Of all of the great Christmas stories, A Christmas Carol is one of my favorites. Never missing a chance to see a live production, we traveled north to Milwaukee Repertory Theater to see the classic performed on stage.
A Christmas Carol-Cast photo by Michael Brosilow – Milwaukee Repertory Theater.
Based on a novella published by Charles Dickens in 1843, its full title is A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas. It tells the story of elderly miser Ebeneezer Scrooge, who is visited on Christmas Eve by the ghost of his former business partner, Jacob Marley, and the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future. Scrooge wakes up a changed man on Christmas.
A Christmas Carol-Matt Daniels photo by Michael Brosilow – Milwaukee Repertory Theater.
Although Dickens wrote seven other Christmas stories (three before and four after), A Christmas Carol became the most popular. It has never been out of print and has been translated into many different languages. It has also been adapted for film, stage, television, opera and more.
Directed by Mark Clements and featuring the return of Milwaukee Rep favorite Matt Daniels, A Christmas Carol runs just over two hours with one intermission. In its 49th year at Pabst Theater, it is just as fresh and powerful as ever.
All of the performers were great, but Daniels is the clear star. He captures the moods and emotions of Scrooge perfectly. Even at his most miserly, Scrooge can be seen as a sympathetic figure, a credit to the range, depth and versatility of Daniels.
The stage is relatively small, but I always feel that works to the advantage of the production. While it might create challenges for the scenery team, the end product is always visually impactful.
A Christmas Carol ended its run last night, but there are plenty more productions in the 2024–25 Milwaukee Rep season. The new year starts with the world debut of The Craic on January 17. That’s followed by The Woman in Black, Romeo and Juliet, The Last Five Years, Espejos: Clean and Million Dollar Quartet. I am sure we will return to Milwaukee for at least a couple of those productions.
— John Wroblewski, online writer
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