Sunday, December 05, 1999
Playhouse possessed by 'Christmas Carol' spirit
BY JACKIE DEMALINE
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Now in its ninth edition, A Christmas Carol continues to enchant at Playhouse in the Park. Thank-yous go to Charles Dickens, who wrote the perfect holiday entertainment, and in no lesser part, to the Playhouse team who translates it to the stage with magic and heart intact.
Miserly and miserable Ebenezer Scrooge (Joneal Joplin) is visited one bleak Christmas Eve by his dead partner Jacob Marley (Greg Procaccino) and a trio of Christmas ghosts.
As they escort Ebenezer back to his lonely childhood, his lost love and the homes of his heroic clerk Bob Cratchit (Bruce Cromer) and likable nephew Fred (Daniel Travis) it is two fast hours of comfort and joy and rip-roaring Christmas adventure.
It's a time for old friends, like Mr. Joplin and Mr. Cromer, whose performances light the show like a Christmas tree. A most welcome back, too, to Mr. Procaccino, Dale Hodges, Mark Mocahbee, Raye Lankford and J. Patrick Naylor, in his third go-round as Tiny Tim.
Ms. Lankford's dashing jacket has brighter lights than ever this year, part of what seems to be a general spiffing up for the production. She looks like she's wearing a galaxy of stars as the Ghost of Christmas Past.
It's also a time for new friends, including Mark Mineart as jolly Mr. Fezziwig and Christmas Present and Jordan Matter as a younger Scrooge in a pair of most effective performances.
Hats off to director Michael Haney and the technical team who make creaks, groans and clanks, fog and fairy lights, a fast-moving set and actors and props that zip through trap doors into entertainment that embeds itself in your heart.
There's more than a dollop of moral lessons served up with the comedy and thrills of Carol. Together they make a theatrical feast.
Mr. Dickens' point in Carol is that generosity, compassion and good will toward our fellows should be celebrated year-round, not just for a few brief weeks of winter. If only he'd written a show for July.
A Christmas Carol, Playhouse in the Park Marx Theatre, through Dec. 30. Note: Evening curtain time is 7 p.m., an hour earlier than usual. 421-3888.
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