Saturday, December 22, 2018

A Christmas Carol and An Amy Adams Christmas (Stars 2018)


Full disclosure: A member of the cast gave me a comp ticket for this show. So assume I am horribly biased and all that. Of course, I always blog about whatever the heck I want, and don’t claim to any sort of objectivity. So take this review with the usual block of salt.

***

I’m not sure how many of my readers are American Idol fans. I never really got into it, mostly because I just don’t watch much television. (If you want to know how I read over a book a week, it’s because I decompress that way, not with the tube…) But, at least for the first few seasons, I knew enough people who cared, so I kind of at least kept up with what was happening.

For those of us from Bakersfield, California, it was season three that mattered the most, because one of our own, Amy Adams, was a legitimate contestant. Bakersfield is an interesting place. Outside of California, it would qualify as a pretty dang big city. The metro area has over 800,000 people, making it number 62 in the US. (By comparison, the city itself is twice as big as Salt Lake City, and the metro area nearly as large.) But, despite its size, it feels very much like a small town. For example, both the legal community and the music/arts community are close knit and mutually supportive.

 Amy Adams on American Idol

And, relevant to this post, we really tend to embrace our own. Look at Buck Owens, who drew a crowd at his nightclub up until his death. (I had the honor of playing with him as part of a joint Buckaroos/Bakersfield Symphony concert back in the day.) If you are from Bakersfield, and embrace us, we will embrace you. It’s a thing I like about this town. Bakersfield’s Amy Adams should not be confused with the more famous actor, Amy Adams. After some success in Vegas and on tour, our own Adams came back to Bakersfield, had a couple of kids, and got involved in our local scene, teaching and working with youth. Which I think is pretty cool.

 Amy Adams, more recently, with a bit less pink, but still with all the spunk.

I’ve reviewed a few shows at Stars Dinner Theater before - it’s one of the longstanding local institutions that tends to focus on the “usual suspects”: the standards of music theater. Nothing wrong with this, and it has been a fun way for the kids to see some of these live. I tend to be intrigued by the more offbeat productions, and it is nice to see that they have branched out a bit lately.

This particular production was a double bill. The first half was a one act adaptation of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol by Ed Hopkins, followed by a musical review put together by Amy Adams.

Let me start with the Dickens. I have been a Dickens fan ever since my mother read David Copperfield to me and my siblings when I was about 9 years old. Since that time, I have read ten of the major novels, all five Christmas novellas, and a bunch of the short stories. For a decade or so, I read a Christmas novel every year. Although I have a soft spot for The Haunted Man, there is no doubt that A Christmas Carol is in the pantheon of greatest stories of all time. The kids and I watch the Muppet version every year, and it never gets old. (I am also partial to the old Alistair Sim black and white movie. So classic.)

The fun, of course, for the writer and director, is how to stage this story. Dickens is pretty long on description, which is better show than told on stage. On the other hand, there are some amazing zingers in his dialogue, which really should be preserved if possible.

I am happy to say that Ed Hopkins did a fine job of striking a balance between drama and the original. All the lines I was hoping to hear were preserved intact, and the occasional narration by Bob Cratchit was likewise drawn from the original. As a one act adaptation, it was quite enjoyable.

The key to any version of A Christmas Carol, is, of course, Scrooge. In this case, Kevin McDonald played that part. I have mentioned his fine work in previous posts. I was not disappointed in this production. McDonald captured the many moods of Scrooge, from vicious cruelty, to fear, to irrational exuberance in a memorable and riveting manner. I would be hard pressed to imagine a better choice for this role. (Disclosure: Kevin comped my ticket, and is hilarious on facebook, so I am undoubtedly biased. But I did like his work before I actually met him online or in person.)

 Amy Adams (The Ghost of Christmas Present) and Kevin McDonald (Ebenezer Scrooge)

I’ll also note the work of another online friend of mine, Norman Colwell, who played the ghost of Jacob Marley. Norman spent several decades in radio and TV, but really got into the stage late in life. Of his 77 total stage appearances, 71 have come since he turned 70. That is badass. And I loved his portrayal of Marley, with a combination of deadly (or is that undead) seriousness and slapstick humor.

Amy Adams took the part of the first two ghosts. Two real-life couples played the central couples in this work: Peter and Gianna De Keles as the Crachits, and Patrick and Karri McNeal as the Fezziwigs. I find it fun when casting is done this way. The real life chemistry often bleeds into the drama. I’ll also mention stage veteran Paula Einstein and Lindi Pellett as the charitable organization representatives, and Brent Starrh and Elizabeth Mackay as Fred and wife. I am not sure whether it was Peter Antongiovanni or Evan Clason who played Tiny Tim on the night we went, but he got the biggest applause of the night - and deserved it.

I am sure I am missing a number of other fine actors, but such is the nature of a blogging hobby. I enjoyed it, and can’t think of any sour note.

After the intermission, we got what was basically a musical Christmas revue, with Amy Adams’ eccentric family as the subject. It is my understanding that Adams co-wrote and directed this portion of the production. My favorite part of this segment of the evening was the music. With a cast of 20+, the arrangements were much more sophisticated and interesting than a standard SATB pulled off the shelf. It wasn’t clear if Adams did these herself, or just found the arrangements and made them happen, but either way, I was impressed. Stars generally has good quality vocal work (see Caley Mayhall in Ragtime), but the ensemble work was particularly impressive in this case. Adams appears to have a knack for raising the level of performance. Both pitch and ensemble were outstanding - as a musician myself, I noticed.

