Those of us who make a holiday tradition of seeing A Christmas Carol at the Goodman Theatre tend to focus on three main aspects of the show:
- Favorite bits of business, often funny ones that have us chuckling in anticipation, such as the delightful sequence when the Ghost of Christmas Past (a stern Lucky Stiff) teaches Scrooge how to fly and he quickly transitions from petrified to puckish;
- New additions to the show, which this year include apocalyptic crows heightening the terror of the Ghost of Christmas Future (Daniel José Molina, who also does an excellent job as Young Scrooge); and
- The founder of this sumptuous theatrical feast, Larry Yando, who has spent 16 seasons perfecting his now transcendent inhabitation of Ebenezer.
In fact, Yando is responsible for most people’s favorite bits of business (his reaction to a revelation at his niece’s Christmas party is mine). But It’s the new additions that provide the big uplift this year–particularly the casting of Robert Schleifer as the gregarious and beloved Mr. Fezziwig, to whom young Scrooge is apprenticed. Schleifer’s Fezziwig radiates good cheer as he makes those in his circle feel special and loved.
Director Jessica Thebus deftly incorporates the fact that Schleifer is deaf to enhance the sense of community felt in the loan shop’s early days. During the big party scene, we see that Fezziwig’s employees, friends and family members regard him so highly that they have learned sign language to engage him in merry conversation. Watching these characters warmly speak to Fezziwig both vocally and with their hands underscores just how tight-knit this group of revelers is. It’s truly lovely, as is seeing the cast perform its traditional curtain-call rendition of “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” while signing the lyrics with a bold and jaunty delivery of the cupped-C sign for “Christmas.”
This is the Goodman’s most sure-footed, energized production of A Christmas Carol in years, which is really saying something for a show that sets the standard of excellence for holiday theater in Chicago.
(Disclosure: My wife is a member of the Goodman’s leadership team.)
A Christmas Carol runs through December 31 at the Goodman Theatre.
For a full roundup of reviews of this show, visit Theatre in Chicago.
Photo by Liz Lauren
