Starting the Christmas onslaught

Every year in Washington, there are dozens of productions of The Nutcracker, A Christmas Carol, The Messiah, and all kinds of Christmas shows and concerts. We had our first exposure to the annual onslaught last night when Ryan and I ventured down to the Anacostia waterfront to attend a new reimagination of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol at the Arena Stage called Christmas Carol 1941. This new play, commissioned by Arena Stage, is by James Magruder with new original songs by Henry Krieger and Susan Birkenhead, and had its world premiere just last Friday.

Christmas Carol 1941 is set on Christmas Eve 1941 in Washington, D.C. Ebenezer Scrooge is now known as businessman Elijah Strube and Bob Cratchit is Henry Schroen, his typist. There's no Tiny Tim, just Schroen's son Butch, a seventeen-year-old anxious to enlist and go off to war. Partner Marley is burdened with chains made of Washington paperwork. And, instead of the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future, the visions are led by famous D.C. statues come to life: Winged Victory from the First Division Army monument near the White House, Freedom from the top of the Capitol dome, and Grief from the Adams Memorial in Rock Creek Cemetery.

The reimagination is an interesting idea, but the playwright sorely needs an editor! I know that Dickens was known for being long-winded, but his play flowed and his wordiness always contributed to the plot; Magruder's play is often pedantic with obscure American history lessons. There are many long speeches that could use focus and major pruning, and the banter between Strube and the statues just didn't do it for me. I also felt we were being mauled with pro-war patriotism and 1940s morality lessons, things that were probably common in the '40s, but they could have been less heavy-handed.

On the bright side, the ensemble cast was good and the technical achievements with sets, lights, tech, and so forth were phenomenal! The music—by the same guy who wrote Dreamgirls—isn't really that memorable, but the USO scene is sweet and the song is toe-tapping fun in the big band style.

The Arena Stage's Fichhandler Theater is a square theater-in-the-round and a surprisingly fine facility. I don't know if this is normal or if it's a set built just for this show, but the stage was a two level construction. The upper platform had two trap doors that were frequently and skillfully used for set changes. The lower level had compartments that went under the upper level for both set changes and character entrances. Characters also entered from the house aisles at each of the four corners of the square. A raisable platform on two pillars was used for Strube and the statues to "fly" over D.C. to see and watch the scenes from above.

The lighting design for this show is excellent and demanding. Occasionally, characters would be listening to a radio address from Franklin Roosevelt or Winston Churchill, and Roosevelt's or Churchill's face would be projected on the stage floor. During some of the nightmares and moments of turmoil, ledger numbers flashed on stage. Mood lighting—always a challenge in the round—and character spotting were both great.

Christmas Carol 1941 runs through New Year's Eve, so there are plenty of chances to go see it. The reimagination is different, but the show was entertaining, and Ryan loved it. And, I think that there's a good chance it could become an excellent play as the playwright tightens and trims the dialogue, tweaking it as most new works are, and it might even get some productions in the future outside of the D.C. area. It will be interesting to watch its evolution.