You think you’re sick of A Christmas Carol? Imagine how poor Charles Dickens feels. Since 1853—ten years after the publication of his novella—poor Charlie has been giving solo performances of the tale of miserable miser Ebenezer Scrooge and his transformation into a decent chap. No wonder his prevailing attitude seems more “FML” than “God bless us, everyone.” Wouldn’t it be nice to mix it up a little after 171 years? Maybe just a fun holiday party, instead?
That’s the premise behind Blake Montgomery’s charming and sly Charles Dickens Begrudgingly Performs ‘A Christmas Carol’ Again. First produced at Montgomery’s now-defunct company, the Building Stage, in 2011 and 2012, the solo comedy is back for a seasonal run at the Den. And if you’re not interested in the version at “that big theater downtown,” you may well find yourself enchanted by Montgomery’s goofy but good-hearted take on Dickens—seasonal dyspepsia and all.
Charles Dickens Begrudgingly Performs ‘A Christmas Carol’ Again
Through 12/22: Thu–Sat 8 PM, Sun 7 PM; Sun 12/22 3 PM; Den Theatre, 1331 N. Milwaukee, 773-697-3830, dickensagain.com and thedentheatre.com, $32
Montgomery, sporting a black cutaway formal suit and a very Dickensian wig, engages the audience with warmth and dashes of bookish wit. On opening night, while suggesting other Dickens titles he could perform, Montgomery’s scribe discovered that there was in fact someone in the house who had read Dombey and Son. “You’re going to be hard to please,” he noted wryly. Dickens’s description of Marley’s face as looking like “a bad lobster in a dark cellar” gets a funny dissection at one point. At another, Dickens imagines a world where Marley’s ghost visits Hamlet, and the ghost of Hamlet’s father shows up in Scrooge’s world.
Montgomery’s knowledge of the source text is palpable, which makes his riffs and discursions even more enjoyable. And at heart, the show is an examination of the paradox of traditions: they both bind us to the past, but can also provide a pale light pointing in the direction of a better future as we realize “we can’t go on forever.”
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