Theatre--Review (IPAL)

A small respite in rehearsals recently has allowed me to become reacquainted with my television set, and the AMC channel was playing A Christmas Carol with the incredible George C. Scott in an emmy-nominated turn as Scrooge. Nearing the end of the show as he stared at his own name etched in marble, he asked pleadingly, “Tell me I may sponge away the writing on this stone!” It was an indelible piece of acting in what has become a Christmas tradition. Many local theatres have embraced, sometimes rather restrictively, adaptations of the Dickens classic, and they are legion. Last year, the Eunice players put on the hysterical The Farndale Avenue Housing Estate Townswomen’s Guild Dramatic Society’s Production of A Christmas Carol, a spoof of the work with only five people playing all the parts. Baton Rouge Little Theatre puts on its annual version of the play with no changes except in casting. I know of another spoof titled A Christmas Carol: A Traveling Travesty in Two Tumultuous Acts, where a wretched acting company is putting on their fifteenth annual farewell performance of the play. In a few days time, The Compound will present their adaptation of Dickens’ masterpiece, and last weekend, the Iberia Performing Arts League (IPAL) in New Iberia opened A Carol for Tiny Tim, directed by Donna Berard. It was a welcome change on the old theme, made even more memorable by the return of a beloved veteran on IPAL’s stage. A Carol for Tiny Tim will play four more times, this Thursday through Saturday at 7:30 pm and Sunday at 3:00 pm. Call 364-6114 for tickets.

John R. Carroll’s A Carol for Tiny Tim explores the whole Scrooge situation some fifteen years later. Jacob Marley (Fred Comeaux), still wearing chains but fewer than before, still roams the earth, but now bemoans what has become of Tiny Tim (Ryan Berard), now a dissolute, deceitful young adult. Once Scrooge (an eager Chuck Rogers) saw the error of his ways, he spoiled little Tim rotten, who at first did not take advantage of Scrooge’s guilt, but under the tutelage of an unscrupulous worker Farthingate (Seth Derouen) Tim learns to get everything and anything he wants. In the next fifteen years, he practically bankrupts poor Scrooge, and Tim’s parents (Michael Durand and Faye Tarantino) also coddle and protect him from any serious strain or work. The only one who sees through Tim’s guise is his sister Martha (Alyssa Porche) who would dearly love to expose her little brother’s farce. It’s the perfect set-up for Jacob Marley to appear to the three ghosts of Christmas to come and cause a reversal in the fortunes of Tim. The Ghost of Christmas Past (Allyson Gary) reminds Tim what he once was and how he transformed into the wanton young lad he has become. The Ghost of Christmas Present (Paul David, with a booming voice) shows Tim how his friends really feel about him and how Tim has reduced his benefactor Scrooge to a pauper eating porridge alone in his house on Christmas Eve. Every year, Scrooge eagerly awaits Tim, who always finds a reason not to show. The Ghost of Christmas Future (M. Craig Colwart) shows Tim what will be: Scrooge’s business will close because to support Tim, Scrooge failed to pay the insurance on his brokerage which went up in flames. It’s enough to scare anyone into seeing the errors of their ways and repenting, and naturally, it works. By the end of the play, Tim has spent a day digging ditches so he could earn money to buy gifts for all the people who have supported him those last fifteen years.

In many ways, I felt nostalgic during the production. Five years ago, I had the privilege of playing Ebenezer Scrooge in Scrooge and Marley: A Christmas Carol, and some of the people involved in that play resurfaced in this one. Fred Comeaux, now playing Jacob Marley, was the director who chose me to play the seminal part, and I’ve never thanked him enough. It was only my second play at IPAL and not only was the experience richly rewarding, it was a financial success for IPAL with its huge cast. Opposite me playing Jacob Marley was Craig Colwart, who traded in all those lines from long ago to not saying a word at the Ghost of Christmas Future. I even remember chasing poor Justin Judice off the stage for singing Christmas carols.

I must make this chastising note. I’ve recently noted a disturbing trend that I hope to dispel because it is disrespectful to authors everywhere as well as to publishing companies. I have two programs from the Christian Youth Theatre, and in neither of those programs (Beauty and the Beast Jr. and The Sound of Music) did the company give ANY credit to the author or the lyricists, as if they were unnecessary by-products. John R. Carroll composed the play A Carol for Tiny Tim, and while I don’t know if his name appeared on the poster, his name did not appear anywhere in the IPAL printed program. He has composed more than half a dozen plays and receives royalties for his contribution to the arts. The Dramatic Publishing Company has the rights to license this play and they have this disclaimer printed on all their booklets: “On all programs this notice should appear: ‘Produced by special arrangement with THE DRAMATIC PUBLISHING COMPANY of Woodstock, Illinois.’” This, too, was omitted from the program, unless I missed it somewhere. Both Carroll and the Dramatic Publishing Company should have received mention in the program; it’s a legal requirement that CYT and IPAL should observe.

Overall, the production was nicely staged with multiple levels and it served as a pleasant diversion. Ryan Berard cut an absolutely rubbery figure as the young Tim, and Chuck Rogers looked positively forlorn as the eager Scrooge waiting for Tim to show, knowing full well he most likely will not. But more than anything I was delighted to see Fred Comeaux back on the stage. As one of the founding members of IPAL a dozen years ago, he has directed and starred in many shows, and his absence has been sorely missed. While acting in Scrooge and Marley, I remember Fred took one of the smaller roles of a corrupt man purchasing Scrooge’s stolen merchandize after his demise. He was delightful, and I had asked him then why he didn’t act more. His answer was poignant: he feared he could no longer remember lines like he once did. None of that was on display as he draped across the stage in deathly gray makeup and haunting visage, and his splendid acting made the material seem better than it was. Let us hope we have not seen the last of Fred Comeaux.
---Vincent P. Barras