Jacob Marley preview

Raleigh Little Theatre and Actors Comedy Lab Preview
By Robert W. McDowell, November 29, 2007

Ebenezer Scrooge’s long-dead partner gets equal time
in “Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol” by Tom Mula

Jacob Marley, malicious old misanthrope Ebenezer Scrooge’s long-dead partner in greed in A Christmas Carol (1843) by celebrated English novelist Charles Dickens (1812-70), gets equal time in Raleigh Little Theatre and Actors Comedy Lab’s uproarious reprise of ACL’s Dec. 2-18, 2005 and Dec. 1-17, 2006 productions of Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol. RLT and ACL will present this quirky Christmas comedy/drama by Tom Mula on Nov.30-Dec. 2 and Dec. 6-9 and 13-16 in RLT’s Gaddy-Goodwin Teaching Theatre.

ACL co-founder Rod Rich says this joint production, with ACL providing the production and RLT providing the “joint,” will feature the same stellar cast of Tony Hefner, Jerry Zieman, Izzy Burger, and Scott Nagel that illuminated the stage of University Theatre at N.C. State’s Thompson Theatre in December 2005 and 2006.

“After [the] successful [2005 and 2006] production of Marley closed,” says Rod Rich, “we heard from a lot of people who didn’t find out about the play until too late to come see it, as well as others who wanted to come back to see it again and bring friends. That was one reason to revive the play -- but another is that we really enjoy doing it, and thought we could polish up a few things and present people with an even better Marley.”

Rich says, “[Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol] is a completely novel retelling of the old story about Scrooge, which manages to simultaneously cover familiar ground while springing some surprises on the audience about what really happened that famous night. It’s dark (after all, Marley is dead to begin with, right?), but still manages to be uplifting without being saccharin.”

Rod Rich adds, “The story about how this play came to be written, by the way, is that the author, Tom Mula, was coming out of a traditional production of Christmas Carol with a friend of his, whose 10-year-old daughter asked ‘What about Marley? He did all that work to save his friend -- what happened to him?’ So Mula wrote this play to answer that question.”

At the outset of the play, Rich says, the audience knows, “Marley (Tony Hefner) is dead, to begin with. And the afterlife is not kind to Jacob Marley -- condemned to Hell and bound in chains by the Record Keeper (Jerry Zieman) for his misdeeds in life, Marley is tormented/aided by a strange demonic accomplice who calls himself the Bogle (Izzy Burger). The Bogle tells Marley his one chance to escape Hell is to obtain a work release for one day, and take on an assignment. The assignment is, of course, to redeem Scrooge (Scott Nagel). And while the end of the story may be known, rest assured that the journey will still be full of surprises.”

In addition to director Rod Rich, the show’s creative team includes producers (and ACL co-founders) Jack and Bunny Safron and Nancy and Rod Rich; movement coach Nancy Rich; technical director and set, lighting, and costume designer Thomas Mauney; properties mistress Bunny Safron; sound designer Robert Neuhaus; and stage manager Tony Landavazo. The show also features original music by Larry Schanker.

Director Rod Rich claims, “The play is written to be told by the cast as storytellers -- there are no props to speak of, and the cast frequently steps out of character to talk directly to the audience to describe where they are and what’s going on. On top of that, there is a terrifically dense sound design that accompanies the play -- it’s effectively scored like a movie -- and the cast had to learn to work with the narrative music moments, which is something most non-musical casts don’t have to worry with.

“Another challenge,” Rich says, “was how to present an utterly familiar tale in an unfamiliar way, such that the audience feels they’re seeing it for the first time. We wanted the audience to know from the moment they walked in the theater that this was something new, something unexpected. So we’ve redone this Christmas chestnut as a ghost story. We’ve gone for a darker feel to the art direction -- a playful darkness, like Halloween. There’s only one Christmas song per se in the show (other than a few fleeting musical references to carols in the show soundtrack), and it’s not one of the traditional ones.

