Reviewer: Mark DeWolf-Ott
The production of A Wicked Christmas Carol is a mixture of Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol and L. Frank Baum’s The Wizard of Oz. The Wicked Witch is the Ebenezer Scrooge character, but the Spirits are all your favorite characters from the Wizard of Oz. Both stories are about transformation and the importance of friends and family over individual gain. “I’ve tried my best to be true to the spirit of both works.” playwright Bobby Keniston said in a 2019 blog.
The show has a large and diverse cast of 21 with some actors even playing dual roles.
Some of the standouts were: Beau Vanfleteren as Wee Willie,
Rachel Hoffman as The Wicked Witch of the West, Teddy Vanfleteren as Zuzzy, Julie Vezina as Windy, and Stephanie Bale as the adult Galinda.
The set was simple but clever. This made the scene changes a fairly smooth transition. The lighting was Christmas colors with a lot of “wicked” green. The sound could have been a little louder because there were quite a few kids in the audience.
It’s a great story for the holidays. There are some funny lines and dialog that make the play humorous as well as thought provoking. There is something for everyone. The large audience showed its appreciation by giving it a rousing standing ovation. The cast was well received in the lobby after the show.
A Wicked Christmas Carol is playing at the Pit & Balcony Theatre in Saginaw
November 29 and 30, and December 5 – 7. It is directed by veteran actor and theater aficionado, Jessica McFarland. For ticket information call (989) 754-6587 or go to PitAndBalconyTheatre.com.
It was a good plan of the theater to piggyback on the current release of the movie Wicked for Good in theaters and the showing of the modified and huge1939 version of The Wizard of Oz at “The Sphere” in Las Vagas.