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By Venus Zarris

Growing up without many standard holiday family traditions, I generally find this season to be more nuisance than joyful. The trappings of Christmas seem to be just that; traps for either commercially manipulative gain or emotionally manipulative pain. Scroogie of me? Sure, but I am not heartless and so I can appreciate genuine holiday cheer. Even more so, I can appreciate exceptional theatrical excellence and this is just what the Goodman Theatre consistently offers with their annual precious gift of A Christmas Carol.

Director William Brown presents this classic tale with a childlike awe that transcends the familiarity to make it thrilling and new. It would be easy to play the sentimentality of Dickens’s parable with a heavy hand, sermonizing the story and beating the audience up in the process. Brown shows the frightening and fantastical magic of the story with a delicate and delightful touch. The overwhelming is there, in writing that has remained profoundly poignant and entertainingly endearing for over 160 years. The Goodman honors the story with an elegant production brimming with outstanding talent.

The great ghostly apparitions are both gorgeous and ghastly. The well-recognized characters are charming and engaging. The musical interludes and special effects are perfectly dazzling accents to this banquet of Christmas bliss.

John Judd’s inaugural performance of Ebenezer Scrooge is a powerful addition to this year’s production. Less bombastic that previous Goodman Scrooges, Judd brings subtlety to the quintessential curmudgeon that adds depth to the proverbial characterization. Penelope Walker infuses the Ghost of Christmas Present with a whimsical insanity that is hysterical and then reigns in the lunacy to create the perfect emotional set up for Scrooge’s transformation. The rest of the cast is picture perfect and dramatically exceptional.

As the sweetness of enlightenment begins to unfold in Scrooge, our hearts start to melt. The fact that the exposition is as familiar to us as the back of our hand is irrelevant. The impact of the story is so strong that it may as well be from something penned this year or uncovered in a long lost manuscript.

What a prize to Scrooge to have a second chance! What a bigger prize to us to share in his most wondrous epiphany! And how marvelous that the Goodman brings it to life with such style and brilliance!

This is not your average A Christmas Carol, pulled out of the closet and dusted off to decorate the holidays. Rather it is a shining example of theater’s ability to alter emotional paradigms by creating spellbindingly compelling storytelling. Whether you are in the midst of overwhelming holiday overload or dancing on a cloud of holiday cheer, the Goodman Theatre’s A Christmas Carol is the perfect way to celebrate the season by magically delivering a classically enchanting and profoundly pertinent message of love.

4 STARS

(“A Christmas Carol” runs through Dec 31 at The Goodman Theatre, 170 North Dearborn Street. .)

Closing Soon - Don’t Miss!

A Christmas Carol production photos by Liz Lauren.

Goodman Theatre marquee image by Venus Zarris.

* Visit Theatre In Chicago for more information on this show.

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