| IF YOU GO |
| “A Broadway Christmas Carol” |
| Where: MetroStage, 1201 N. Royal St., Alexandria |
| When: 8 p.m. Thursday-Friday; 3 and 8 p.m. Saturday; 3 and 7 p.m. Sunday; through Dec. 19. No performance on Nov. 25. Added performance Nov. 24. |
| Info: 800-494-8497; metrostage.org |
In order to ease the theatre-going public into the holidays, MetroStage is celebrating with a light-hearted production, “A Broadway Christmas Carol.” Created by Kathy Feininger, the show is a musical spoof of Charles Dickens’ classic Christmas tale, but with a clever twist: the songs that narrate this “Christmas Carol” are parodies of original Broadway tunes.SClB
The first song of the show, for instance, is from “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum”: “Comedy Tonight” is transformed into “A Broadway Christmas Carol Tonight.” Then “Hey Big Spender” from “Sweet Charity” becomes “Big Spender (Spend a Little Dime on the Poor.)” and “This Was a Real Nice Clambake” from “Carousel” becomes “This was a Real Nice Pudding.”
SClB”A Broadway Christmas Carol” retells the Dickens story with the help of only three actors and one pianist, all of them extremely talented performers. Peter Boyer plays Ebenezer Scrooge, the perfect embodiment of the stingy old crank at the beginning of the show. Boyer is a talented, agile dancer as well as a powerful singer and his crisp performance is essential to the success of “Christmas Carol.”
Matthew A. Anderson plays The Man Who Isn’t Scrooge and a variety of other characters, including The Ghost of Christmas Past, Bob Cratchit and Tiny Tim. One of his most hilarious numbers is “Try to Remember” from “The Fantasticks.” Anderson appears to Ebenezer Scrooge as the Ghost of Christmas Past, a wreath around his forehead, trying to get Scrooge to view the past in order to understand the present. Like Boyer, Anderson is an excellent dancer and is particularly delightful in all his comic roles.
SClBThe third actor of the group is Donna Migliaccio, whose abilities as singer, dancer and comedienne are unparalleled. Playing The Woman Who Isn’t Scrooge, Migliaccio is superb — as Mrs. Cratchit, Belle, and even Jacob Marley, among other roles. One of her funniest appearances is as a reincarnated Mae West, dressed in pink-satin and wearing a platinum wig. Another is as The Ghost of Christmas Present, where she sings “Touch Me” from “Cats” while dressed as a huge Christmas present.
SClB”A Broadway Christmas Carol” could not exist without the presence of the music director and pianist, Aaron Broderick. Although he is there primarily to accompany the three singers, Broderick actively participates in the action at one point, where he wears a black satin hood and white half mask. He has a chance to sing while Anderson, holding a chandelier, and Migliaccio in a red mask belt out “The Phantom of Christmases Yet to Come.”
SClBAs the show reproduces Sondheim’s difficult harmonies and Rodger’s and Hammerstein’s lilting “Do-Re-Mi,” as it tumbles from “Chicago” to “Gypsy” and “Singing in the Rain,” Scrooge begins to alter and eventually admits he has changed. He sings “Miserly,” based on “Wouldn’t it be Loverly” from “My Fair Lady.” And so Dickens’ story ends.
SClBAllison Campbell’s colorful set uses two doors on either side of a stage within a stage, providing many places for actors to enter and leave. Janine Gulisano’s costumes include seemingly inexhaustible changes of Victorian dress and wigs.
SClBDirector Larry Kaye and choreographer Nancy Harry keep the movement of “A Broadway Christmas Carol” percolating, ensuring that endless entrances and exits flow smoothly.
SClBThe show is extremely enjoyable whether you’ve seen the original Broadway productions or not. And there’s an intriguing side benefit to “A Broadway Christmas Carol,” if laughter isn’t enough for you: you’ll appreciate how marvelous the great Broadway music of the past and present is — even when it’s heard without the usual lyrics.
