Last Updated on December 18, 2023, 11:58 PM | Published: December 18, 2023
OKLAHOMA CITY — Few stories in the English language’s long history have carried the resonance or cultural longevity of Charles Dickens’ immortal yuletide masterwork, “A Christmas Carol,” that most magical tale of holiday ghosts and miserly redemption that’s been performed now for nigh-on two centuries.
It’s a story told and retold each year hundreds of times over on stages, televisions, movie screens, and of course in the pages of Dickens’ original, groundbreaking 1843 novella, the book that practically created the entire Victorian-era ideal of Christmastime.
It’s no easy feat, then, to breathe new life into a story so well-known as to be a seasonal formality, and yet, Lyric Theatre’s brand-new production of the indelible tale – the first to be hosted on their Plaza Theatre stage since 2019 – feels somehow fresh.
With a lavish, fantastical production, deeply committed performances, and a vitally important mission of giving, Lyric’s “A Christmas Carol” is set to delight audiences old and young alike nightly now through to its closing on Christmas Eve.
By now, you surely know the tale: selfish, mean-spirited banker Ebenezer Scrooge is forced by a series of ghosts to confront his past, present, and future in an effort to open his heart and mind to the generosity of Christmas and the plight of the struggling poor.
Though the beautifully detailed period setting and Victorian costumes make for an already enchanting scene, it’s those confrontational apparitions that provide the show’s real “wow” factor.
The classic quartet of ghosts fly above the audience’s heads, burst through walls, glide weightlessly across the stage, tower terrifyingly large, and speak in booming, reverberating voices, all while the cast use seemingly every inch of available space in the refreshingly intimate theater.
But although the spectacle of Dickens’ “Carol” has always come from the ghostly guides, the undeniable, transformative emotion rests on the very human cast, and this year’s is well-equipped to carry the show’s heart on their sleeves, led by D. Lance Marsh’s revelatory Scrooge.
The classical image of mean old Ebenezer is, of course, the frail, elderly figure, his angular face contorted into a constant scowl, a picture of corruption and cruelty to be sure, but never physically imposing and hardly scary in his own right.
Marsh’s portrayal changes all of that.
He’s tall, broad-shouldered, confidently upright, and explosive. When he snaps at poor Bob Cratchit, his clerk, for taking a warming coal or asking for Christmas Day off, you fully understand why someone would be so intimidated by this Scrooge.
And that, of course, means that the performers behind the famous ghosts have their work cut out for them to believably startle this believably powerful man.
Karsten Tate’s Christmas Past infantilizes him with glee and childish charm. Vince Leseney brings a palpable anger and burdened physicality to the ghost of Jacob Marley. And as for the timeless, reaper-like horror of Christmas-yet-to-Come, well, it’s much more exciting to see the reveal for yourself.
But it’s clear that no one is having more sheer, infectious fun on the stage this year than previous Lyric Scrooge, W. Jerome Stevenson, in the role of Christmas Present. His knee-jerk turns between jolly, jovial, fiery, and foreboding provide many of the show’s best singular moments, and his relentless prodding and pranking of Scrooge bring the show’s biggest laughs.
And through it all, true to its title, there’s music.
It feels strange to call this “Christmas Carol” a musical, as the show’s many songs and dances are entirely diegetic and an in-world example of the characters’ own unflappable holiday cheer, but even as the many traditional Christmas songs provide mainly setting and soundtrack, the performers give them their all.
The blend and harmony of the cast’s choral voices is as solid and heartwarming as the very best of Christmas choirs, and there’s a particular fun to hearing the mix and movement of voices as the chorus sings in single-file through the aisles and past your seat.
Most joyous, however, is Lyric’s continuing commitment to the story’s ideals of generosity and giving through their partnership with the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma, for which the cast collects donations following each performance.
As of 2023, the partnership has raised over $217,000 through the annual performances, helping to fight hunger throughout the state, and helping to provide more than 870,000 meals to those most in need.
And if that doesn’t cure you of the “bah humbugs!” then I don’t know what will.
Lyric’s “A Christmas Carol” runs nightly through Sunday, December 24th at the Lyric at the Plaza Theater.
For show times, tickets, and more information, visit lyrictheatreokc.com.
Brett Fieldcamp has been covering arts, entertainment, news, housing, and culture in Oklahoma for nearly 15 years, writing for several local and state publications. He’s also a musician and songwriter and holds a certification as Specialist of Spirits from The Society of Wine Educators.
