Chesapeake Shakespeare Company: A Christmas Carol

 What a delightful production!  Just perfect for the Holidays.  

I've only been to Chesapeake Shakespeare Company in Baltimore one time before to see "Measure for Measure."  This was in the winter of 2020, pre-pandemic.  I remembered it as an intimate space, but forgot just how intimate and magical it is.  Built to fill up three stories of the cavernous lobby of one of Baltimore's leading 19th century Mercantile Banks, it embodies the spirit of Shakespeare's own Globe Theatre with three levels of 3/4 wrap around seating.  On the stage level there are only four rows of seats straight on and stage left, and 3 rows stage right.  Second tier mezzanine has two rows, and the third level mezzanine only one.  The seats deserve a nod.  They are two person wide (and amply measured) drop down upholstered benches without arm rests.  They are hands down the most comfortable seats anywhere in the region!  And a cash bar with soft drinks and snacks is open throughout every production with patrons encouraged to get up at any time to help themselves...in the absolute spirit of the Globe. In the two productions I've attended, everyone has politely waited until intermission.  There is also always a lottery to give away a bottle of wine to one lucky patron.

This production began with a carol sing-a-long of traditional songs like "The First Noel" and "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing" led by three of the ensemble members of the cast.  The Play was infused with lots of music.  Scenes from the original story that are left out of every modern version I've every seen become an excuse to add in a Christmas sea shanty sung by sailors battling a storm on the open seas and a Black Gospel Christmas song sung by forgotten factory workers.  Both are additional stops on Scrooge's even with the Ghost of Christmas Present.  All the principles were ready and able to deliver bold and also, at times, nuanced performances.  The only character that seemed at all stiff was a understudy for an actress who's run was cut short by Covid, and who performed a lesser role.  Tiny Tim was also, ironically, stricken with the latest variant and had a sweet, if stilted young stand in.  While the bio of the original actor described him as a 4th grader, this swing was, at best in second grade, a little lamb lost in the sauce, but ready to deliver the two zingers that are essential to the whole show.  

The set was versatile and easy to spin from one scene to the next, transformed by the cast in due course with the story telling.  The costumes were lush and luscious.  Laura Rocklyn's adaptation was replete with the author's words in both dialogue and narrative delivered by members of the ensemble randomly yet woven together like a comfortable blanket.  Stand out performances include the party led by Mr. (Michael Salconi) and Mrs. (Molly Moores) Fezziwig in the company of the Ghost of Christmas Past.  Troy Haines-Hopper as the Ghost of Christmas Present delivered a joyous, ebullient and ultimate poignant performance.  Although a brief role in the first act, J. Bradley Bowers portrayal of poor departed Jacob Marley with intense and really set the bar for everyone else.  But the glue that holds the show together is Scrooge himself and Gregory Burgess as glues go was Gorilla Glue 100%.  He was both every inch the embittered miser, and then inch by inch he melted into a new man, a better man, a repentant man.  In moments of remorse and self-awareness, can I say, I wiped away tears?  This is the power of the stage in hands of a seasoned actor with the skill and talent to bring to life the character they are embracing.  

My seat was one in from the aisle on an angled bench, Row B, stage right.  I was joined by a nice young Black man named Justin.  We shared some casual banter before the show and at intermission.  While the cast was interracial, the audience was over 90% white.  The CSC offers a HUGE discount for attendees under age 25; it was Justin's first time at this theatre.  I suppose he's exactly the demographic that they are hoping to snag.  I tried to do my part to encourage him to come back.  And except that today's performances are this production's last, I would have also tried to get everyone I know to buy a ticket and see it, too.

Some of the Press Photos from the show.  Unfortunately, the bio pics in the program for a good third of the actors are older than the dust on King Tut's Tomb!  Well, okay, not THAT old--but old enough to make me have to really think hard to connect the dots between the picture and the person I just watched perform on stage.  This is a pet peeve on mine, it really is.  If I ran a theatre company, and someone wanted to act in a production that was being staged there, they would have to have a certified head shot taken within 18 months of the show.  Period.  Not negotiable.  No one attending should look at a picture in the program and thing, who the hell was that?  Just sayin'...

Scrooge (Gregory Burgess) spurning the entreaties of the Mendacity Charitable Society's request for a donation. 

Jacob Marley (J. Bradley Bowers) visiting Scrooge to warn him of his pending adventures.

Scrooge negotiating with God.

The Ghost of Christmas Past (Lauren Jackson).

From the Christmas celebration at the home of Mr. (Michael Salconi) and Mrs. (Molly Moores) Fezziwig revealed again by the Ghost of Christmas Past.

A propitious moment when Scrooge witnesses his encounter with Belle (Morganne Chu) and his younger self (Shaquan Pearson) and realized just what a fool he was then.

The appearance of the Ghost of Christmas Present (Troy Haines-Hopper).  A moment the ended the first act, and reprised began the second.

The Ghost of Christmas Present eaves-dropping on a Christmas Eve dinner at the home of Bob & Martha Cratchit.

Bob Cratchit (Samuel Richie) cajoling his wife, Martha (Emily Zinski) to have compassion on his stingy boss, Ebeneezer Scrooge.

Scrooge post-epiphany, after catching Bob Cratchit arriving to work late, suddenly announcing that he is giving his long suffering employee a raise!

The moment of that fateful line from Tiny Tim "God Bless Us One and ALL!"