“One-Man Christmas Carol”

Highly Recommended ***** This has been a strange year in the world of “theater”. Due to the Covid-19 situation, all of the area theaters have been down since March. Months of next to zero entertainment-wise, and of course, with the holiday season, we NEED to see the traditional plays that we are used to. “A Christmas Carol” at The Goodman is a tradition for Chicago. As is, “It’s A Wonderful Life: a Radio production as handled by American Blues Theater for almost 20 years. This year, due to the situation, the theaters have become clever in bringing their work to our homes through ZOOM and thru streaming. Some are live, others video. I must say, most have been very impressive!

Last week, I witnessed a one man show, done to perfection by Nick Sandys. The play was another Dickens piece, “The Chimes” and Julia wrote about “A Christmas Carol in the Dark”, again, creativity in our Chicago theater scene. For those of you who attend Writers Theatre in Glencoe on a regular basis, and know ( or have seen) Michael Halberstam either on stage or direct a play, here is something truly exceptional to fill in your holiday schedule. Michael’s one man show “One-Man Christmas Carol”, a 70 minute one- man show/reading, where  Michael takes on every role as he reads to us directly from a volume that contains an abbreviated version.

Directed by  Stanton Long, with great lighting by Adam Friedland and scenic design by Adam Veness , Halberstam’s adaptation is wonderful, keeping the interest of the viewer, and with his amazing ability to change character quickly, with just the change of his voice or a gesture, you never lose where you are in the story-line. The show was done back in 2008 and has been on the shelf since. With the “pandemic” and the need for some way to entertain the public, it was dusted off and you now have the opportunity to experience the amazing work, available thru January 3rd.

Visit www.writerstheatre.org or call 847-242-6000

prices range from $15

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