The Christmas Carol is a Rhode Island holiday tradition that I have finally had a chance to experience in person. I'd heard about it for years -- "You can't start Christmas without going to the Trinity Rep first"... "Scrooge will get you in the spirit!" So when I had the opportunity this year to attend the opening night of Trinity's Christmas Carol, I jumped at the chance.

This year (and it changes every year), the play starts intense -- almost broadway-like, with kettle drums and the entire chorus of characters singing about the greediness and miserliness of Scrooge and Marley, while old Ebenizeer and his partner shake down the poor of London for their loan payments on Christmas Eve. It's a scene that Dickens hadn't included in the original, but it does start off the play with a bang, with Marley dying of heart failure and falling into the floor-mounted safe of Scrooge's countinghouse. Maybe it's a little too intense for young children, but it worked well for me.

Then the play switches suddenly into comical mode. Sad, unfortunate Scrooge wants only to be left alone to do his work, while his underling Cratchet is complaining about the cold, the Victorian equivalent of telemarketers keep coming to his door to request money, neighborhood children come to pester him with their singing, and even his nephew pops in to try dragging him off to some nonsensical family gathering. Even though I enjoy Christmas, I felt sorry for Scrooge, not as a wretch who couldn't enjoy life, but as someone with a lot of work and too many disruptions.

When he finally gets home, it's time for the ghosts to appear. The entry and exits of the various spirits are creatively done, making good use of the Trinity's theater-in-the-round design, appearing objects and people from the "flys" overhead and "traps" below. The costumes add sparkle, where sparkle is called for, and drearyness where that is needed.

One of the intersting things in the mechanical aspects of the play is that the scene transitions happen very smoothly, making use of what I call "stage ninjas". Ordnarily these people do their work invisibly, but in this play they are highly visible, functioning as extentions of the ghosts's presence. The Ghost of Christmas Past, for instance, is accompanied by a cadre of umbrella wielding sub-spirits who share her sparkle and playfulness.

We all know the story, and the dialog stays very close to the original text. The settings change a little, and the casting differs, delivering us female spirits of Christmas for instance, but beyond the original addition, a Dickens purist would have little to complain about. In a couple places, the cast address the audience directly, and toward the end, they engage the audience in a sing-along, but this is a play to get us in the spirit of Christmas.

And after seeing The Christmas Carol, I was ready for Christmas to begin.

Trinity Rep celebrates the magic and wonder of the holiday season with their 28th annual production of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol Nov 13th-Dec 26th. New England’s grandest holiday tradition, A Christmas Carol, continues under the direction of Mark Sutch. Tickets are available by calling 401-351-4242 or online at www.trinityrep.com. There will be two complete casts of A Christmas Carol again this season to meet audience demand for the show.

A beloved holiday classic, this production of A Christmas Carol is a delight for everyone from the young to the young at heart. Ring in the holiday season with the magic and intrigue of this year’s re-imagined production. This year’s two casts feature Trinity Rep favorites Stephen Berenson and Cynthia Strickland in the classic role of Scrooge. The production will also feature a cast of twenty local child actors, many familiar faces from the Trinity resident company and many past Brown/Trinity Consortium alumni and emerging student actors.

This year’s production is set in the stoic and powerful world of the monumental bank that Scrooge character oversees. Adding to the mythical scope of this year’s version of the play is that each of the Ghosts (Jacob Marley and the Christmases Past, Present and Future) are characterized by the natural elements of earth, air, water, and fire. Literally invading this staid, realistic world of the bank, the Ghosts appear magically to Scrooge – emerging from out of his safe, appearing suddenly within his chandelier.

“We want it to seem like the universe, and even nature itself is conspiring to help Scrooge change his life.” explains director Mark Sutch. “I think A Christmas Carol is a wonderful story about the choices we make in our lives - and that is one of the reasons we do it every year. It truly is about setting the right priorities….Are we, like Scrooge, so wrapped up in money and work that it blinds us to having fun or taking part in the world? It is important to remind ourselves that there is always hope and this story shows us that there are options left. You can always start over."

