Bennington Theater in Bennington, Vt.
Created by Ricky Graham, Jeffery Robinson, and Yvette Hargis
Music by Jefferson Turner
Directed by John Lugar
“A very merry Christmas to you, Uncle E.”
An irreverent tone takes the stage at Bennington Theater as their edition of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” plays out its whimsical variation on this theme. Having grown up with my grandfather, Harry Percival, and his special take on entertainment (he was a veteran of the English Music Hall as a performer), this year’s choice of the Scrooge story both chilled my blood and thrilled my heart. I can only take one “Christmas Carol” a year at this point in my life, and this one, a musical silliness, was my choice. It was a good choice, almost a great choice. Here is the premise: A British vaudeville troupe of 20 players is offering their annual Dickens show, but 17 of them are down with food poisoning, leaving only three members to deliver the annual holiday tradition. One, a woman, plays Ebenezer Scrooge, and the other two, both men, play all the other roles. Wordplay, semi-dirty jokes, hilarious one-liners, and a lot of delicious songs fill the two acts of this show, along with audience participation for the key role of Tiny Tim.
A group of Victorian-clad folks serenade the incoming audience with Christmas Carols for a half hour before the show starts, and it does get you into the mood for a filmed welcome to Her Majesty’s Promenade Grand Theatre by Queen Victoria herself (she is voiced by Ross Jacobs). Once the premise is established, we are in for a classic British Pantomime (Panto) in which cross-dressing performers bring us the story in comic fashion. Miss Obligato’s many costumes alter her bust size in appropriate fashion and emphasize her utter femininity in spite of her deep, bass-baritone voice. Angell makes it work especially well, and we don’t ever object to his sweetness or his forced posturing.
Mary Jo Greco delivers a well-formed portrait of Scrooge. She gives us the meanest man in London who is converted to the nice guy of the future without missing a beat. There is no effort to be mannish, and yet she is believable in the role she plays. As the “lead,” she ventures us into the intermission with grace and charm, and her musical performance of the lead-off second act song (reminiscent of “Off to the Races” from “The Mystery of Edwin Drood”) is a sure winner.
David Sutton is the hardest-working actor in the group. I am not even sure how he masters his many costume changes in the short amount of time he has to make them. He plays his narrative roles with style and grace, and he is a funny actor whose sense of humor about it all plays extremely well.
Directed by John Lugar and designed by a talented team (costumes by Elizabeth Rodio), including wonderful projections by Lugar himself, the show moves along with the speed of lightning. Choreographer K. Morgan Prikazsky adds a very period-perfect look to the show. Jefferson Turner’s music illuminates the place and the time to perfection, and the witty lyrics and spicy dialogue by Ricky Graham ideally reflect the British traditions of Panto. I hope this show goes on to a bright National future. It deserves to be seen everywhere. Luckily we have it nearby and accessible. This is a true Christmas confection.
“Scrooge in Rouge” plays at Bennington Theater, 331 Main Street, Bennington, VT, through December 22. For information and tickets, visit Bennington Theater’s website.
