“Manual Cinema’s Christmas Carol”

Recommended *** Manual Cinema, the Chicago-based interdisciplinary performance collective is using their energy and creativity to bring something new and exciting to the “holiday season”. We all know that the Christmas Season is the perfect time for Charles Dicken’s “A Christmas Carol” with many productions on stages ( and due to Covid-19, being streamed). This company, with the use of their incredible puppetry is their take on the story and is presented in 60 minutes.

Each show is performed live from their studio in a socially distanced manner and live streamed directly to audiences at home by Marqueee TV (marquee.tv), the foremost digital deliverer for performing arts content. There are hundreds of paper puppets, miniatures, silhouettes and a live score to reincarnate the holiday classic in a new form that might juts be the best way to get a youngster to love the work of Dickens.

Aunt Trudy ( N. LaQuis Harkins , who is also a puppeteer), an avowed Christmas skeptic, is handling the duties of the family this year. The job was always that of her late husband, Joe, who recently passed away. In years past, Joe sat witht he family and told the story using his puppets and , now, with the Covid situation, and no Joe, Trudy continues this tradition, but with ZOOM.

As the story unfolds, we watch Trudy get more absorbed into the tale, making some improvisational changes along the way. As she tells the story, we see what appears to be puppets taking on lives of their own, pulling us into the story. I was quite impressed with the telling of this story and as someone who has seen many versions over the last 30 years plus, found this to be an interesting way to tell the story.

Adapted from the original works of Dickens, and written by Manual Cinema Artistic Directors, Drew Dir, Sarah Fornace, Ben Kauffman, Julia Miller and Kyle Vegter, you will truly find this an interesting and energetic experience.

Tickets to live-streamed performances are on sale now at www.manualcinema.com.

Regular tickets are $15 ( individual), $30 (duo/trio) and $50 (family)

Closed caption and audio described tickets will  also be available  from December 9th-20th

The performances are as follows:

Wednesdays   3 p.m.

Thursdays and Fridays  7 p.m.

Saturdays  at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.

Sundays at 3 p.m. and 6 p.m.  thru December 20th

After each performance audiences can ask Manual Cinema’s artists questions, live and in real time via a post-show “Puppet-Time” live chat.

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