1 sometimes better
ow any mere play 1s
supposed to live up to the crazy
demands of a vivid
imagination, I couldn't tell

hen I was akid,I read Y*
C. S. Lewis’ Narnia
series something like
ne times. I used to fall asleep
ith The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
ing up my forehead, and

eam in a luscious world of gold

Jan 2

 

Pacific Theatre's cur-
rent production doesn't
try to accomplish the
impossible, but it does
take an interesting side-
step from the sensual to
the cerebral. Rather than
throw a big-budget splash
of dazzle ‘n’ paint at the

een forests, sweet glowing

eans, musky animat flanks, and
agic on the wing, hoof, paw,
iletto, and dust mote if need be.
ecently I've travelled back

audience, the now-grown Lucy
(Miriam Brown) and Peter

ough the Wardrobe with my eure pe cae
Fighter, revisiting Saeeldahae about their adventures, reliving

: their first series installment
ays seemed richer and stronger

through storytelling. A minimal

an my own cornflakes on the ;
set, a variable character cast of

rpet, car horns on the corner

5 two, and the multi-use of props,
e. So for me, and it seems for Prop

done! Most of the actors were
excellent in their musical scenes
and the songs were upbeat and

VEN OLSON

 

ooeking for snow, carols,
and the Christmas spirit?
A Christmas Carol: the musical
a good place to start looking.
e classic Charles Dickens tale
been given a musical twist by
e Carousel Theatre Company.

entertaining. On the critical side,
I have to say that some of the

acting was not as convincing as

Halder in the lead role. While
Halder seemed really in character,

ritten by Mavor Moore in
88, this adaptation of the
ous novel is a wonderful
liday event that is a sure

ily favourite. I sat down on
iday night in the Waterfront
eatre, surrounded by about
other people ready to be

ept into the fabulous world
before us. Yes, the stage

ting was amazing even before
performance began. The

y began with a dimly lit,

er style street scene with
borate detail in the buildings,
mplete with a gothic style
orknocker. I was impressed.
hat really got me, though, was
rotating stage. Hence the

e Carousel? Hmm. Well, the
ating stage was great and it
ly added to the story-like
osphere, especially when the

ors were carried around on it

others appeared more awkward in
their roles. I felt distanced from
the story whenever these awkward
characters were onstage.

Okay, so the staging was fabu-

ee lous and the overall acting con-
ile singing.

One strength of this perform-
e was the character of Scrooge.
ts off to Ron Halder for his
ical, yet convincing, portrayal
Ebenezer Scrooge. Halder

ed a laughable and completely

vincing, but one criticism I have
that distracted me throughout the
entire performance was the com-
pletely lifeless background music.
I mean, this is a Christmas play
right? So I was expecting some

: really heartwarming music to
able dimension to Scrooge

h little quirks, such as his
eezing laugh that always got a
d chuckle from the audience.
vid Marr played a sympathetic
loveable Bob Cratchit who
racted very well with Scrooge’s
racter. Also, Ryan Whitmarsh
excellent as Tiny Tim. This
Ryan's first professional job
congratulations on a job well

enhance the overall atmosphere.
Instead, there was really cheesy,
pre-recorded piano music that
added nothing to the perform-
ance. In fact, the music was really
distracting because it was so bad
while the acting and staging were
really good. The actors were deliv-
ering these great lines while trying
to coordinate them with awkward
music. I had to tune out the

Jarnia is brighter, louder,

 
 
  
 
   
 
   
   
 

 

 

leaves almost all but the sugges-
tion of events up to the imagina-
tion. Director Ron Reed has
stayed extremely faithful to
Lewis’ text, which can be a
strength for those who
haven't already tat-
tooed each word to
their inner eyelids,
but I would have
liked: a fresher take
on the novel. Ingram
and. Brown displayed
good versatility
throughout, switching
from character to charac-
ter, and portraying all the key
personalities of the tale with
mannerisms, accents, and. decep-
tively simple costume changes.
Ingram was particularly strong in
the first act as Mrs. Beaver. I
found that I preferred his broader
characters to his portrayal of the,

Christmas Carol: the Musical

music to listen to what the actors
were saying. With all the beautiful
Christmas music that is available,
I don't know why this unflattering
noise was chosen. If you are
someone who pays attention to
the musical accompaniment,

please cover your ears for this one.

