Twas six nights before
Christmas and the Jacksonville’s
Times-Union Center had “A Christmas Carol” that
came to town on Monday December 19, 2016. If you didn’t get a chance to see it in 2014,
then you wouldn’t be able to compare it to the spectacular show that was in
town this time. Kudo’s go out to Shonda
Thurman who played a beautiful-black Christmas Past (photo not available), Bob
Cratchit portrayed by Dan Chevalier, Ryan Schisler took on the role of Christmas
Present, and a magnificent performance of Scrooge given by the wonderful
sounding Andy Harvey.
This celebrated Charles Jones’ adaptation of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol was rich with live ensemble
music, alive with color and movement, and was created to tell this great and
enduring tale in a manner that people of all ages enjoyed. Woven throughout this classic tale are
beautiful new arrangements and moving renditions of holiday songs such as “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,” “Wassail
Wassail,” “Good Christian Men Rejoice,” “Away in a Manger,” “Greensleeves,” “The
Boar’s Head Carol,” and many more. Featuring
a cast of 23 performers, an orchestra, and Broadway-style scenery and costumes were
stunning; the audience enjoyed everything that this holiday-classic group presented.
The Nebraska Theatre Caravan, the professional touring wing of the Omaha
Community Playhouse, has been touring Charles Jones’ delightful adaptation of A Christmas Carol since 1979. The Caravan’s Carol is probably the most widely produced production of Dickens’
in the nation, annually performing for more than 100,000 people in more than 60
cities across the country. One of the
many reasons for the success of the Caravan’s production
of A Christmas Carol is this unique re-telling of the
oft-told tale. It is enormously enhanced by the beautiful sets of James
Othuse, which recreates 1886 London, and gives the entire production the effect
of being a Christmas card that comes to life.
When Charles Dickens wrote his “ghostly little tale” in 1843, he couldn’t have known
that A Christmas Carol was
destined to become one of the most beloved holiday classics of all time. The heartwarming tale of A Christmas Carol depicts
Ebenezer Scrooge, whose values are focused exclusively on profit and his
conflicts with the struggling Cratchit family, whose tragic problems typified
the working class during the Industrial Revolution in Victorian England. The touching climax is based on Dickens'
belief that the ills of a greedy world can be healed by brotherhood and
unselfishness. A Christmas Carol remains one of the most powerful and
vivid illustrations of the necessity of good will in human conduct.
There are a few more productions in 2016, that you might be able to
see this year, if not, make plans to attend next Christmas.
