In this solo 'Christmas Carol,' the night is never silent
The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Saturday, October 12, 2024


In this solo 'Christmas Carol,' the night is never silent
Jefferson Mays in a one-man production of “A Christmas Carol” at the Nederlander Theater in New York, Nov. 6, 2022. Mays stars in a Broadway adaptation of the Dickens classic that was originally live-captured for streaming. (Sara Krulwich/The New York Times)

by Alexis Soloski



NEW YORK, NY.- Has Jefferson Mays ever met a role — or a root vegetable — that he hesitated to take on? In the noisy, excitable one-man version of “A Christmas Carol” on Broadway, in a production that opened Monday at the Nederlander Theater, Mays stars as Ebenezer Scrooge, spirits of Christmas, assorted Cratchits, street folk, partygoers. He even plays a boiling potato, straining against a pot lid. At the festive board, Mays is side dish, main course, everything.

Creepy and antic, gloomy and giddy, Michael Arden’s production capitalizes on every trick in Charles Dickens’ story and then pulls a few new ones out of Scrooge’s top hat. Peace on Earth? Mercy mild? Please. There are moments when you would swear that Mays couldn’t possibly be unaccompanied, so raucous is this “Carol.” But he is, more or less. (Danny Gardner briefly joins as a wordless specter.) Happily, Mays — who has also triumphed in multiple roles in “I Am My Own Wife,” for which he won a Tony Award, and “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder” — is a master of manifold parts. If he were left alone, without lights, sound, projections or Dane Laffrey’s curving, swerving set, he might put across this fable even more convincingly.

Dickens’ story was last seen on Broadway in 2019, in a production that had originated in London at the Old Vic. That version wasn’t perfect. (Jack Thorne wrote a script freighted with his usual psychologizing.) But under Matthew Warchus’ direction, that version emphasized community, how we might all join together — actors, audience members, even the people in the cheap seats — to furnish the holiday table. The show emphasized giving and receiving, literalizing the story’s message of generosity and care.

This “Carol,” adapted by Mays, Arden and Mays’ wife, actress Susan Lyons, and live-captured for streaming two years ago, is a lonelier affair. The script hews closely to the version that Dickens himself toured, with passages of prose narration that cut the goose-fat sentimentality with keen wit and gimlet detail. The broad outlines remain familiar: On Christmas Eve, Scrooge, an ungenerous money lender, is visited by several spirits who help him to understand the boy he was, the man he became and the ways in which his miserliness may reverberate into the future. It’s a kind of spectral exposure therapy. And fast-acting, too. A lone night cures him. In place of a communal gathering, we have one man’s journey toward self-actualization. Scrooge, at last, becomes an integrated person.

Can we say the same of Mays, a man who makes multiple personalities seem like a boon rather than a disorder? He has always been a performer of incandescence and originality. His red-cheeked flame typically burns too bright for realism, although he does sometimes adapt to a slightly lower voltage, as in the fact-based political drama “Oslo.” With his wide forehead and a broad, elastic face, he is an actor of unusual precision, but there’s a vein of waywardness to him, too, a wildness only barely contained. He can sketch a character lightly, with only a half turn and a flutter of his lashes, or debauch himself in orgies of gesture and expression. Rarely can he leave the set or props alone. Cutlery, curtains, the belt of his dressing gown: He makes exuberant use of them all.




The production, conceived by Arden and Laffrey, magnifies that exuberance. Reviewing the 2020 streaming version, Jesse Green described it as “vastly effective as spooky entertainment.” And it is. But in person rather than on screen, the eerie production elements often overwhelm. It begins with a fog-shrouded coffin and then a thunderclap — an abrupt sound effect that set many in the audience laughing. It also frightened a baby that some parent had unwisely brought. (This is not that kind of “A Christmas Carol.” Leave the babies and the under-12s at home.) The baby screamed so lustily that I missed a lot of the first scene and then had to race to catch up, so swiftly did Mays move through the text, sometimes narrating, sometimes embodying.

