is a wondrous piece of theater. All characters take part in relating the tale, sometimes one sentence at a time as they walk on and talk directly to us. It works very well, and Dickens’ ripe prose is on prominent display. It’s a laudable adaptation: faithful to a fault yet highly contemporary and theatrical.
The large cast throws themselves into the spirit, and their truthfulness is infectious. (There are, what…54 performances to go? No doubt the Alley pros will hold up through December 29. No bah, humbugs among them.)
David Rainey’s covetous old sinner Scrooge should be preserved in a bottle and sold at the concession stand. His journey of reclamation is a wonder of characterization. Shaded with nuance, he has this guy down to a science. Dickens seems to bring out the best in everyone: Dylan Godwin’s hapless Bob Cratchit, Elizabeth Bunch’s ephemeral Spirit of Christmas Past, Todd Waite’s exuberant Fezziwig and oily catarrh-ridden Joe, Melissa Molano’s Belle, Chris Hutchison’s ghoulish Marley, Christopher Salazar’s eternally optimistic Fred, and, spelling for Shawn Hamilton’s on opening night, John Ryan del Bosque’s propulsive Ghost of Christmas Present. It’s a very able cast, looking very much like those etched by the original illustrator John Leech. They’re all subsumed in the proper Victorian mood. Ensemble work at its finest.
Nothing beats Dickens for Christmas enlightenment. Mounted this season by Amber D. Gray, I can’t see any difference from Melrose’s original direction. Other than the pleasure of reading his little novel, Dickens at the Alley is the next best thing.
A Christmas Carol continues through December 29 at 7 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays; 1:30 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, and 6:30 p.m. Sundays at Alley Theater, 615 Texas Avenue. For more information, call 713-220-5700 or visit alleytheater.org. $28-$115.
The Twelve Ways of Christmas
It’s warm and cozy at Ensemble Theatre this season. As if we’ve traveled in Mr. Peabody’s Wayback machine, we’re whisked backward in time to television’s Golden Age where Perry Como, Dinah Shore and Andy Williams celebrated family tradition in living-color Christmas specials. The hosts wore cardigan sweaters and crooned in front of a faux fireplace while Broadway, Hollywood, or Top-Ten pop stars danced or sang with them. Everybody watched these shows that were the epitome of American holiday values.
Chika Kaba Ma’Atunde’s Christmas pageant, directed with sure hand by Aisha Ussery, gently pulls us into a bygone, nicer era. There’s no redeeming social message, political sloganeering, or gender ideology. It’s refreshing to be reminded of a time when everyone got along, where presents were beautifully wrapped under the tree, and Santa Claus was eagerly awaited with cocoa and cookies. There’s no need for a faux fireplace in Twelve Ways for the septet of fine performers provides all the heat necessary. I didn’t see a cardigan on stage either, but I may be wrong.
Premiered in 2007 at Ensemble, when composer/lyricist Ma’Atunde was known as Carlton Leake, the show gives off a very pleasant vibe as it proceeds through twelve ways of celebrating Christmas: Family, Romantic, Childhood, Consumerism, Military, Religious, so on. Each episode in punctuated by a number or two, though none are memorable after first hearing. Some of the skits go on a beat too long, especially the sequence where the adults portray children. This never goes well as the romping, shrieking, and horseplay just becomes annoying. Cut this down.
But the success and joy are in the performances which are all mighty impressive. All seven actors have sparkle to spare, as if wearing sequins. Some of them actually do. Theater pro Anthony Boggess-Glover, who starred in the Houston world premiere, is always a pleasure to watch. He has smooth moves and a silky voice, like a modern-day Fats Waller. He can entertain just by standing there. April Wheat wails in her bluesy number “One Day (That’ll Be me),” raising the Ensemble roof by a couple of feet and drawing rapturous appreciation from the audience while singing. This is call-and-response with a vengeance. She deserves it. Jazmyn Bolden, Bridgjette Taylor Jackson, Jakori Jackson, Fortune Onwunali, and Gloria Prince each have their own number in which to shine, and they mop the floor with their infectious energy and spirit. They are pleased to be performing and it shows.
The jazz trio, raised on a platform center stage, swings gloriously – Ma’Atunde conducts on piano, Urica Fernandez slaps that bass, Willie C. Smith II caresses the drums. They sound like a philharmonic.
Bring the family to this. Maybe not an enduring classic, Twelve Ways carries its own sweet pulse. It’s traditional in a good way, lovingly nostalgic in mood, and the performers will knock your socks off of the mantlepiece. Isn’t that what we want in any Christmas show?
The Twelve Ways of Christmas continues through December 22 at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays; 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturdays; 3 p.m. Sundays at Ensemble Theatre, 3535 Main. For more information, call 713-520-0055 or visit ensemblehouston.com. $35-$65.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2024.