Special effects, special effects,

at special effects. Need I say more?

They were excellent. For exam-
ple, remember that gothic door-
knocker I mentioned? Well at
one point in the play, an actors
face was substituted in the door
and added an eerie touch to the
scene. During the ghost
sequence, the spirits emerged
from the fireplace, along with
waves of smoke. As an effect, the
smoke was great but one big crit-
icism | have is that there was no
ventilation! Several audience
members were coughing and
sneezing from all the smoke that
drifted out into the audience.
For those of you who have
breathing difficulties, you might
want to keep this in mind. Some
other effects used in a positive
way were dry ice in a soup bowl, a
staff that had a camera flash set
into the top of it that went off
when the staff was banged on the
stage, and of course, the grave-
stone of Scrooge that folded up
from the stage. All of these really
added dimension to the perform-
ance and made watching A
Christmas Carol very entertaining.
The play also ended with snow
drifting down from the ceiling,
which added that Christmas feel
that I was looking for.
Costuming was also an enjoy-
able part of this production. All
of the characters, even the minor
ones, were elaborately dressed in
costumes appropriate to the time
the novel was set in. From
Scrooge’s pajamas and long night-

well, comparatively dull Peter.
Browns Lucy was well played, dis-
playing a subtle comfort in her
role which translated nicely into
her quietly noble second act -
Aslan, but her White Witch
seemed not so much menacing as
merely loud.

Christine Hackman’s costumes
were the closest concession to
actual magic in the show, with her
reversible coats and capes visually
stamping each character. The
chair drape/ Witch's cape was
lovely with its gossamer and crys-
tal beads, and the fur coat of the
Beavers was very well used. Aslan
was represented by a gorgeous
tapestried gold cape, but my
favourite (and that of at least two
past-their-bedtimers I talked to)
was the velvet winter coat/wool
trimmed sparkling red Santa coat.
Some of the strongest scenes were

cap, to the elaborate ghosts with
their rags and chains, the dress
was excellent.

Finally, the energy between the
actors and the audience was very
much alive. The audience
responded with laughter and
applause and was very responsive
to the feelings being emitted from
the performers. There were only
two scenes where the audience
seemed to be dead and lost that
connection with the stage. These
were the Ghost of Christmas past
and the party scenes. Perhaps it
was just that these two were less
entertaining in a comical sense
than the others, but I did notice a
few audience members resorting
to their programs during these

aptly augmented by Stancil
Campbell's lighting, such as the
humorous, blue lit meeting of
Edmund and the White Witch,
and the darkened death of Aslan
with its lone spot of gold. The
sword clashing war scene got a
thumbs up for choreography, but
the set rearranging lead-in was
distracting.

The soundscapes of Steven
Bulat were quietly moody, but
sometimes seemed lost in the
higher volume dialogue, as
opposed to fully bolstering the
illusion. Also, I think the flute
cue came too early.

Gentle, except for a twangy
accent here and there, and heavy
on the literary homage side, this
show is good for the introspec-
tive, thoughtful viewer. A word to
parents, though: hyperactive kids
need not apply.

scenes. Usually not a good sign.

A Christmas Carol is an overall
enjoyable musical with some
minor drawbacks. If you're a
major theatre buff, these problems
might annoy you. But for children
and those just out for an enjoy-
able time, this play is a fair bet.
Personally, | enjoyed the perform-
ance but was not overly moved or
swept up into the Christmas spirit
as I had hoped. Would I make the
trip all the way to Granville Island
to see this again? Probably not.
But if you are up for some holi-
day cheer and a night away from
the TV, A Christmas Carol: the
Musical is playing at the
Waterfront Theatre Nov.20-
Dec.24.

ee RRR E ES

9:30

Be OR Se Bix Be Si ae at Ble Se ae oe ake aie ke Se BI AE Oe Be

Mvrareem.

2404 St. John's St.
Port Moody,B.C.
931 - 2451 ant

CHRISTMAS

IN
NOVEMBER :

ALL PRE-LOVED TOYS

1/2 PRICE ae
NOVEMBER 16 - DECEMBER 23, 1998 — a

Mon - Sat é,
- 4:30
Dh AE Bh BE RE BG BE Bf Oh Oe Oe “Sie ie

 

 

The Other Press

December 9 1998 Page 11