And yet the design outpaces him. Ben Stanton’s lighting, flashy and subdued, bathes the stage in crepuscular tones. Joshua D. Reid’s sound design, some of it effective, much of it redundant, rarely ceases. Lucy Mackinnon supplies both highly original production design, like a flash of a ghostly horse, and superfluous embellishments, like a video of party guests glimpsed through a window. (The hair, wig and makeup design are by Cookie Jordan, but as with Laffrey’s costumes, they are barely visible in the murk.) Laffrey’s set is a whirling turntable. Several turntables? Beds, banquets, staircases and cemeteries swing in and out of view — Victoriana at a gallop and a risk for anyone inclined toward motion sickness.

This “Carol” is a breathless entertainment. Is breathing such a bad thing? It might have been nice to have had more respite to appreciate Mays’ closefisted Scrooge, his liberal Cratchit and sweet Fan. But even at this velocity — Mays must run miles each show — he manages to particularize each of the Cratchit children and most of the guests at the Christmas party of Fred, Scrooge’s nephew. At the curtain call, Mays appears spent, but also deeply contented. Like Scrooge, he has had his catharsis and a workout besides. He can rest merry. The rest of us can escape to the relative quiet of Times Square.



‘A Christmas Carol’

Through Jan. 1 at the Nederlander Theater, Manhattan; achristmascarollive.com. Running time: 1 hour, 35 minutes.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.










Today's News

November 24, 2022

Defying Russian missiles and Soviet censors, Ukrainian art goes on show

Edward Hopper's fantasy island

Art from antiquity to the 20th century, London and online auctions from Christie's

Kherson's museums now display shattered cases and missing treasures

Classic car show right at home in 'city that put the world on wheels'

Consignment follows stunning £ 81,250 premium-inclusive price for John Glover's Scottish Tour sketchbook

AstaGuru's auction to showcase works by Renoir, Picasso, Matisse and other visionaries of global art

Storm King Art Center appoints Kellie Honeycutt as chief operating officer

David Nolan Gallery presents "Paulo Pasta: Recent Paintings"

The Dalí Museum's first-of-its-kind experience allows visitors to transform their dreams into art

Galerie Guido W. Baudach opens a solo exhibition of works by Tamina Amadyar

New gallery location for Jack Rutberg Fine Arts in Pasadena to open November 29th

In December, Heritage raises the curtain on its most star-studded epic entertainment auction ever

Theseus Chan, Gerhard Steidl and the art space Kunsthaus Göttingen collaborate on new book

Erika Jayne's diamond earrings headline Moran's Fine Jewelry & Timepieces sale

Rare antique bottles from the S.S. Central America will be auctioned Dec. 3

In this solo 'Christmas Carol,' the night is never silent

New exhibitions in QUAD, Derby, explore Virtual Worlds

Arms & Armour from Scotland and Wales among the highlights of Thomas Del Mar's sale

Prizes from two of the world's leading horse races recall past glories as bidders gather to compete for them

Two metal-detecting discoveries belonging to 14th century ladies to be sold at Noonans

Stepping out of her family's shadow, and laying bare family history

'The Patient Gloria' review: A theatrical remedy for toxic therapy

How Art Has Impacted the Casino Industry

Artist Fred Bugs Very Critical About Art And Modern Life

Diversity is Diverse

What Makes Personalized Jewelry the Perfect Gift?

Go Sports! Personalize Your Sports Gear With a Team Logo

What are four defenses to a crime?

The 5 Must-See Architectural Marvels of Abu Dhabi

All You Need To Know About Soil And Sand

Monkey Bars Benefits and Safety Guidelines for Children

Display your craft products in wooden crates

Water Wave Wigs - Get the Best Price on This Black Friday!




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 



Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)
Editor & Publisher: Jose Villarreal
Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez
Writer: Ofelia Zurbia Betancourt

Attorneys
Truck Accident Attorneys
Accident Attorneys
Holistic Dentist
Abogado de accidentes

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org juncodelavega.com facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
to a Mexican poet.
Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site Parroquia Natividad del Señor
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful