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Review by Erin Ryan.
An incredibly joyous night of theater. Everyone knows the story of A Christmas Carol. We have seen it a thousand times in a thousand variations—the Muppets, Mickey Mouse, or Ryan Reynolds—but you have not seen this remarkable story until you have seen it at Goodman Theatre this holiday season, directed by Jessica Thebus.
Every facet of this show was beautiful, entertaining, and exciting. The creative team pieces together all design aspects seamlessly. The set, designed by Todd Rosenthal, was gorgeous and hyper-realistic. There were many moving parts to the set, and it was very cool to see the actors orchestrate the pieces onto the stage in a way that was all enveloped into the story.
The sound design by Pornchanok Kanchanabanca ranged from subtle sounds that helped build ambience, such as wind howling when doors opened to loud ghostly sounds that quite literally made the whole audience jump in their seats. The sound design created a strong atmosphere throughout the entire production and contributed greatly to the overall tone.
The lighting throughout the show was astonishing, designed by Keith Parham. The way they were able to play with the lights allowed them to explore quite a lot of magical moments that you do not always get in live theater. This show is written in a very fantastical sense and the lights were able to bring that magic to life. One moment in particular made the entire theater gasp with amazement—it was during the visit with the ghost of Christmas Present, played by Bri Sudia, where they quite literally go out of this world and look at the present in far-off space creating the most beautiful stage picture.
This is Christopher Donahue’s first year as Ebenezer Scrooge, following in the very large footsteps of Chicago stalwart Larry Yando, and he did not disappoint. Donahue brings brilliant comedic timing to the role, exploring every corner and angle, making genius choices that made this familiar character even more lovable. His physicality was superb and an absolute joy to watch from start to finish.
This was truly an ensemble show in every way and each of the actors in the production did a fantastic job telling the story and bringing a wonderful new life to the stage. Almost every actor played a plethora of characters throughout various periods of Scrooge’s life. In particular, Tafadzwa Diener, who played the roles of Martha Cratchit/Fan/Catherine, had the most angelic singing voice and brought fresh air to each of these characters.
The perfect show for all ages! This show will make you laugh, cry, jump, sing, and everything in between! The production runs through December 30. Tickets ($25 - $159; subject to change) are available at GoodmanTheatre.org/Carol or by phone at 312.443.3800. Visit the website for performance dates when Austin Tichenor will appear as Scrooge.
This show also provides enhanced and accessible performances. ASL-Interpreted Performance: Saturday, November 23 at 7:30 and Friday, December 13 at 7:30pm – Professional ASL interpreter signs the action/text as played.
Touch Tour* and Audio-Described Performance: Saturday, December 7, 12:30pm Touch Tour; 2pm performance – The action/text is audibly enhanced for patrons via headset.
Open-Captioned Performance: Sunday, December 15 at 2pm – An LED sign presents dialogue in sync with the performance.
Spanish-Subtitled Performance: Sunday, December 15 at 7pm – An LED sign presents Spanish-translated dialogue in sync with the performance.
Sensory-Friendly Performance: Saturday, December 29 at 2pm – Sensory-friendly/relaxed performances are designed to create a performing arts experience that is intended for patrons who have autism or other social, cognitive and physical challenges that create sensory sensitivities and their families.
For more information on this and other productions, see theatreinchicago.com.