‘Christmas Carol’ A Very Merry Performance

“A Christmas Carol” Wednesday, Nov. 29, Opera House

Once again, the spirits of Christmases past, present and future have melted the icicles from the heart of Ebenezer Scrooge. The Nebraska Theatre Caravan brought a meticulously detailed performance of this perennial favorite to Spokane’s Opera House Wednesday night.

There were a few surprises in the production, even for those who know the story by heart. While not exactly a “musical,” this “Christmas Carol” production includes a good deal of music that is interspersed with the story line and helps it along.

Most of this is choral singing of quite high caliber, featuring traditional English carols. Sparse accompaniment by piano and three wind instruments kept the focus on the singing. Although an occasional change of sonic texture would have been nice, touring sets have some limitations.

Another limitation of touring is the size of the cast. It is being picky, perhaps, but it strains the suspension of disbelief to see a Bob Cratchit appear undisguised as an extra in a scene of Christmas past or a young Scrooge to reappear much the same 40 years later in an unrelated life.

The cast, though, was strong, taken as the whole. Cork Ramer was an excellent Scrooge, making the conversion from nasty to nice extreme yet plausible. He was every bit as giddy and warm at the finish as he was cranky and cold-hearted at the start.

Gail Rastorfer as both Mrs. Cratchit and the Ghost of Christmas Past was wonderful. She had a marvelous sense of timing and inflection for taunting, mocking and coddling Scrooge as the Ghost, and abject sincerity as the Mrs. She topped that off with a good singing voice, as well.

In looking over the cast before the show began, my companion and I wondered over the listing of Little Boy Blue and Little Bo Peep. Their inclusion as life-size mechanical dolls intruded upon the otherwise simple and poor but genuine London street life. Their dancing was excellent, but it belonged in another skit.

Clever and fast-paced set changes kept the action lively. There were enough pieces to fill the Opera House stage and to provide a rich and varied backdrop to the multitude of elegant costumes. It was amazing how much the Nebraska company brought along in one small truck and how well they incorporated everything into the show.

For me, the most fun in watching “A Christmas Carol” again is the awareness that the conversion is coming. It is an absolute delight to hear Scrooge’s cantankerous lines knowing that his reformation is on the way and there is a happy ending just around the corner.