Theater Review - A Carol for This Christmas
Produced by - Theatre Three, Port Jefferson
Reviewed by - Jeb Ladouceur
It has been famously said that “The more things change, the more they remain the same.” Today, the observation is eerily true of legitimate theater arts as practiced throughout most of the world. Consider the effect of Bubonic Plague on arguably the most historically famous of all acting companies (Shakespeare’s renowned ‘King’s Men’) and their equally celebrated home base (London’s legendary Globe Theatre). Now compare the Elizabethan thespians’ plight with that of Port Jefferson’s Theatre Three and its dozens of Players and Staff.-
More than 400 years ago, like Theatre Three, one of the first businesses to close when a wave of the plague appeared in London was the theatre. After the Globe Theatre shut its doors in the Bubonic-ravaged summer of 1603, young playwright William Shakespeare fled the city to live for months in his rural hometown of Stratford-upon-Avon. Fortunately, the move proved prescient, and The Bard not only survived, but in the course of the ensuing few years he went on to write his greatest tragedies … and see them performed at the reopened Globe.
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It is unimaginable that in the spring of this year Elizabethan, Jacobean, and Victorian drama scholar, Jeffrey Sanzel (Theatre Three’s Executive Artistic Director) would have failed to note the chilling parallel between his own misfortunes and those of Shakespeare in 1603.
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In 2020, however, there is no place to hide … the pandemic is truly worldwide, thus geographically inescapable. Accordingly, Maestro Sanzel, true to the mantra that “The show must go on,” has turned his considerable talents, and those of nine members of his cast and crew, to a virtual performance of ‘A Christmas Carol,’ the beloved play which has been staged at Theatre Three for some 36 years. Theater lovers are the beneficiaries of Jeffrey Sanzel’s insistent resolve.
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Those of us who have seen the evolving versions of ‘A Christmas Carol’ over the years will immediately recognize the six actors who take the stage in this somewhat altered production for an unforgettably altered season. Only Michelle LaBozzetta, (who plays the Seeker of Mercy and seven other roles quite handily), veteran Linda May debuting in ACC, and Andrew Lenahan (expert in his riveting portrayals of dead Marley, and the Ghost of Christmas Present) might be considered relative newcomers to ‘A Christmas Carol.’
That Theatre Three is able to defy all odds and bring this most memorable of seasonal classics to its audience in indelibly recognizable form (the change in genres notwithstanding) is attributable to several factors. Primary among them are: The obvious versatility of such expert thespians as quick study Linda May (in the roles of Christmas Past, Mrs. Cratchit, and four other parts) … Douglas Quattrock (he literally owns the essential Bob Cratchit character, having played it to live audiences 900 times) … Steven Uihlein (who embellishes his portrayal of Christmas Future with exquisite Lighting Design).
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And then there is the redoubtable Jeffrey Sanzel. By adding a touch of understatement to his usual interpretation of Ebenezer Scrooge, he tips off the underlying vulnerability of the recalcitrant old miser. It is the perfect accommodation required by the new film medium. Accordingly, Sanzel’s close-ups acquire an irony that would have been impossible to convey minus the dry underestimation.
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Is it any wonder that many in the theater community doff their caps (or curtsy) when passing Port Jefferson’s Theatre Three. The 160-year-old playhouse is, after all, the venue that houses the man often referred to as the reincarnation of the venerable Bard of Avon himself.
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A Carol for This Christmas is Theatre Three’s gift to the Long Island community, and is available for complimentary viewing at the Theatre Three website: https://theatrethree.com/
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Jeb Ladouceur is the author of a dozen published novels. His theater reviews appear in a number of Long Island weekly newspapers and online publications. Ladouceur’s website is Jebsbooks.com.