The annual tradition of the Indiana Repertory Theatre’s production of A Christmas Carol lives on with a different twist and some surprises this year. In her directorial debut, cara hinh ever-so-slightly shifts the focus of the story from Tiny Tim to Scrooge’s redemption as, well, a scrooge into a empathetic human.
Unless you’ve lived in a cave your entire life, you know the story of A Christmas Carol. To sum it up, a cranky cheap old man who rejects Christmas is visited by his former business partner and is warned that unless he changes his ways, he’s in for an unpleasant afterlife. Then ghosts take Scrooge on a journey through Christmas past, present, and most frightening, the future. He awakens Christmas morning a changed man, having seen the error of his ways, and reaches out to help those he had spurned and finally becoming known as a man who knows how to keep Christmas.
The large cast is a mix of old and new faces, with Rob Johansen as Scrooge, and Ryan Artzberger as Bob Cratchit. Sean Blake stands out as Fezziwig, the Ghost of Christmas Present and the Undertaker. In her debut at the IRT, Natasia Reinhardt is terrific as the Ghost of Christmas Past, which she interprets with almost kabuki-like movements.
While the staging is similar to past performances, there is more usage of the trap doors as characters emerge, and more usage of the lift front of the stage, adding a surprise element to the show.
A Christmas Carol runs through Dec. 24. Tickets can be purchased online at irtlive.com or by calling 317-635-5252.
