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<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal
align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>There’s more gravy than
grave in CVLT’s ‘Scrooge’<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal
align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal
align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #1f497d"><FONT size=3>Bob
Abelman<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal
align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #1f497d"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal
align=center><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #1f497d"><FONT
size=3>News-Herald, Chagrin Valley Times, Solon
Times,<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></I></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal
align=center><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #1f497d"><FONT size=3>The
Morning Journal, Geauga Times Courier<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></I></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal
align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #1f497d"><FONT size=3>Member,
American Theatre Critics Association <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal
align=center><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></I></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal
align=center><FONT size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #1f497d">This review will
appear in the <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">News-Herald
</I></SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">on
11/25/11</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal
align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>Yes, it’s Thanksgiving,
but it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Small town storefronts are starting
their seasonal transformation into <SPAN style="COLOR: black">Currier & Ives
lithographs and c</SPAN>ommunity theater marquees are promoting yuletide
favorites.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>The holiday musical
currently on stage at the Chagrin Valley Little Theatre is <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="COLOR: #191919">Scrooge</SPAN></I>, an adaptation of the 1970 film based
on Charles Dickens’ classic <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">A Christmas
Carol</I>. <SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The script, music and
lyrics are by Leslie Bricusse, whose other family-friendly works include <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Doctor Doolittle</I> and <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Willy Wonka and the Chocolate
Factory</I>.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #191919">Scrooge</SPAN></I><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"> tells the tale of the epic personal
journey of its miserly title character.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>In the play, Ebenezer Scrooge’s diminished spirit is rejuvenated and his
darkened soul is salvaged after revisiting the missed opportunities of Christmas
past, witnessing the wasted potential of Christmas present, and foreseeing the
horrors of Christmas future. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>As with <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Doolittle</I> and <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Wonka</I>, <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="COLOR: #191919">Scrooge</SPAN></I> consists of rather simple and
occasionally insipid songs, which manage to downsize Dickens’ complex themes and
weighty subject matter.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Ebenezer’s
dramatic sturm und drang, for example, is reduced to tunes with the titles “I
Hate People” and “I Like Life.” <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Sick and destitute Tiny Tim’s eternal
optimism is watered down to the lite but lovely “The Beautiful Day.”<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>What makes this rather
mediocre musical such an enjoyable piece of holiday entertainment is the remnant
charm from its <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">A Christmas Carol</I>
origins and the wave of good cheer generated by the cast and crew of this CVLT
production. <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>Edmond Wolff’s scenic
backdrop of a Victorian skyscape resembles an embossed Christmas cookie tin and
generates the same nostalgic warm and fuzzy feelings.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Together with attractive period
costuming by Harold Crawford, the play unfolds in an inviting musical theater
mockup of 19<SUP>th</SUP> century London.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>The cast includes several
members from and multiple generations of local families, including the Bernardos
and Edwards from Chagrin Falls, the Firehammers from Solon, the Grossbergs from
Auburn, the O’Malleys from South Russell, the Sloops from Willowick, and
assorted members of the Mulvaney and Willis clans from
Aurora.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>As a family affair, the
performers take delight in each other’s on-stage antics and this unconditional
exuberance (and, in some cases, forgiveness) is contagious.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>In this context, even a random act of
nose-picking by a two year old in the ensemble, performed dead-center stage and
oblivious to the elaborate production number surrounding her, is embraced and
deemed adorable.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>Of course, this
production also possesses some particularly noteworthy performances, including
those by Casey Sloop as Tiny Tim, Jon Gellott as Scrooge’s Nephew/Young Scrooge,
Don Bernardo as the Ghost of Christmas Present, Sarah Sloop as Mrs. Cratchit,
and Brian Diehl as Jacob Marley.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>The musicians, under the astute direction of David Keith Stiver, are
wonderful as well.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>Best of all is Paul Sloop
as Ebenezer Scrooge.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Sloop’s
Scrooge expectorates his words as if they are sour to the taste but does so with
reluctance, as if he finds each acidic syllable too valuable to waste on his
unworthy neighbors.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>This and his
transformation from a despicable grouch to born-again humanitarian are a
pleasure to watch.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>Less pleasurable are the
show’s production numbers.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Although
the ensemble is enthusiastic and energetic in all that they do, director Michael
Rogan and choreographer Laura Rightnour-Henri coordinate their actions as if
directing traffic.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The goal appears
to be an avoidance of accidents rather than the creation of interesting and
fluid patterns of activity.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Even the more intimate musical numbers
are rather void of purposeful movement to facilitate the storytelling. There’s
just way too much standing around. <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>Despite this production’s
shortcomings, there are few better theatrical concoctions for the holidays than
unbridled sentimentality, a strong moral message, and a happy ending set to
music and told by neighbors and friends.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="COLOR: #191919">Scrooge</SPAN></I> will never be a holiday classic, but
it is based on one and finds merit in the merriment of its presentation.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #191919">Scrooge</SPAN></I><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #191919"> </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic">continues
through December 18 </SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">at
the Chagrin Valley Little Theatre, 56 River Street, Chagrin Falls.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>For tickets, $14 to $18, call
440-247-8955 or visit <B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><A href=""><FONT
color=#0000ff>www.cvlt.org</FONT></A>.</B><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>