Thursday, December 13, 2012
Outstanding performances, exquisite set design and unexpected twists and turns breathe new life into an old favorite.
A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens’ Christmas tale of Ebenezer Scrooge’s miserly life and ultimate redemption, opened at McCarter Theatre on Friday and will run through Dec. 28. The audience’s standing ovation on opening night was a testament to a performance that breathes new life into all too familiar characters. It can be difficult to perform the same show year after year, especially a story so familiar that most need not buy tickets to know its characters and message. Under the direction of Michael Unger, McCarter’s cast of 40 actors, dancers and singers manages to avoid the trap of redundancy or boredom. Broadway veteran Graeme Malcolm leads the cast as Scrooge, an actor who brings as much humor and vulnerability to the role as he …
Saturday, December 8, 2012
Playhouse 22 will perform "A Christmas Carol" beginning Friday, Dec. 5 and running through Sunday, Dec. 16.
It’s become a holiday tradition around the country, and for the 16th year in a row, Middlesex County is a part of it. Playhouse 22’s production of the Charles Dickens’ classic, “A Christmas Carol,” opens Friday, Dec. 7, and will run through Sunday, Dec. 16. The production once again brings the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, the Cratchits, and the Christmas ghosts to life in a stage play originally adapted by Tony Adase, who returns as the director. “Ever since I was a kid listening to it on the radio it has stayed with me,” he said this week minutes before a dress rehearsal. "We made this a serious drama, like it should have been. Like the book.” Just in case you’ve never hard of it, or know it by another name (perhaps simply as “Scrooge”), “A…
Friday, December 9, 2011
Playouse 22 is ready to perform "A Christmas Carol" at the Cultural Arts Center this holiday season.
Christmas is, above all, a time to indulge in time-honored tradition. And Playhouse 22, East Brunswick’s community theater and performing arts group, offers just the thing for those looking to fire up some traditional Christmas spirit. On Friday, Dec. 9, the theater’s annual production of “A Christmas Carol” opens for a limited two-weekend run at the township Cultural Arts Center. It marks the 15th time the theater has mounted a December production of the Charles Dickens classic. Key to any tradition is consistency, which Playhouse 22’s “A Christmas Carol” boasts in spades. Director Tony Adase has been the man behind each of Playhouse 22’s productions of the show. “Tony’s been the director from the beginning,” said Angela Dohl, the show’s …
