Artists Lives Explored in La Jolla Playhouse’s Smart Play
Miles G. Jackson and Marco Barricelli (photos courtesy of Rich Soublet II).
The positive and negative aspects of the actor’s life are highlighted in La Jolla Playhouse’s world premiere staging of Your Local Theater Presents: A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens, Again.
Anna Ouyang Moench’s script opens backstage with a young artist who recently graduated from Julliard, Eddie (Miles G. Jackson), getting ready to play Ebenezer Scrooge’s nephew, Fred, in a stage version of “A Christmas Carol.” Each scene progresses further in time to different years in the green room, as the audience witnesses the entertainer in various stages of his career.
Throughout the sequences, theatregoers observe Eddie’s conversations with other thespians including the ones cast as Scrooge (Marco Barricelli), Lucy Cratchit (Juliet Brett), Mrs. Cratchit (Maria Elena Ramirez), and Bob Cratchit (Tony Larkin).
On the surface, the comedy-drama seems like a conventional holiday narrative, but it comes across as an alternative to traditional Christmas entertainment in San Diego County that is aimed directly at teenagers and adults. Moecnh’s script emphasizes the world of theater, instead of the festive season.
What makes the experience an enjoyable one are the hilarious supporting roles and the performances from the ensemble. All the various theatre people that Barricelli, Brett, Ramirez, and Xavier J. Bush (an initial swing who expertly takes over parts meant to be played by Tomas Roldan) portray, will feel authentic to anyone who has ever worked on a play.
Surprisingly, the character that does not feel as fleshed out is Eddie. Jackson does all that he can do to humanize him, but plenty of crucial information about the protagonist is left ambiguous during the runtime. I can see others viewing him as an intentional cipher to ground the plot, but this makes it hard to become emotionally attached to the hard-working cast member.
Miles G. Jackson and Xavier J. Bush.
Adding to the realism of the piece is the grounded direction from Les Waters as well as the set from dots, the costumes from Annie Smart, Yi Zhao’s lighting design, and audio from Ryan Rumery. Waters incorporates these mostly unflashy elements to help create the illusion of a backstage environment where stars transition from normal individuals to Dickens’ classic characters.
Even Rumery’s original mellow music generally strays away from holiday theming and adds to the down-to-earth plot.
Despite my thoughts on the character, Eddie, the tale is still a good time, because of Moench’s truthful writing and strong work from a fun cast. It will leave plenty of audience members with a deeper appreciation for the hard work that goes into putting on a show.
Show times are Tuesday at 7:30 pm, Wednesdays at 7:30 pm, Thursdays at 7:30 pm, Fridays at 7:30 pm, Saturdays at 2:00 pm and 8:00 pm, and Sundays at 1:00 pm and 7:00 pm.
A fan of theatre from a young age, David Dixon began writing reviews while in middle school, for Union Tribune’s Rated G column and sdcnn.com. He was the Entertainment Editor for SDSU’s The Daily Aztec. Currently, he contributes to San Diego Community News Network, a regional reviewer for Talkin’ Broadway, an interviewer for San Diego Theatre Reviews and has won several San Diego Press Club Excellence in Journalism Awards. David is a San Diego Theatre Critics Circle member, an American Theatre Critics Association member & Regional Theatre Tony Award voter.