There’s something you don’t know about Dickens’ classic holiday story, “A Christmas Carol.”
Everyone thinks they know the 1843 novella, of course, because they’ve seen the Muppets version or the Jim Carrey version or the old Albert Finney version or the new Will Ferrell version – which is told from the perspective of the ghosts.
But you see, the Muppets lied to us. Bugs Bunny, Scrooge McDuck and Bill Murray all did, too. Whether you have seen “A Christmas Carol” in any of those film adaptations or on stage, you have almost certainly been misled. Because the standing template for “A Christmas Carol” over the years has been to show its central anti-hero, Ebenezer Scrooge, as a tough-to-crack miser unwilling to change his ways. Scrooge, we’re told, needs to be subjected to increasingly bleak truths – even venturing into gothic horror territory in some adaptations — to break through to his better nature.
The real truth is this: Scrooge was a bit of a pushover. In the original Dickens story, he’s already scared straight just from seeing Marley’s ghost. Even before the three Christmas spirits arrive, he’s fully rejected his trademark “humbug” phrase. By the appearance of the first of them, the Ghost of Christmas Past, Scrooge is already expressing regret for his past acts; specifically, not giving anything to the boy who tried to sing him a Christmas carol. (If you always wondered where the story gets its name, this is probably it.) And that’s barely a quarter of the way in!
But Mike Ryan, the former Santa Cruz Shakespeare artistic director and audience-favorite actor who has stepped into the Scrooge role for the company’s new production of “A Christmas Carol,” thinks it’s not so much an issue of repairing the character’s villainous reputation as it is creating a fuller – and perhaps more empathetic – view of him.
Former Santa Cruz Shakespeare Artistic Director Mike Ryan commands the spotlight as Ebenezer Scrooge. (Shmuel Thaler – Santa Cruz Sentinel)
“It’s thinking about Scrooge in a slightly different way, as far as just how close to the surface the pain from his past is, which has been a really interesting thing,” said Ryan. “That his anti-Christmas misanthropy isn’t one that has come from a stone-cold place; it’s a tightly wound covering of old wounds. And its unraveling comes fairly quickly (in the original story).”
But he understands why so many generations of Scrooges on stage and in film have held on for longer before letting him have his redemption arc – and ironically, it’s more for our benefit as audience members than theirs.
“I think one of the things we love about the story is that we get some delight in seeing someone be so unapologetically mean. There’s something that’s titillating about that, because it’s not something we’re allowed to do,” said Ryan. “There’s a certain amount of joy in watching Scrooge be Scrooge.”
Finding the balance between humbug and hallelujah might just be the trickiest part of playing Scrooge.
“The biggest challenge for me is how to tell the story of the unraveling of his misery in a way that isn’t too fast, so that we don’t feel like the play is over before it’s begun, and to show the degrees of that unraveling,” said Ryan.
The cast of Santa Cruz Shakespeare’s “A Christmas Carol” during a recent dress rehearsal. From left Sigrid Breidenthal, Charlotte Munson, Andrea Sweeney Blanco, Mike Ryan, Lincoln Best and Robert Zelaya. Breidenthal and Best alternate with Aria Atkinson and Joseph Pratt Lukefahr in the role of Belinda Cratchit, and Tiny Tim. (Shmuel Thaler – Santa Cruz Sentinel)
The new SCS production features an adaptation by artistic director Charles Pasternak that is also based on finding balance – in this case, between the charms of Dickens’ original language and the fact that it was not written for the stage.
“The narrator in the novella is so wonderful, and it’s clearly Dickens, right? It’s clearly Dickens enjoying himself. He went on world tours reading this thing,” said Pasternak. “So when I approached it, I said, ‘Why would I get in the way of Dickens?’ I mean, it’s often my approach to Shakespeare – ‘Why would I get in the way of Shakespeare here?’ The key was how do I use Dickens language without putting in a sort of Dickens ‘narrator’ character, where the action of the play gets bogged down in one long narration?”
Pasternak’s rather ingenuous solution was to use just five actors, with Ryan playing Scrooge, and the other actors playing not just the rest of the characters but also a series of “voices” that speak some of Dickens’ best lines that didn’t easily fit into dialogue. It’s a bit like a Greek chorus, calling to mind not only the roots of Western theater but also its lineage – a clever way of connecting “A Christmas Carol” to the company’s namesake.
Santa Cruz actress Julie James — who is best-known for running the Jewel Theater but has also performed with SCS and its previous iteration, Santa Cruz Shakespeare — plays Jacob Marley, one of the narrative voices, and other roles in the production. Jewel, which ended its 20-year run in May but still exists as a nonprofit, was for many years the only local theater company producing plays year-round, and James knows the importance of holiday productions.
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“Families look forward to bringing their children, their relatives,” said James. “They want something that is a meaningful and ultimately joyous experience during the holidays.”
Pasternak, who is guiding SCS into new territory with its first holiday production, believes this fresh approach to “A Christmas Carol” — and its classic protagonist – is a great way to start.
“If we tell the story right, I think the audience will be much more moved by the journey than just by the end. I mean, I think the end is very moving, but we have to earn it, right?” said Pasternak. “I think it’s a more complex story than our cultural stereotype gives it credit for.”
Santa Cruz Shakespeare’s “A Christmas Carol” runs through Dec. 26 at the Veterans Memorial Building, 846 Front Street, Santa Cruz. Tickets at santacruzshakespeare.org.
Andrea Sweeney Blanco appears as the Ghost of Christmas Past during a dress rehearsal of “A Christmas Carol” at the Santa Cruz Veterans Memorial Building. (Shmuel Thaler – Santa Cruz Sentinel)
Iconic Santa Cruz thespian Mike Ryan, second from right, is surrounded by actors Lincoln Best, Sigrid Breidenthal, Robert Zelaya and Julie James as he portrays Ebenezer Scrooge during a recent dress rehearsal of Santa Cruz Shakespeare’s staging of “A Christmas Carol”. The family-friendly play, with a world-premiere adaptation by the company’s local artistic director Charles Pasternak, runs through Dec. 24 on the stage at the Santa Cruz Veterans Memorial Building in downtown Santa Cruz. (Shmuel Thaler – Santa Cruz Sentinel)
Lincoln Best makes an entrance during dress rehearsal of Santa Cruz Shakespeare’s “A Christmas Carol”. The play is being presented at the Santa Cruz Veteran’s Memorial Building through Dec. 24. (Shmuel Thaler – Santa Cruz Sentinel)
Andrea Sweeney Blanco appears as the Ghost of Christmas Past during a dress rehearsal of “A Christmas Carol” at the Santa Cruz Veterans Memorial Building. (Shmuel Thaler – Santa Cruz Sentinel)
Andrea Sweeney Blanco and Julie James tread the boards during rehearsal of Santa Cruz Shakespeare’s “A Christmas Carol”. (Shmuel Thaler – Santa Cruz Sentinel)
Julie James, left, appears in multiple roles and Mike Ryan, top, appears as Ebenezer Scrooge in Santa Cruz Shakespeare’s “A Christmas Carol”. (Shmuel Thaler – Santa Cruz Sentinel)
