[NEohioPAL]Review of THE CHRISTMAS CAROL RAG at Kalliope **

[John Paul Boukis]

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Kalliope Stage collects its fifth consecutive rave from the Plain Dealer for THE CHRISTMAS CAROL RAG. Read the entire review here . . .
 
Updated 'Christmas Carol' delivers a timely message Tuesday, November 30, 2004       Linda Eisenstein
Whether you're a fan of traditional "Christmas Carol" presentations or just someone who has been over-Scrooged, you might be leery of yet another adaptation of Dickens' holiday classic. So it's a pure pleasure to report that at Kalliope Stage, "The Christmas Carol Rag" not only works beautifully, it even improves in several ways upon the original. 

Playwright Norman Allen had the inspired notion to move the tale to New York's Gilded Age, making Scrooge a female garment-district owner who exploits her immigrant sweatshop workers. It allows for a mix of traditional carols with interpolations of terrific period songs to illuminate the plot and provide entertaining comic relief.  

And the setting is a perfect mirror for our own age, where George M. Cohan's "If Only I Had 50 Million Dollars, Then I'd Be Satisfied With Life" still could be the ironic theme song. 

Adina Bloom plays Evelyn Scrooge as a work-obsessed female entrepreneur, whose stony exterior covers a soul-sick loneliness. There's no Tiny Tim -- instead the gentle Bob Cratchit (John Paul Boukis) and his very pregnant Mrs. (Elizabeth Rubino) face a dangerous childbirth with no doctor. The Nativity metaphor is further underscored by Janet Marley (Molly McGinnis), whose haunting "What Child Is This?" lays bare the vulnerability of poor children. 

At Kalliope, the voices are always top-notch, but in this case, music director Brad Wyner has performed a minor miracle with a pitch-perfect period sound. So we get an operetta rendering of Victor Herbert's "If I Were on the Stage" by trilling soprano Kris Comer (name corrected) and light tenor John Frederick Herget IV, plus a sparkling cakewalk "Hello! Ma Baby" by young Scrooge (a luminous Katherine DeBoer (name corrected) and her fiancé (Chris Pohl).

As the Ghost of Christmas Present, Kimberly Fain-Bryant rocks the rafters with a gospel "Go Tell It on the Mountain." Even director Paul F. Gurgol gets a tap-dancing specialty as Mr. Fezziwig. And though cabaret diva Bloom barks a bit much in her book scenes, her anguished rendering of Bert Williams' "Nobody" is fabulous, and "I Heard the Bells" is transcendent. 

Kim Brown's gorgeous period costumes are a riot of colorful plaids and brocades, and Russ Borski's candle-lighted windows and gas-lighted street lamps look like a Currier & Ives print. Except for a couple of grating vaudeville- Yiddish accents, everything about the production glows. 

Eisenstein is a playwright in Cleveland. 
© 2004 The Plain Dealer. Used with permission.
 
 
Director Paul F. Gurgol does it again with a brand new musical version of the timeless story set on the lower east side of New York, where Evelyn Scrooge (played with panache by the delightful Adina Bloom) commands her sweatshop until the chain-rattling Janet Marley comes to call. Kalliope presents the regional premier--only the second production in the country of this ragtime romp. And in Kalliope's intimate theater, you'll enjoy the songs and story up close and personal. Many performances are already sold-out, and hundreds were turned away from Kalliope's season-opener SUMMER OF '42. Don't miss your chance to enjoy this clever and heartwarming holiday hit. Tickets online at www.KalliopeStage.com or call 216-321-0870.        --John Paul Boukis

