“A CHRISTMAS CAROL” at Hanover Theatre
Reviewed by Tony Annicone
The Hanover Theatre’s holiday presentation this year is the sixteenth annual production of “A Christmas Carol” adapted and directed by Troy Siebels. The historic Hanover Theatre is a jewel of a theatre hidden away in Worcester and is breathtakingly gorgeous and splendiferous. It first opened in 1904 as a burlesque theatre, in 1926 as a movie theatre and in 2008 as a gorgeous show place that needs to be discovered by one and by all. The Theatre seats 2300 people and the theatre once again filled almost all the seats this year. Troy once again has a huge cast of 28. The underlying themes of charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence found in “A Christmas Carol” are universal and are relevant to people of all religions and backgrounds. In his version, Troy uses a grown-up Tim Cratchit as the narrator of this familiar tale of miserly, curmudgeon, Ebenezer Scrooge. It is the classic tale of this stingy, miser on the road to his redemption. Originally written in the winter of 1843, this show still resonates with audiences, one hundred and eighty years later. Scrooge is visited by his dead partner, Jacob Marley who has been dead for seven years on Christmas Eve as well as the ghosts of the Past, Present and Future. who hope to change his destiny and save his soul. This marvelous musical adaptation is full of many special effects, timeless music, colorful sets and gorgeous costumes. This musical treat follows Scrooge on his strange and magical journey, where he finally discovers the true Christmas spirit at last. The combination of Troy’s, music director, Timothy Evans and choreographer Ilyse Robbins hard work, creates a stunning retelling of this classic story. A standing ovation is their reward on a job extremely well done.
It is my thirteenth year in reviewing “A Christmas Carol” at Hanover Theatre. Troy obtains laughter and some tears on Scrooge’s journey to redemption by blending the dramatic and comic moments together splendidly. Troy keeps the action of the show flowing smoothly from scene to scene. He ends the show with the cast singing “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” as the snow falls on both the performers and the audience. Troy makes the show more comical this year especially with the Charwoman’s line delivery and also adds the matchgirl to the show. Timothy plays a Wurlitzer organ and picks the loveliest Christmas carols for the cast to sing in this version. The dance numbers by Ilyse stop the show with their expert execution of this talented cast, especially in the show’s opening “Deck the Halls”, the Fezziwig dance scene, “Greensleeves” at Fred’s party waltz and in “Ding Dong, Merrily on High.” The two other marvelous numbers are “Pattapan” and “Wassail” as well as the show stopping Act 2 opening men’s chorus dance in “The Boar’s Head Carol” which is breathtaking. It is also hilarious with the men popping out of the bed constantly. The incredible London sets are by James Krozner while the fabulous, gorgeous authentic costumes are by Gail Astrid Buckley.
John Little returns for the second time in this show as Ebenezer Scrooge but he in the past before his debut last year, was not a stranger to Worcester having spent five seasons at Foothills Theatre. He plays this miserly curmudgeon excellently and commands the stage in this role. John excels in the comic scenes especially in “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” when he yells at the caroler as well as when he yells at the two solicitors. However, it is in the dramatic scenes that are the most memorable including Fan’s death, the break-up with Belle, the witnessing the dead body of himself under a blanket, the death of Tiny Tim and in his transformation that the pathos pours out to the audience. It leaves them and me in tears. His exuberance when he awakens on Christmas morning is stunning to behold as he dances with joyous rapture and jumping on the bed. The audience learns that Scrooge has become a better man by learning from the past, present and the future. Bravo on your return as this iconic character at Hanover Theatre! The show opens with the Dies Irae the Mass for the dead, so the audience understands that Jacob Marley is dead. It’s important for the audience to realize this or the good things that happen afterwards won’t be realized. The four Ghosts do a marvelous job in this show, too. Brad R
einking is marvelous as Jacob Marley. He scares not only Scrooge but every person in the audience as he appears on the scene. The chains fall from the ceiling with a clang to the floor. Marley flies to the top of Scrooge’s bed and around the stage with fog and colorful lighting. He hovers over Scrooge’s bed with huge chains and warns him to reform his miserly ways or suffer Marley’s fate these past seven years. Brad’s delivery of these lines is frightening to behold. The spectacular flying effects are handled by On the Fly Productions, Missouri based company. Brad returns to this show after playing the role of Topper in 2022.
Christmas Past is portrayed once again by tenth grade student Lillian Rogers, who sings her poignant song, “In the Bleak Midwinter.” She chides Scrooge as he watches his younger self enjoying and loving Christmas with his sister, Fan when she arrives to take him home and again at Fezziwig’s party when he fell in love with Belle.
Lillian takes Scrooge on his journey of enlightenment. This is her third time in this show but has also played Mary Lenox in “The Secret Garden” and Annie in “Annie.” Lillian also plays the matchgirl in the show and as Christmas Past, she lights matches to show Scrooge each scene.
