'Tis the Season

Portland needs a classic Carol.

Portland Playhouse is fully steeped in the season's spirit, transporting you to Victorian England when you step inside the converted church. Child actors, barmen and box-office staff all put on British accents to match their waistcoats and petticoats for Rick Lombardo's adaptations of Charles Dickens' holiday classic.

photo by Brud Giles photo by Brud Giles

Reprising its popular production of parables and the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future, Playhouse's Carol avoids doldrums by making the play an experience.

Of course, the story of A Christmas Carol is old hat. But the Playhouse differentiates itself by maximizing all areas of the theater. The curmudgeonly Ebenezer Scrooge still refuses to indulge in any holiday spirit, until one Christmas Eve, the Christmas ghosts show him what his life was and could become. As Scrooge transforms into a generous, lovable gentleman, though, Playhouse adds creative lighting tricks, like making the shadow of Drew Harper's Scrooge into the Ghost of Christmas Future. Each of the 13 performers also take up an instrument—there's piano, organ, at least two guitars, ukulele, floor tom drum, sleigh bells and a tambourine—in under 90 minutes.

photo by Brud Giles photo by Brud Giles

It's impossible not to feel your heart grow a few sizes as 6-year-old Serelle Simone Strickland sings Tiny Tim's solo, and remembers almost every word. This short and sweet—emphasis on sweet—vision of Christmases past is a rare offering in Portland's artistically inclined theater community. God bless the Playhouse for it.

see it. A Christmas Carol is at Portland Playhouse, 602 NE Prescott St., 488-5822. 7 pm Wednesday-Saturday and 2 pm and 5 pm Sunday, extra show 7 pm Tuesday, Dec. 15. Through Dec. 24. $20-$36.

photo by Brud Giles photo by Brud Giles

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