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<DIV><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 24pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><FONT face=arial color=#482c1b size=2><STRONG>Kalliope Stage collects its fifth consecutive rave from the Plain Dealer for THE CHRISTMAS CAROL RAG. Read the entire review here . . .</STRONG></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 24pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"></SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 22.0pt"><FONT size=3> <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<H1 style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 24pt; COLOR: #d20000; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 36.0pt"><FONT size=5>Updated 'Christmas Carol' delivers a timely message <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></H1>
<H2 style="MARGIN: 22pt 0in"><FONT size=4>Tuesday, November 30, 2004 <SPAN style="mso-tab-count: 1">      </SPAN>Linda Eisenstein<SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 22pt"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></H2>
<P style="MARGIN-TOP: 22pt"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 24.0pt">Whether you're a fan of traditional "Christmas Carol" presentations or just someone who has been over-Scrooged, you might be leery of yet another adaptation of Dickens' holiday classic. So it's a pure pleasure to report that at Kalliope Stage, "The Christmas Carol Rag" not only works beautifully, it even improves in several ways upon the original. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 24.0pt">Playwright Norman Allen had the inspired notion to move the tale to New York's Gilded Age, making Scrooge a female garment-district owner who exploits her immigrant sweatshop workers. It allows for a mix of traditional carols with interpolations of terrific period songs to illuminate the plot and provide entertaining comic relief.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">  </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 24.0pt">And the setting is a perfect mirror for our own age, where George M. Cohan's "If Only I Had 50 Million Dollars, Then I'd Be Satisfied With Life" still could be the ironic theme song. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 24.0pt">Adina Bloom plays Evelyn Scrooge as a work-obsessed female entrepreneur, whose stony exterior covers a soul-sick loneliness. There's no Tiny Tim -- instead the gentle Bob Cratchit (John Paul Boukis) and his very pregnant Mrs. (Elizabeth Rubino) face a dangerous childbirth with no doctor. The Nativity metaphor is further underscored by Janet Marley (Molly McGinnis), whose haunting "What Child Is This?" lays bare the vulnerability of poor children. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 24.0pt">At Kalliope, the voices are always top-notch, but in this case, music director Brad Wyner has performed a minor miracle with a pitch-perfect period sound. So we get an operetta rendering of Victor Herbert's "If I Were on the Stage" by trilling soprano Kris Comer <I>(name corrected)</I> and light tenor John Frederick Herget IV, plus a sparkling cakewalk "Hello! Ma Baby" by young Scrooge (a luminous Katherine DeBoer <I>(name corrected) </I>and her fiancé (Chris Pohl).<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 24.0pt">As the Ghost of Christmas Present, Kimberly Fain-Bryant rocks the rafters with a gospel "Go Tell It on the Mountain." Even director Paul F. Gurgol gets a tap-dancing specialty as Mr. Fezziwig. And though cabaret diva Bloom barks a bit much in her book scenes, her anguished rendering of Bert Williams' "Nobody" is fabulous, and "I Heard the Bells" is transcendent. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 24.0pt">Kim Brown's gorgeous period costumes are a riot of colorful plaids and brocades, and Russ Borski's candle-lighted windows and gas-lighted street lamps look like a Currier & Ives print. Except for a couple of grating vaudeville- Yiddish accents, everything about the production glows. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 24.0pt">Eisenstein is a playwright in Cleveland. </SPAN></P>
<DIV><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 24.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">© 2004 The Plain Dealer. Used with permission.</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 24.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 24.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 24.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"><STRONG><FONT color=#482c1b size=2>Director Paul F. Gurgol does it again with a brand new musical version of the timeless story set on the lower east side of New York, where Evelyn Scrooge (played with panache by the delightful Adina Bloom) commands her sweatshop until the chain-rattling Janet Marley comes to call. Kalliope presents the regional premier--only the second production in the country of this ragtime romp. And in Kalliope's intimate theater, you'll enjoy the songs and story up close and personal. Many performances are already sold-out, and hundreds were turned away from Kalliope's season-opener SUMMER OF '42. Don't miss your chance to enjoy this clever and heartwarming holiday hit. Tickets online at <A href="http://www.KalliopeStage.com">www.KalliopeStage.com</A> or
 call 216-321-0870.        --John Paul Boukis</FONT></STRONG></SPAN></DIV>
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