She tugs on your heartstrings as the match girl who must sell all of her wares to survive the bitter cold night. Young Scrooge is played by 5th grade student Chris Bardizbanian while 3rd Grade student Corinne Sweeney tugs at your heartstrings as little Fan. (They also play Ignorance and Want in the Present sequence.) Aidan Levinson who just graduated from Elon University in 2022, is excellent as Young Ebenezer in the party scene and especially in the break-up scene with Belle. Channing Rion returns for her second time as Belle. She does a great job when Belle gives him back his ring. Their employer is splendidly played by Steve Gagliastro. He shines as Mr. Fezziwig, his high sidekicks in the air are splendid as is his funny accent. His real-life wife, Annie Kerins plays Mrs. Fezziwig as they lead the party festivities with gusto, bringing the necessary comic relief at this point of the show. Steve is fantastic, having seen him perform in this show for the fourteenth time and Annie for her fifteenth time. Their song and dance “Wassail” stop the show with merriment as Scrooge and Christmas Past join in it. The harmonic sound in this song is astounding. Steve and Annie are associate directors of the show, this year. Also, the end of Act 1 is perfectly portrayed with Mr. and Mrs. Fezziwig, young Scrooge and Fan, young Ebenezer and Belle and the Narrator running in and out of the scenes quickly and ends with Scrooge in between all of them. The fun-loving friend of Young Scrooge, Dick Wilkins is well played by Aidan Leach.
Christmas Present is wonderfully played by the talented Jermaine Pearson. This is debut in this role. Jermaine is brings joy in this section of the show while he spreads good cheer. He teaches Scrooge an important lesson on how to treat his fellow man and uses Scrooge’s words against him. The Ghost cajoles Scrooge while he shows him the plight of the Cratchit family and how his nephew, Fred is spending Christmas day. Daniel Reardon does a great job as Fred. He brings a comic touch to the role. He is comical when he puts more coal in Scrooge’s heater, hugs him in his swivel chair before leaving the office and is funny during the party scene. He played Young Ebenezer last in this show. His wife, Millie is excellently played by gorgeous, brunette, Laura DeGiacomo in her fifteenth season with this show. They have some clever banter during the party scene. Laura’s fabulous soprano voice is heard in the tear jerking, “Little Tiny Child” in the death of Tiny Tim sequence. Three of their best friends in the show, Lucy, Topper and Suzannah are excellently played by Maggie Manos Clark, Michael Skrzek and Shelly Fawson. Lucy suggests Blind Man’s Bluff as the game and sets Topper up to be blindfolded. He catches Suzannah which leads to a multitude of laughter. They are marvelous in these comic roles as well as being excellent vocalists and dancers. I last reviewed Michael in this show back in 2021 as well as having reviewed him in “Swanlake in Blue” at Greater Boston Stage in 2020 as well as in “Singin’ in the Rain” at Theatre by the Sea in 2019. I last reviewed Shelly in the role Suzannah last year.
The Ghost of the Future is wonderfully played by Joel Kaimakani Libed. He returns for his second appearance in the show. This time he plays the Ghost who is scary and is dressed in a huge black robe with a huge puppet head attached to his shoulders. This ominous creature scares the crap out of the audience as he shows Scrooge the fate that will befall him unless he repents his terrible ways. The Ghost accomplishes this by having Scrooge observe the Old Joe scene, the death of Tiny Tim and Scrooge’s own gravestone. Joel also sings and dances up a storm during the show especially in the Fezziwig scene and the Boar’s Head scene.
The narrator is played by Abhimanyu Katyal who is the grown-up Tim. He weaves the story together appearing in and out of many scenes during the show. He tugs on your heartstrings when he reveals he is the adult Tim Cratchit which brought a multitude of tears to the eyes of the audience. The Cratchit family members do a remarkable job, too. Troy incorporated nontraditional casting of the Cratchit family again this year. He depicts them as a South Asian family of Indian origin. Aathaven Tharmarajah debuts in the role of Bob Cratchit and handles the comic moments of trying to put a piece of coal in the heater in the first scene, laughing nervously which is hilarious as well as being shocked by Scrooge’s transformation in the last scene. He does a nice job in the death of Tiny Tim sequence while he and the whole family sing “The Prayer”. Gorgeous brunette, Alka Nayyar returns for the third time as Mrs. Cratchit and she does a wonderful job in this role, as the caring, doting mother but also gives her a backbone to stand up for her family. She and Aathaven display their terrific singing voices, too. Alka is very comical when she won’t toast the old miser but becomes properly dramatic and chokes you up during the Tim death scene. Other family members include Sahana Sankar who returns for the second time as Martha, Alexis Anu Thakkallapalli who returns for the third time as Belinda and Shriram Shenoy as Peter. Shriram is comical in this role, wanting to be the one to carve the goose this year. His real life younger brother Samarth Shenoy plays Tiny Tim wonderfully and delivers the iconic “God Bless Us, Everyone” line splendidly. Other comic performers include Amy Barker as the Charwoman who is funnier than ever this year, Steve Gagliastro also plays Old Joe and Marta Rymer as the laundress and also is the fiddler in the show. The newsboy whom Scrooge asks to buy the turkey for the Cratchit family is well played by Ash Quasney-Sandler. A word of praise to the whole cast and crew on a job very well done. So, to get back into the Christmas spirit once again, be sure to catch “A Christmas Carol” at the beautiful Hanover Theatre. Tell them Tony sent you. Run do not walk to the box office before this show sells out completely. This review marks my 2134th overall review and my 93rd review this year! “A Christmas Carol” is generously sponsored by my old Alma Mater, Assumption University. To get tickets online go to thehanovertheatre.org or give their box office a call. Hurry up, you don’t want to miss this marvelous show before time runs out.
A CHRISTMAS CAROL (16 to 23 December)
