Over the 50 years the Guthrie Theater’s been presenting Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” no adaptation has engaged me as much as the current one created by Lavina Jadhwani.
She developed the idea of having Dickens’ eloquently clever narration delivered by a kind of Greek chorus of 1840s Londoners, which serves to emphasize that the self-isolating and miserable Ebenezer Scrooge is part of a community, whether he likes it or not. And that a key to his transformation is the desire to find joy through connection with others.
Ebenezer Scrooge (David Beach, right) looks on as his younger self (Daniel Petzold, center) dances with his one-time fiancee, Belle (Stephanie Anne Bertumen, left), in the Guthrie Theater’s production of “A Christmas Carol,” running through Dec. 28, 2025, on the theater’s Wurtele Thrust Stage. (Courtesy of Dan Norman)
Jadhwani died of cancer in September, and I found myself wondering after Friday night’s opening performance if that loss isn’t lingering over this year’s production. Both Guthrie Artistic Director Joseph Haj and the current director, Addie Gorlin-Han, have spoken of what a valuable sounding board Jadhwani was when making key staging decisions, and anyone who’s tried to continue working while processing grief knows that summoning up the energy to do so can be a struggle.
So, even though the message of Jadhwani’s adaptation comes through clearly in this latest version, it’s lacking the inspiring spark of vitality so key to the success of the 2024 incarnation. While all of the impressive technical elements return and the music and dance interludes are admirably well-executed, a crispness is missing from the exchanges between characters. For a story built around life-changing visits from four ghosts, there’s nothing particularly spirited about this staging.
The Guthrie’s expansive thrust theater – be it at its original space near Loring Park or in the reincarnated version beside the Mississippi – has always asked its actors to pay special attention to projection and articulation. Making things understandable to those at the back of the balcony is key when performing in a space this size.
Whenever any actor stepped into the temporary role of narrator, Dickens’ words rang out loud and clear, but a lot of other dialogue was lost – some of it in exchanges that were linchpins to driving the story forward – due to too many toos: The delivery was too quiet, too fast or too unvarying in dynamics or the attempts at authentic accents too thick.
Such could not be said of David Beach’s Scrooge, who does some of his best acting while not saying a word. As he witnesses events of his past and the party of the present that he invisibly visits, Beach masterfully summons up the character’s conflicted soul. And John Catron proves the ideal contrast in his life-loving nephew, Fred, while Tyler Michaels King ably captures the heartbreaking journey of Scrooge’s employee, Bob Cratchit.
The show’s technical elements are also unimpeachable, this year adding a clever surprise near the end of Scrooge’s encounter with the Ghost of Christmas Future. Matt Saunders’ set and projections are suitably transporting, and the costumes of Toni-Leslie James and Emily Tappan are invariably true to the setting – and must be easy to get in and out of, judging from some very quick changes.
It could be that this show will soon possess the energy needed to effectively sell this story of transformation, which feels particularly timely in its emphasis upon the prescient topics of greed and poverty – and of the importance of community in an increasingly isolating era.
‘A Christmas Carol’
When: Through Dec. 28
Where: Guthrie Theater, 818 Second St. S., Minneapolis
Tickets: $148-$19, available at 612-377-2224 or guthrietheater.org
Capsule: A lovely adaptation receives a fairly spiritless staging.
Rob Hubbard can be reached at wordhub@yahoo.com.
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