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By BOB NOCEK; Times Leader Staff Writer
Wednesday, December 10, 1997 Page:
BLOOMSBURG- Ebenezer Scrooge as comic relief? As a man with feeling?
Isn’t he supposed to be a cold, heartless villain whose redemption is no
less than miraculous?
Not in Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble’s “A Christmas Carol,” in which Jim
Goode has created a three-dimensional Scrooge far removed from the icy
caricature of Dickens’ miser.
His animated Ebenezer is the highlight of BTE’s joyous “A Christmas Carol,”
which opened Thursday at the Alvina Krause Theatre.
Lavishly directed by Jerry Stropnicky, “A Christmas Carol” is a truly warm
serving of a story that could easily be cold and stale.
Few theater companies would dare present the same work 12 times in 20
years, for the danger of tedium is simply too great. Particularly in the case
of “A Christmas Carol,” which has been done in countless variations.
And yet this production is livelier than any BTE work in recent memory,
with a spirit to rival many of those others that visit old Ebenezer on
Christmas Eve.
A cast of 24 fills more than 70 characters, giving this BTE “Christmas
Carol” an epic feel that complements the story instead of overwhelming it.
Reliable performances abound, particularly from Sharon Pabst as Mrs.
Cratchit and Nina Winter as Mrs. Fezziwig. Peter Brown, as Fezziwig, stands
out for his usual quota of silly fun. He leads a comical “Night Before
Christmas” that exorcises any bit of stuffiness from this classic story.
As for Scrooge, his encounters with the ghosts of Christmas past, present
and future follow the standard form, as Stropnicky has adapted the BTE
production from the complete Dickens work.
But the series of flashbacks, most notably when Scrooge revisits his
childhood, are made real by Scrooge’s reactions. Seeing himself as a
schoolboy, he is excited. He is shocked by his nephew’s opinion of him.
Even alone in his own bedroom, he shudders in fear as he awaits the spirits
that Marley’s ghost has forewarned. It’s these moments, when Scrooge is by
himself, that Goode finds opportunities for lightheartedness.
These are human feelings from a character often portrayed as inhuman.
Oh, this Scrooge has his cranky side, shooing carolers from his doorstep
and berating Bob Cratchit.
But there’s a heart beating underneath all that ice, a vulnerability that
completes the portrait.
His redemption is not so much miracle as evolution.
And that makes this Ebenezer Scrooge one worth caring about.
“A Christmas Carol,” performed by Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble at the Alvina
Krause Theatre. Through Dec. 21. Thursdays, 7 p.m.; Fridays, 8 p.m.;
Saturdays, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.; and Sunday, 3 p.m. Tickets $19-8. (800)
282-0283.