The cast includes Trinity Rep resident company Stephen Berenson and Cynthia Strickland portraying the miser Ebenezer Scrooge, along with fellow company actors Nehassaiu deGannes ( Proof, Merry Wives of Windsor); Janice Duclos ( Moon for the Misbegotten, Merry Wives of Windsor); Dan Welch (A Christmas Carol, Merry Wives of Windsor) and Phyllis Kay (Merry Wives of Windsor.) The two rotating casts also include Tanya Anderson (Cider House Rules), Diego Arciniegas, Algernon D'Ammassa (My Fair Lady), Richard Donelly, Sarah Martini (Wit), Susanne Nitter, Mark Peckham (West Side Story), Robert Saoud, musicians Kevin Fallon, Steve Jobe, Rachel Maloney and Chris Turner and Brown/Trinity Rep consortium students Jessie Austrian, Justin Blanchard, Louis Changchien, Paul Coffey, Jess Crandall, Nina Daniels, Rick Dildine, Beth Hallaren, Jordan Kaplan, Myxy Tyler, Brian Wallace, and Ian White. Mark Sutch is the Artistic Associate at Trinity Rep, having directed the 2003 production of A Christmas Carol and served as the associate director for the 2001 production. He is the producer of the Trinity Summer Shakespeare Project, for which he has directed Macbeth, The Comedy of Errors, and The Two Gentlemen of Verona, and has appeared in Romeo and Juliet, Twelfth Night, Julius Ceasar, and The Taming of the Shrew. Mr. Sutch received his MFA in directing from Trinity Rep Conservatory in 2000, where he directed productions of Below the Belt, The Crucible, The Trestle at Pope Lick Creek, and The Changeling, as well as the world premiere workshop production of Mac Wellman's 2 September. As an actor, he appeared as Michael Darling in Trinity Rep's production of Peter Pan. He has taught at Rhode Island College and the University of Rhode Island.

Redesigned each year in the spirit of the season, this year’s production features a lively collaboration between director Mark Sutch and Trinity Rep designers: Beowulf Boritt (set), John Ambrosone (lights), Peter Sasha Hurowitz (sound) and William Lane (costumes).

Sponsoring this year’s production of A Christmas Carol are CollegeBoundfund, Sharp and Lite Rock 105. "CollegeBoundfund is proud to sponsor Trinity Repertory's A Christmas Carol, certainly one of Rhode Island's greatest longstanding traditions," said RI General Treasurer Paul J. Tavares. "The joy Scrooge finds in bringing good fortune to young Tiny Tim in the memorable last scene of this play is remarkably similar to how all of us at CollegeBoundfund feel when we help a child achieve their dreams." Trinity Rep’s 2004-2005 season is sponsored by NBC 10, Cardi’s Furniture, The Gatehouse Restaurant and Catering Company, Kestral, Rhode Island Monthly, RIPTA, and Rhode Island State Council on the Arts.

Trinity Rep’s 41st season continues with Topdog/Underdog by Suzan-Lori Parks; The Moliere Impromptu, conceived by Christopher Bayes, adapted and translated by Rinne Groff; You Never Know a new musical by Charles Strouse; and Drew Hayden Taylor’s The Buz’Gem Blues For more information, call the box office at (401) 351-4242 or visit Trinity Rep’s website at www.trinityrep.com.

Director Mark Sutch
Musical Director Amanda Dehnert
Asst. Director Laura Kepley
Asst. Musical Director Tim Robertson
Set Beowulf Boritt
Lights John Ambrosone
Sound Peter Sasha Hurowitz
Costumes William Lane
Choreography Stephen Buescher

Cast Tanya Anderson, Diego Arciniegas, Jessie Austrian, Stephen Berenson, Justin Blanchard, Louis Changchien, Paul Coffey, Jessica Crandall, Algernon D’Ammassa, Nina Daniels, Nehassaiu deGannes, Rick Dildine, Richard Donelly, Janice Duclos, Beth Hallaren, Jordan Kaplan, Phyllis Kay, Sarah Martini, Susanne Nitter, Mark Peckham, Robert Saoud, Cynthia Strickland, Myxy Tyler, Brian Wallace, Dan Welch, Ian White. Musicians Kevin Fallon, Steve Job, Rachel Maloney, Chris Turner,

Kids Austin Adams (No. Kingstown), Christopher Brady, Melanie Chitwood (Barrington), Ryan Collins (Providence), Amy Esposito (Providence), Mark Euell (Providence), Jack Eustis (Providence), Luis Falcon (Providence), Nathaniel Fisher (Providence), Matthew Grady (East Greeenwich), Amber Johnson (Providence), Bryce Johnson (Cranston), Rachel Kelly (Providence), Maggie Matnick (Providence), Caitlin McCarthy (Warwick) , Thomas Pfanstiehl (Providence), Robert Robertson (Barrington), Demetria Rowan (Wakefield), Aaron Seltzer (Cranston), Chantel Venkataraman (North Smithfield)

Ticket prices $28 - $50

Trintiy Rep is located at 201 Washington Street, Providence, RI 02903 (401) 351-4242

About the author, Paul Pence: Not a life-long Rhode Islander, Paul got to Rhode Island as fast as he could. He has 25 years of writing experience and numerous publication credits including the Providence Journal, the East Greenwich Magazine, Weissmann Travel Reports, Travel Lady Magazine, Jackhammer, Your Skin and Sun, TravelNotes, TexWoman, and many others.

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