“Finally,” Rich concludes, “we had to take on the character of Scrooge, made so familiar to Raleigh audiences, and remake this utterly iconic character in a new and interesting way. I think Scott Nagel has done a magnificent job of revising the old reptile.”

Rod Rich adds, “The set is a construction of open, black platforms that comprise an open and flexible space, suitable for imagining the many locations in Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol, from Heaven to Hell and all parts in between.…

“Because of the fluid nature of the show,” Rich explains, “with actors suddenly becoming different characters, and the locations shifting with the speed of a cinematic cut, the lighting is narrative as well as evocative, helping to identify different locations, highlight characters who may make a sudden appearance, and create the many strange and various moods of the play. Coming from Thomas Mauney, the lighting has become a creative, critical element in the show.”

The costumes, Rich says, consist of a “simple quasi-Victorian top[s] worn with jeans.” He adds, “This gives the play a formal and, at the same time, playful feel. Each actor also has individual touches that help round out the character he or she primarily plays.”

Rod Rich also notes that “[Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol is suitable for children, although small children may find some of the scenes a trifle intense. (It is a ghost story, after all!)”

Raleigh Little Theatre and Actors Comedy Lab present Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol Friday-Saturday, Nov.30-Dec. 1, at 8 p.m.; Sunday, Dec. 2, at 3 p.m.; Thursday-Saturday, Dec. 6-8 and 13-15, at 8 p.m.; and Sunday, Dec. 9 and 16, at 3 p.m. in RLT’s Gaddy-Goodwin Teaching Theatre, 301 Pogue St., Raleigh, North Carolina. $15 ($13 students and seniors), with a $2 discount per ticket for groups of 20 or more. 919/821-3111 or etix.com. RALEIGH LITTLE THEATRE: http://raleighlittletheatre.org/events/jacobmarley.html. ACTORS COMEDY LAB: http://www.actorscomedylab.com/next.html. A CHRISTMAS CAROL (e-text courtesy the University of Virginia): http://etext.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/DicChri.html.

WHAT: The TRIANGLE THEATER REVIEW is a FREE weekly e-mail theatrical newsletter, featuring previews and reviews by Robert W. McDowell and reviews by Alan R. Hall and others. (For brief bios of our critics, see the CVNC biographies page.) Classical Voice of North Carolina, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and this state's leading performing-arts platform, not only pays our reviewers but also makes continued publication of TTR possible. The online versions of our critics' theater reviews are now listed on the CVNC Reviews page. CVNC also publishes a comprehensive list of Triangle Theatre Openings and an extensive list of Theater and Film Links.

DONATIONS: If you value the comprehensive, in-depth local theater coverage that TTR and CVNC provide, please mail a check today to Classical Voice of North Carolina, 3305 Ruffin Street, Raleigh, NC 27607-4025; or use your credit card to donate online via PayPal. Because CVNC is a 501(c)(3) organization, all financial contributions are tax-deductible as allowed by law. Be sure to indicate that you want to support continued online publication of the TRIANGLE THEATER REVIEW. You may also donate to CVNC through the Triangle Community Foundation, based in Research Triangle Park. You can find current information about CVNC at Philanthropy Central, an online service operated by the Triangle Community Foundation.

HOW TO SUBSCRIBE: E-mail RobertM748@aol.com and type SUBSCRIBE TTR in the Subject: line. TO UNSUBSCRIBE: E-mail RobertM748@aol.com and type UNSUBSCRIBE TTR in the Subject: line.

QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? E-mail RobertM748@aol.com.

COPYRIGHT: Editorial content and all formats © 2007 CVNC and the respective authors. Reproduction in any form without authorization of Classical Voice of North Carolina and the respective authors is prohibited. CVNC will maintain an archive of standard previews and reviews from past issues for at least a year. To request copies of web articles from 2005 and earlier, e-mail cvnc1@earthlink.net.