'A Christmas Carol' at the Kodak: The ghost of 'Christmas Carol' past for producer-director Von Feldt?

Culture Monster's stalwart holiday readers have no doubt been following the Dickensian saga of the ongoing troubles of "A Christmas Carol," onstage through Jan. 4 at the Kodak Theatre. Jane Seymour left the cast, citing a bronchial infection.  Gene Wilder, who was scheduled to portray Marley's Ghost as a hologram, also failed to materialize because producers decided the gimmick would be "ineffective in the production."

And audiences complained volubly to Culture Monster about glitches during preview performances on the evening of Dec. 22 and the afternoon of Dec. 23, offering such reserved comments as: "Wow! That was the worst show I've ever been to in my entire life." (Thank you for sharing, Neil.)

As it turns out, producer Kevin Von Feldt is haunted by his own ghost of "A Christmas Carol" past -- and it's no hologram: Back in October 1994, a Los Angeles city prosecutor said she would ask Los Angeles police detectives to investigate advertising claims for a Von Feldt-produced staging of "A Christmas Carol" at Pasadena's Raymond Theatre, planned for Nov. 15 to 20. Newspaper ads and promotional fliers for the Pasadena run of the touring show touted "narration by Sir John Gielgud" while omitting the fact that his voice would be recorded. Creditors, including Gielgud, also complained of unpaid bills.

The 1994 production finally opened several days late after planned opening weekend performances were called off because of technical problems; ticket holders for those performances were invited to see later shows.  Times reviewer Don Shirley offered a lukewarm review: "Considering the producer's problems finding financing, the set was surprisingly lavish, though it wasn't always used sensibly.... Sound effects, lighting and lush (recorded) incidental music created a few mildly spooky moments."

Through a spokesman, Von Feldt said of the 1994 production: "The show opened and was reviewed without incident." The problems, he said, "obviously didn't impact the actual performances."

But in Von Feldt's own comment posted over the weekend in response to F. Kathleen Foley's review of the current show, Von Feldt was frank about the fact that this time around, the preview performances were not up to snuff. His letter blames the Ghost of Recession Present -- that is, the economy.

Last-minute financing problems, Von Feldt wrote, led to difficulty in scheduling enough rehearsal time at the Kodak. "With only five days of rehearsal and one day on the stage at the Kodak (Dec. 22, the day of the opening), we limped through the first performance Monday night, a remarkable achievement by the cast and crew," he wrote.

Von Feldt goes on to say the show is now much improved -- and invites preview ticket holders to see for themselves by offering those who attended the Dec. 22, 7:30 p.m. and Dec. 23, 3 p.m. previews to come see the show again, free of charge. The last performance is at 3 p.m. Sunday. And don't call the Kodak, a theater spokesman pleads -- all of those ticket holders will be contacted personally by the theater to make arrangements.   

--Diane Haithman

Photo: Christopher Lloyd plays Scrooge during a dress rehearsal of "A Christmas Carol" at the Kodak. Credit: Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times

Comments

[merryjoe]

Didn't anyone bother to do a background check on this Kevin Von Feldt producer? He's been convicted of multiple ticket and producing scams in the past and sentenced to jail term. Good lord, Hollywood, wake up to this fraud before he strikes again!

[Kevin Von Feldt]

Merryjoe, I've never been convicted of anything related to the presentation of live theatre. Some twenty-two years ago, I pled guilty to misdemeanor charges related to a start-up airline. The audiences that are seeing the current production at the Kodak are extremely enthusiastic. Of the four actors who were scheduled to perform live, only Jane Seymour is missing. When her representatives advised me that she had a severe bronchial infection, we had no choice but to replace Ms. Seymour with Jane Noseworthy who has been terrific in the role. Her illness was beyond my control and occurs on a weekly basis in theatres throughout the country. I made mistakes decades ago but redeemed myself in 1994 when my Xmas Carol opened with the advertised stars, Brian Keith, Kevin McCarthy and Shirley Jones. That's what "A Christmas Carol" is all about...redemption. Current audiences are seeing a great show, some paying only $25 by using our half-hour rush line. Audiences that attended the 1st two shows were afforded the opportunity to see the show again at no charge. I have received positive feedback from many of them.

Kevin Von Feldt

The whole cast? I saw the matinee production of the play today (jan 1) and it did not include the whole cast. I specifically came to this production to watch one of my favorite actors of all time, Gene Wilder. Not only was it to be a projected hologram of Mr. Wilder, you didn't end up even using the hologram. So he had absolutely nothing to do with this production, yet you have him billed in your advertisements and programs. That is a nasty thing to do to people. Just sneaky and disrespectful. As an actor, I would never want to be a part of such a devious charade. And I can't believe I paid $25 to see it. The theater was almost completely empty and tickets were on sale for 90% off. Thanks for keeping up the tradition of bad theatre in LA.

[anon]

There are artists that worked on the show, and haven't been paid. You should do a story on that. See http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2008/12/a-christmas-car.html#more comment by timothy sellers at the bottom in the comments section.
That's pretty bad. You know kevin von peldt made money on this. Painters don't work for charity. They work hard, long hours.

[Jack B]

Let it be noted that I am aware of printing services, stage rental, and contractors who were either not paid or only partially paid by doing business with Kevin Von Feldt. It is my understanding that the 2008/2009 Kodak production of "A Christmas Carol" was disappointing at the box office for this project. However, this fact alone does not excuse Mr. Von Feldt from mishandling good faith verbal agreements and his way of doing business.

Hopefully others will google Mr. Von Feldt to learn about his background. Please consider these facts before doing business with Mr. Von Feldt and accept only front end payments.

[Anonymous Set Painter]

Dear Kevin,

Why have you not paid us for our work? We upheld our end of the bargain, and you........? You will have to change your name this time around. No one will ever google Kevin Von Feldt without knowing you are scam artist. Pay-Up. Pay-Up.

[Kevin Von Feldt]

Addressing the "anonymous" tripe previously written, I just received the names and address of the Xmas Carol painters last Monday and checks have already gone out. For instance, I received several phone calls from a Hashim Thomas who said he was a painter. When I called to get his address, his message box was full both times. The painters agreed going in to defer their money until we received the box office proceeds from the Kodak. They received extra compensation for doing this. I did not hire the painters, did not know who they were, where they were or how much they were owed until four days ago. It's easy for "anonymous" to shoot his or her mouth off when they don't know what they're talking about but are too weak to identify themselves. To date, we have paid $509,000 to individuals who worked on the two-week run of A Xmas Carol, excluding the three "name" actors". Get your facts straight "anonymous".

Kevin Von Feldt
Producer/Director
A Christmas Carol

[Anon2]

I haven't been paid either. Perhaps we should consider a class-action lawsuit.

[anonymouswife]

I am the wife of one of your designers. He hasn't been paid either and you are not returning his phone calls. We will not go away. We have a family to feed.

[anon]

Mr. Von Feldt,

It seems that a production that has already paid out over half a million dollars isn't one to run by the seat of your pants like some small back alley theater production. Professionals make sure that employees get paid on time. The painters never made a deal to get paid after the box office came in, and the ones who have gotten paid have received half of what they were owed, so don't insult people for wanting to get paid.
What the painters know is that they performed a service for your production, which you are ultimately responsible for. That is where they are speaking from. People decide to remain anonymous on posts so that they don't get singled out and railroaded by someone whom they have lost faith in. There is no need to try and shift the blame onto people who should have gotten paid a couple of weeks ago, and still haven't received the "check in the mail".

The facts are: Kevin Von Feldt is in Wisconsin. Kevin Von Feldt hasn't paid the people that worked on his show. Kevin Von Feldt is a small player trying to put on big shows that he cannot handle.

You need to do right by these people, Mr. Von Feldt. You owe it to them to send the money now overnight. They depend on it.

[Truck Driver]

I worked on this show for 2 days and I was told that I was going to be paid on Christmas Eve morning. Christmas came and went and I had to go out of town on the 27th, I figured I'd have a check in the mail when I got back on the 7th of January. Only when I got back in town did I find out that we were all getting screwed for this job. It sounds like Kevin is going to be haunted by the ghosts of Christmas past for a very long time.

Let us not forget Mr. Shane from Malibu CA who, according to an email from Kevin, was supposed to have our money.