Review: 'A Christmas Carol Story' @ Sierra Madre Playhouse

Festooned with Christmas lights, the cozy village of Sierra Madre is particularly picturesque at this time of year. Make your way through the outlying craftsmen bungalows along the rows of inviting cafes on the main streets and you’ll find the Sierra Madre Playhouse, a neighborhood fixture since 1979.

A regular offering at the Playhouse since 2002, “A Christmas Carol Story” is an adaptation of Dickens’ Christmas classic written especially for the playhouse by the late Larry Davison. According to the program, director Alison Kalmus, who has staged the show in the past, has made several tweaks to Davison’s original version over the years. Whatever Kalmus’ input is, it’s obviously not that of synthesis. At almost 2 1/2 hours, the production is overlong and only intermittently faithful to its source material.

The show, which features a pleasing array of folk songs and time-honored carols, has been produced in association with the Southern California Lyric Theatre, and indeed, there are many sterling voices to be heard throughout the evening, some of near-operatic quality. The large and lively cast, clad in an ambitious array of uncredited costumes, brings genuine commitment to the proceedings.

Judging from the large and appreciative audience, “A Christmas Carol Story” has become a bit of a tradition around these parts, and in that regard, it holds plenty of charm. However, although certainly proficient by any community theater standards, this “Carol” does not quite reach the bar of a professional production.

Double-cast in the role, John Szura proves a competent Scrooge. However, his butt-length gray hair is an anachronistic distraction that could have been easily surmounted by an appropriate period wig.

--F. Kathleen Foley

“A Christmas Carol Story,” Sierra Madre Playhouse, 87 W. Sierra Madre Blvd., Sierra Madre. 8 p.m. Saturdays, 2:30 p.m. Sundays, 2:30 on Saturday Dec. 13 and 20, 7 p.m. Sunday Dec. 21. Also Monday Dec. 22 and Tuesday Dec. 23 at 8 p.m. Ends Dec. 23. $20. (626) 256-3809. Running time: 2 hours, 20 minutes.

Caption: Samantha Ozea, Megan Sanborn and Talia Saldana in "A Christmas Carol Story." Credit: Ward Calaway

Comments

[John Szura]

Perhaps Ms. Foley should get her sense of history from books rather than TV. In her review of "The Great Election" set in 1913, she denounced as anachronistic (apparently one of her favorite words) the phrase "parking lot" and the word "terrorist" although one of the features of the Colorado Chautauqua National Park is the 1901 "carriage PARKING LOT" and the word "terrorist" was coined during the French Revolution. Now, of the many aspects of "The Christmas Carol Story" that she could have mentioned, she chose to label as "anachronistic" the length of Scrooge's hair (seriously?) and chooses to dismiss the enthusiatic reactions of the audience as the result of the production having "become a bit of a tradition around these parts". How soon we forget that theatre is specifically for the audiences and not for a few ill-informed reviewers.

[Vincent]

Ms. Foley further demonstrates the extent of her ignorance by stating that the play is "only intermittently faithful to its source material." She obviously has never read Dickens' story. Either that or she has a severe case of impacted ear wax. The truth is that most of the diaglogue is taken directly from Dickens' text, word for word. One can only assume that Ms. Foley is more familiar with "Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol" and uses that production as her reference.

I saw the production on Saturday, the 29th of November, and was delighted. Sure, there were a few technical glitches, but overall the show provided a wonderful evening of family entertainment. I was especially impressed by the ensemble singing which, at times, bordered on the sublime. Other superlative moments included Scrooge's transformation scene, Bob Cratchit's grieving scene (which brought tears to my eyes), and the hilarious laugh-out-loud Old Joe scene.

Ms. Foley also states that the costumes are "uncredited." Did she bother to read the program? It states quite plainly in the program (which I kept) that the costumes were made by Angela Nichols. And the costumes weren't just "ambitious," they were downright amazing.

Finally, Ms. Foley's characterization of the director's "input" as lacking in "synthesis" is vague and ambiguous and unsupported by any reference to the facts. The truth of the matter is that Mrs. Kalmus has revitalized a classic tale with her lively and dynamic production.

[Alexandra]

WHAT'S WRONG WITH MS. FOLEY. DOESN'T SHE APPRECIATE "GOOD" THEATER. A XMAS CAROL AT THE SIERRA MADRE WAS GREAT. GOOD RIDENCE TO FOLEY.

[Greg]

Reviews are to some extent subjective. I read other reviews of the production before attending as well as this one. I'm glad I did otherwise I may not have attended the show. It was an entertaining evening. Regarding the review, I would have appreciated information about some of the individual actors and possibly whom was good in their role and/or whom was not. Whether the show was or is a local favorite is not of import but the performances of the principals are. I also noticed the show was not 2 1/2 hours. The show was roughly 2 hours with a 10-15 minute intermission...