I was not quite sure what to expect from the Manual Cinema adaptation of A Christmas Carol. I have seen countless versions, including one rated TV-MA on cable television that was rather intense and gory. They have participated in the International Puppet Festival, so I was prepared for something unique, and that is what I got. This version was adapted from the Charles Dickens novella by Manual Cinema with additional writing by Nate Marshall. The production is directed by Drew Dir, who is a part of the team that devised this marvelous show. In addition to Dir, Sarah Fornace, Ben Kauffman, Julia Miller, and Kyle Vegter developed the adaptation as a multimedia presentation.
The world premiere of Manual Cinema’s Christmas Carol took place on December 3, 2020, live from Manual Cinema’s studios in Chicago and then was streamed live during the pandemic. We first reviewed it in 2021.
LaKesia Harris narrates and stars as Aunt Trudy, who is having an experience parallel to Ebenezer Scrooge's. It is Christmas time, and her husband, Joe, has died, leaving her with the task of putting on the annual family reading of A Christmas Carol. Joe always told the tale in an elaborate and fun way, and the family wants to continue the tradition in his honor. Joe died during the pandemic and that's when the play is set; the reading will be done over Zoom. Harris is on point as the workaholic partner who wanted to make sure that they got ahead and kept on top of things. Harris's sarcastic and droll delivery is hilarious. She talks to various members of her husband's family, thanking one for an ugly sweater and deriding the tradition.
Aunt Trudy proceeds to get drunk, and more truths come out about how she felt about Joe's flights of fancy and how they were a drag on the finances. More wine is imbibed, and the reasons for not marrying or having children emerge. Harris can turn on a dime from comedic to deep sorrow. I get emotional watching most versions of A Christmas Carol, and it's not just the empty stool or crutch without an owner. Grief is a universal emotion, and the holiday season is a time of tremendous and surreal memories with my family. There is always plenty of comedy that can be attributed to the overwrought and alcohol-fueled time under one roof. There are also empty seats at the table, and the number increases as the years pass. Aunt Trudy is fine with all of this. She is packing up the house that she and Joe bought and happily moving to a single-bedroom condo. Sounds like our antihero Ebenezer, no?
Manual Cinema uses stick puppets with overhead projection, in the style of Brechtian Epic theater. There is no fourth wall, and the play is set in the recent pandemic era, so social issues of isolation and grief are given voice. Is it good for people to work from home? Can it make one misanthropic? Rae Watson's property design drew the audience into the play, seeing packing boxes and no sight of a homey environment.
Kyle Vegter's music score is an excellent accompaniment. The trio of Alicia Walter on keyboards and vocals, Lucy Little on violin and vocals, and Nora Barton on cello, keys, and bass, plays beautifully. Unlike a musical, the score is cinematic and enhances the story. Alicia Walters has one of the best voices I have heard since hearing Christina Pecce from Wicked Drawl. Walters' voice packs emotion with tonal clarity. You may have heard her on the soundtrack for This Is Us.
Manual Cinema's Christmas Carol is an outstanding holiday production. The show felt magical, switching from the puppets to the narrator, because I never felt like I left Aunt Trudy's world for the Dickens story. I grew up on old-school puppet shows that transcended belief, yet the characters were emotionally affecting. I saw Garfield Goose and Romberg Rabbit at the Museum of Broadcast Communications and burst into tears (as an adult). It was weird how mangy old sock puppets affected me decades later. Then, I recall how even the shadow of Aunt Trudy's late husband Joe made me weepy. I was not the only one, by the way. There was a lot of sniffling and soft crying. As a child, puppet shows also gave me nightmares, and it took me more than a minute to shake off the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. That ghost appeared one row over in the aisle. It was a hooded figure with no face, at least eight feet tall, and silent except for a loud and rumbling sound. Kudos to Trey Brazel's lighting design, particularly the layers of blue and the almost bare-bulb look in some scenes.
LaKesia Harris carries the play with a performance that brings the message of A Christmas Carol into the present state of American society. Is there a pandemic of disaffected and detached people who have left communication to handheld devices? Harris brings that consequence to life through Aunt Trudy's eye-opening, tragic realization that she has lost more than Joe's physical presence. I highly recommend seeing Manual Cinema's Christmas Carol.
Manuel Cinema's Christmas Carol is now playing through December 28 at the Studebaker Theater in the historic Fine Arts Building, 410 S. Michigan Ave. The play runs 75 minutes with no intermission. Tickets and more information available here.
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