Campbellsville: Not Your Mamma's Christmas Carol
The Production
A Christmas Carol (straight play)
Based on the novel by Charles Dickens
Adapted by Ray Hollenbach, Sarah Durham, Andrew Ward, and Kelli Stanfield
Presented by Town Hall Productions and Campbellsville University
Not Your Mamma's Christmas Carol
Town Hall Productions and Campbellsville University have joined forces to bring us an updated version of the classic tale by Charles Dickens. In this modern adaptation, we find a straight-laced and temperamental female Scrooge (Sarah Durham) sitting in her office at her laptop computer. The revamped dialogue works well to tell the story, without being pretentiously modern. I especially enjoyed the nod to "Miracle on 34th Street" towards the end of the play, and the use of the television in the office scenes. Although set in modern times with updated text, the audience can expect the timeless message of Christmas goodwill and charity to shine through and win the day.
God Bless Us, Everyone!
The show opens with Marley- also a female character in this version- functioning in a narrative role. Kelli Stanfield as Marley has a strong stage presence and is vocally interesting. She is comedic and dramatic as the storyteller and as a participant in the tale. Also among the strongest players are the Cratchit Family members. Andrew Ward as Bob Cratchit is a natural physical actor with a good sense of pacing between well-timed lines and silence. The entire Cratchit family is lovely and engaging. Full of lighthearted Christmas Joy and family love, they entertain each other and their audience alike. Hannah Hansford as Tiny Tim is absolutely lovable; she will capture your heart. No wonder Tiny Tim is the darling of the family!
Bah! Humbug!
The use of space in this presentation leaves room for improvement. In general, the blocking is kept too tight with little use of movement and levels. I would have preferred more variety in the usage of the set as well. The entire first act takes place in front of a closed curtain, and the second act is almost entirely tucked in upstage. If the location of Scrooge's bedroom had been switched with one of the upstage rooms, this would have given the audience more to look at, while giving the cast a chance to work the art of open vs closed curtain blocking within both acts.
Challenges
With every dramatic undertaking comes its own set of challenges. According to Director Ray Hollenbach, also one of the script collaborators, "The greatest challenge came in preproduction: choosing what elements to update but also trying to make sure that we retained the classic elements that people would expect from A Christmas Carol." In my opinion, the modernized script is a success. Head on over to the Russ Mobley Theater and see what you think!
See the Show
A Christmas Carol runs Dec. 3-4, 8-11 at the Russ Mobley Theatre on Campbellsville University's campus. For tickets, call 270-789-5266 or go to Campbellsville.edu/theater
Photo Credit
Renee R Dobson
