By Neal Newman.
November 27, 2022
The actors ask the audience: “Who here has read or seen Dicken’s CHRISTMAS CAROL?” The entire audience raises its hand. And why not? Hedgerow, and just about every other local theater, has continually performed this holiday favorite. You can see scenes from the traditional Hedgerow version on YouTube. So, this year when times are tight, the company is presenting a two-character COMEDY version in its American premiere. The playwright, Katie Leamen, has cut the story to 70 minutes and added as many visual and verbal gags as the timeframe will allow. There are, of course, the expected anachronistic jokes such as Facebook, selfie, and Jack Nicholson, but in service to the audience, your faithful correspondent will not reveal many of them.
It is done with a simple, brightly colored set by Sarah Stryker, with many surprises hidden therein. The lighting by Lily Fossner is filled with unexpected pops and flashes, and the sound score by Sammy Hurley is amazing. Hurley, assisted no doubt by the author and director Pete Pryor, is filled with music from a male chorus singing THE NUTCRACKER in the beginning to a final traditional brass ensemble, with DIE VALKYRIE and Elton John in between. With assistance from Lynne Griffin from the original Canadian production, Elizabeth Hanson’s costumes are simple but make ample use of distinctive hats, scarves, and wigs. There are, after all, only two performers.
They are Benjamin Brown as Scrooge and Christopher Patrick Mullen as Everybody Else. Brown does as well as he can with the bare bones of the character that are left and does a decent transformation from miser to benefactor. The actual star performance naturally goes to Everybody Else, who not only reappears as somebody else every few seconds but often portrays several different characters simultaneously. Fortunately, Mullen has arms and legs made of elastic and delivers delightful physical and vocal characterizations for each one. He is also an excellent mimic and gleefully impersonates stars like Carol Channing and Jack Nicholson. Pete Pryor, a local acting-directing tyro, directs with a strong, sure hand. He is wildly inventive in using all parts of the famed grist mill theater. At one point, a freezing Bob Cratchit points to the mill’s second-floor fireplace and comments, “Shouldn’t that be here on the stage rather than up there.”
You’ll laugh at Leamen’s clever script, and you will leave the theater humming, “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.”
A CHRISTMAS CAROL COMEDY runs through December 24, 2022, at Hedgerow Theatre, 64 Rose Valley Road, Media, PA. For tickets: hedgerowtheatre.org or 610-565-4211.
Running Time: 70 minutes with no intermission.