Some holidays it's not always easy to get into the holiday spirit. If you have that problem this year, I have the perfect solution: drop by the Huntington City Hall auditorium and catch A Christmas Carol - you'll immediately feel the spirit of the season get a grip on you.
That's because the show is filled with wonderful performances. Leading the way is Clint McElroy as Ebenezer Scrooge. It's always a good idea to find the best actor in the community to play your lead, and that's what they've done here. Clint is outstanding as Scrooge - grouchy, surly, insulting, miserly (and those are his good qualities) and always fascinating to watch. Since this is a musical, Clint gets lots of chances to show off his outstanding singing skills as well. Scrooge is a very difficult role to play, since he must make the ultimate transition from bad to good and do so in a convincing way. Clint makes it look effortless and is perfect in his role at the heart of the story.
But he doesn't manage all this alone - he has an outstanding supporting cast, starting with Mark Near, who pulls double duty as Scrooge's humble employee, Bob Cratchit, and as the larger-than-life Mr. Fezziwig. Mark is a terrific singer and also provides a great counterpoint to Scrooge - watching Mark and Clint working together is seeing two pros in action.
Of course, the story revolves around the four ghosts who visit Scrooge. The first is Paul Neace as Scrooge's dead partner Marley, and Paul's another theatre veteran who does outstanding work, is an excellent singer (and gets to show it in a fantastic number) and made the ultimate sacrifice for the show - he shaved off his beard!
The second Ghost (of Christmas Past) is played by Laura Evans, and what an amazing voice she has! She's performed with the Symphony, but hopefully we'll see her in more stage productions.
The third ghost (of Christmas Present) is played by another veteran of the stage, Tommy Smirl. He plays the part perfectly - larger than life - and has a blast singing and dancing with an army of kids. He's awesome!
The fourth ghost (of Christmas Future) is played by Joy Wilkes (who also plays Mrs. Fezziwig), and she also has a terrific voice and commands your attention.
The show also features a small army of supporting performers (at times they virtually spill off the stage, there are so many), a terrific orchestra and lots of terrific songs.
Kudos to director Mary Smirl, assistant director Tracy Meadows, choreographer Tiffany McCullough and vocal / orchestra director Lara Donahoe for their outstanding work bringing this classic story to the stage.
It's a great show, and there's a good reason why it's become a holiday tradition - it's the ultimate story of the power of Christmas. Do yourself a favor and check it out!
4 comments:
CHRISTMAS MUST BUY FOR THEATRE GOERS:
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How interesting - our first "ad disguised as a comment." However, I followed the link and have to admit it sounds like an interesting book - sort of a primer about theatre for kids - so what the heck, I'll post it.
Dear Chuck-
I want to thank you for giving a voice to the local theatre community. It is reassuring to see continued support for the performing arts in our area.The tri-state theatre community has more potential then it gets credited, not just in Huntington, but in Ashland, Russell, Greenup, Ironton, Portsmouth, and beyond. People come from all the areas--crossing state boundaries and rivers--to perform in shows at 5th Avenue, First Stage, ACTC Theatre, Huntington Outdoor Theatre, Company of Dreams, Portsmouth Little Theatre, ARTS, Backstage Players, etc. giving testament to the 'without boundaries' community we have in our tri-state area of Ohio, Kentucky, and West Virginia.
Since the title of this blog is Tri-State Theater, I was wondering if you could cover more of the tri-state area, especially in Kentucky and Ohio. I understand you are from the Huntington area and are very proud of the local talent. Equal amounts of raw talent can be found all along the river. Many people, including myself, come from outside of Huntington to support your performances throughout the year. It would be nice to see more audiences from Huntington sending their support to their theater neighbors in Kentucky and Ohio as well.
Thanks again for your support to the performing arts community.
Anon, thanks for your kind comments. I agree that there's some amazing talent out there, and certainly Huntington isn't the only place to go see a great show. Unfortunately, I'm just one guy, and while I try to attend shows all over the Tri-State, I don't always succeed. That's why I welcome anyone out there who has information, photos or a review of a local production to send it to this blog, either as a comment or an email. My address is TheMinskers@aol.com. Thanks!
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