A Christmas Carol opens with Ebenezer Scrooge lambasting anything associated with the Birth of the Messiah. He’s not just cantankerous, he’s vindictive. He turns down his nephew’s annual Christmas soiree, and visitors collecting for charity. He disparages the impoverished, as if they were trying to rob him. That very Christmas Eve, he settles in to his glacial, dreadful lodgings, after tea and soup provided by Mrs. Dilber. As usual his manners are impeccable. He climbs into bed, only to be greeted by his deceased partner, Bob Marley.
Marley bewails his wasted existence, forfeiting his humanity for coin and acquisition. He wears the chains he forged in life, oblivious to the marvels of we poor, flawed mortals caring for each other. Scrooge dismisses Marley’s mission to warn him from the same fate. As far as he’s concerned, the ghoulish apparition could be a piece of undigested beef. Ebenezer Scrooge is spiritually wounded. One Christmas he loses Fan (his beloved sister) and years later, Belle (his fiancee) breaks up with him. It’s perfectly understandable that Scrooge has conflated trauma with yuletide merriment, subsequently feeling nothing but resentment and cynicism.
Three more ghosts appear, beckoned by the mournful toll of Big Ben. The Ghost of Christmas Past, The Ghost of Christmas Present, and The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. First he sees Mama, in an exquisite gown of periwinkle blue. She shimmers with a radiant, golden nimbus, voice more delicate than the breath of mercy. She takes him to witness past exuberance and disappointment. Regret and grace. He is in the midst, the others but shadows, unaware of his presence. Time and again he sees missed opportunities to salve the misery of others. The remaining ghosts evoke and evince levity and warmth. They force him to confront the pain and despair that he’s spread.
As many of you know, The Dallas Theater Center’s production of Christmas Carol is an annual event. It’s a difficult, demanding project, with many plates spinning at the same time. Director Alex Organ manages to keep the melodrama without pushing our buttons. Any narrative set during Christmas is already flirting with purple content and mawkish manipulation. It seems the most emotionally charged episodes benefit from a bit of detachment, as we certainly do not need any prompting.
The gloomy, menacing set forged from a nightmare of The Industrial Age suggests the lack of compassion, the abysmal eclipse of humans, overshadowed by machine. The contrast between the bliss of convivial celebration, and unforgiving imperative is thrown into high relief. The grimy, black iron of the failure of conscience only makes the dazzling colors stand out. The dances and flirting and giggling and embracing and kisses and delightful songs and food prepared gladness and quintessential light are positively overwhelming. They pop. They defy rapacious self-interest.
Ebenezer Scrooge is balanced with kindness and understanding. We see his worst moments, but along the way, the scintillating memories that transport him. The moments when glee grabs hold, and he capers and bounces in that white nightshirt and funnel cap, in sheer, forgotten delight. We are spontaneously giddy. We marvel at the gift of redemption.
The Dallas Theater Center presents A Christmas Carol, playing November 25th-December 24th, 2022. Dee & Charles Wyly Theatre, 2400 Flora Street, Dallas, TX 75201. (214) 522-8499. dallastheatercenter.org