A Dickens’ Christmas Carol: Thoughts by Jody L Powell

Last Sunday I had the pleasure of attending a delightful play at the Duchamp Opera House in St. Martinville, A Dickens’ Christmas Carol – A Traveling Travesty in Two Tumultuous Acts, written by Mark Landon Smith, produced by The St. Martinville Evangeline Players, and directed by Alicia Chaisson.

     The laughter began before the proverbial curtain rose as I discovered in the program that the play within a play is the “fifteenth annual farewell tour of Charles Dickens’ holiday classic”.  Say what?  Obviously, the play is a farce, and while a little too slapstick for my usual taste, the choices the troupe made in the spirit of “go big or go home” made the show an over-the-top explosion of all things Christmas Carol that I could appreciate.

Seven actors take the stage, bringing 40+ characters to life, by many quick wig and costume changes, (not all of which end up being complete, which only makes it funnier), and lots of dashing on and off stage.  Sometimes an actor hasn’t quite made it back to the stage when it’s time to deliver their next line; no matter, they just shout it from backstage – and it works, because the play within the play has gone awry anyway.   And that’s where the fun comes in: the “missed” cues, the purposely rickety set, the understudy whose lines are written on every prop, the feuding leading lady and her would be replacement – and everything else that can go wrong that does.

     The play, which is deliberately written to be bad, is a challenge to an acting troupe, but this group pulls it off.  They’re able to take something that is actually difficult to do, and make it look easy.  That speaks highly of their serious talent, comedic timing, and how they work as an ensemble.  We see them disheveled, out of breath, and sometimes in the wrong place or wearing a not-quite-right costume, and recognize it as the humorous calamity that was intended.

     The show’s fast pace keeps the story moving along, even as some bits get somewhat overplayed.  The framework of the three ghosts visiting Scrooge and transforming him from a greedy humbug to a born-again philanthropist uses visual gags and pratfalls that keep the audience laughing.

     The group is made up of a mix of new and familiar faces on the St. Martinville stage, including Steven “Smitty” Smith, Jr., Madeline Guilbeau, Cindy Hebert, Brittany DuBois, Justin David, Justin Blanchard, and Adel Catherine Comeaux.  As they take their final bow at the end of the show, one can’t help but marvel at what they’ve just accomplished:  probably the “worst” production of the holiday classic, done in the most intentionally comical way!

The show continues its run Friday through Sunday, December 14 through 16, evenings at 7:30 p.m., Sunday at 2:00 p.m., at the Duchamp Opera House in St. Martinville.  For ticket details, visit the company’s website at http://www.evangelineplayers.org/The_Evangeline_Players/Home.html  or their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/liveandlocalacadiana?ref=ts&fref=ts#!/EvangelinePlayers?fref=ts