“A Christmas carol” reviewed by Frank Meccia

 [rating=4]While waiting for the show to start, I quickly googled” A Christmas Carol” and Charles Dickens. It has been around for over 180 years. It is so hard to believe a beloved play like this is that old. Charles Dicken, the author was very political. Most of his writing contains his true political diatribe of his belief. In the 1800’s , Dickens attitude of the Government and the ruling party towards the poor and slavery was a constant in his writings. Through it all his words express the feeling of the world this time of year. “Good Will to All, And God Bless”. 

This year, I decided to get out of the city and see this play, and what a grand idea that was. Arlington Heights is only a 30-minute drive from the city and comes with free parking in many of the city garages this season. The Metropolis Theatre is located in the heart of downtown, and it seems so old-fashioned, even with all the new structures, the planners kept that old town feeling. On the corner from the theatre was the town square, where they had Christmas Carolers performing in 18th century costumes. It really made you enjoy the whole experience. The nice thing about the Metropolis is it’s a small theatre, only 300 seats, but every seat has a perfect view of the stage.

This 2 hour show with intermission was a pleasant surprise. A large presence of Youths singing and a fantastic cast performing. This is Steve Connell’s 20th year playing Scrooge. He was so  perfect in that role, his emotions and feelings poured out to the audience. I was surprised at how nimble he is, I kept saying to myself, I can’t get up that quickly.  For those who are unaware of the Scrooge character, he is anti-Christmas. His favorite expression during the holidays is “Bah, Humbug”, letting people know that the spirit of the holiday was nothing but a way  for people to ask for money or gifts.

On this particular Christmas Eve, he will be visited by ghosts of different Christmases in his life, past, present and future. The past is his deceased partner, Jacob Marley and through the story, we will get to witness a major transformation as we see the spirits, release the “spirit” for this miserly loner.

One of the best Jacob Marley’s I have ever seen since the old B&W version, was performed by Jim Heatherly. He had the look and the heavy metal chains and his movement were perfect.  Daniel Dauphin as Scrooge’s nephew Fred was great for this role. Eve Moyar did a superb job as the ghost of Christmas past; you can feel the happiness she provokes from the past Christmases.

Of course, the real star in every ” A Christmas Carol “is Tiny Tim, and this performance was played by Olivia Tibble. Her voice and her mannerism, and the song she sings at the dinner table, was flawless. She has great talent  and as she gains experience, I would expect to see her on many an area stage.. The entire cast of 30 were great. It is hard to believe how they managed it on that stage. I really must hand it off to Robin Hughes, as Director, who  put together a great show. The music director Kenneth McMullen really added some great music and I think extra songs to this show, that I never heard before. Adding that mixture really transformed this show.. When writing a review, you can never mention everybody in the show, and with a cast of 30, and a stage crew and staff of over 37 talented people you really have brought quality theater to your community.. I really enjoyed this show and give it a high recommendation.

“A Christmas Carol “is playing till Dec 24th. Performances are:

Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7 PM, and Saturday  matinee at  3pm.

A special performance on December 18 as a Sensory Friendly Performance.

Tickets are $35.00 for adults, and $20.00 for students. Tickets can be purchased by calling the box office at (847) 577-2121, or at customerservice@metropolisarts.com. 

The Metropolis Theatre is located at 111 Campbell Street in Arlington Heights.

To see what others are saying, visit www.theatreinchicago.com, go to Review Round-Up and click at “A Christmas Carol”.

For more info at Metropolis Theatre, visit www.metropolisarts.com