Let me also mention the fine work of the three piece live band. Piano, bass, and drums. I know musicians are expensive and take up space, but there is nothing like live music. Well done, guys, and thanks for your commitment to art.

In any event, an enjoyable night.

Turning from the specifics of this performance, I want to look a bit at Dickens and a theme that really stood out to me this time.

Anyone who has read Dickens extensively knows that behind all the good humor and optimism lies a deep hurt. Even A Christmas Carol turns out to be a really dark story, if you think about it. But for a bit of supernatural intervention, Tiny Tim dies, Scrooge dies forgotten at best, and the Victorian economic machine continues to grind the poor into dust.

There is a real life reason for this. There is a singular event in Dickens’ childhood which he never really got over, and which keeps appearing throughout his fiction. When Dickens was age 12, his father was arrested and imprisoned for debt, ending Dickens’ education, and forcing him into grinding child labor. In essence, this event broke apart their family, and terminated Dickens’ childhood. Yeah, no surprise he never got over it. His dad was just an expendable cog in the economic machine - never mind he was working. His family was destroyed and his wife and kids thrown on the mercies of a heartless society. Sure, Dickens survived and became a famous novelist. But many more died as children, forgotten, and unmourned.

I was reminded of this at several points in the evening entertainment. The first was when Scrooge himself spoke of his own trauma: his mother died giving birth to him, and he likewise rejected his nephew Fred, because Scrooge’s beloved sister Fan died giving birth to Fred. (One of those mundane commonalities of the Victorian Era we tend to forget…) Soon afterward, Scrooge turns a homeless boy out, scorning his carolling. Even in a Christmas story, the menace of cruel fate and crueler humanity is front and center. (Of his five Christmas novels, I think only The Cricket on the Hearth is mostly good cheer, and even it has an undercurrent of poverty. And damn, The Chimes is so dark.)

Both the left and right have tried to claim A Christmas Carol as proof of their particular politics. I rather used to think both had a point once upon a time. Of course, that was back before the GOP went full social darwinist, so it was... a different time. After more careful readings, though, I realized that the heart of Scrooge isn’t really that of a smug liberal. (Although, to be sure, there is plenty of approbation due to those who prefer their segregated, gated neighborhoods while relying on government aid to assuage their personal consciences.) Scrooge actually is the modern social darwinist in so many ways.

His cure for poverty?

Wait for it...PRISONS. And workhouses, where the poor are put to slave labor for long hours in exchange for starvation food and housing. Seriously, before you compare our modern safety net to Victorian institutions, take a minute to research them. Socioeconomic status translated into literally decades of life expectancy. As Scrooge himself said, “If they are going to die anyway, they should do so quickly and decrease the surplus population.” It was this idea of much of humanity being “surplus” that led to the imprisonment of Dickens’ father. It is this idea of “surplus” which leads to the disdain for impoverished refugees today. And more.

As Dickens points out, we might not really want to categorize humanity as “surplus,” considering that we don’t really know that it won’t be us ourselves who are truly the surplus. There is the strong hint that Scrooge himself is “surplus,” one of those whom nobody will miss.

Two songs in the second half of this production tied in perfectly with Dickens’ theme. The first was one of my all time favorite Christmas songs: “Oh Holy Night.” I wrote about this (and a few other carols) two years ago. Kudos to Amy Adams and company for including those amazing lines from the second verse: “Chains shall he break, the slave is our brother / and in His name, all oppression shall cease.” Let us not forget that, while the American translation was expressly abolitionist, the French original also focused on the oppression of the poor by the powerful. Charles Dickens would approve.

The second song was one sung by Gianna De Keles, “My Grown Up Christmas List.” This modern song, written by Linda Thompson (lyrics) and David Foster (music) was originally recorded by Natalie Cole, although it didn’t really become at hit. As those of us with an Evangelical background remember, Amy Grant’s 1992 version is the one which propelled the song to prominence. Later, Kelly Clarkson (hey, there’s an American Idol reference again) blew it all open in 2003 with her recording. In any event, the lyrics are quite good, and speak to the age-old problem of the way we tend to destroy the families of the poor, then blame them for it. Again, Charles Dickens would approve.

Call me a sentimental fool, but I still wish for this. I wish we would stop tearing lives apart in the name of (fill in the blank: mass incarceration, border “security,” war, hate, racism, you name it.) I wish we would put aside our ideas of what is “deserved” and start really looking at what we do to children in particular. Perhaps, this Christmas, more of us can find some empathy in our hearts and stop building walls - and build a bigger table instead.

I suspect that the theater audience here in Bakersfield skews toward the “liberal” side, for lack of a better term. (I’m still struggling with the idea that I somehow am a Commie because I don’t embrace White Nationalism and Social Darwinism.) But still, there was a certain political component to this production by its very nature. You put that pinko Dickens on stage, and sing about Christmas and the brotherhood of humankind, and, well, before you know it, you push back against hate. It’s a beautiful thing.

Amy Adams has a fine voice. It definitely has a country girl twang, so it is definitely a Bakersfield type. I’m a musical omnivore, so I enjoyed it, but your mileage may vary, depending on if you love or hate country. I appreciated that she didn’t feel the need to grab the spotlight, but let everyone else shine, taking advantage of her moments without acting like a diva. As I mentioned above, it was the work on ensemble singing that impressed me most.

I’m going to go with the Amy Grant version of the song, just for the 1990s nostalgia and my own memories. Long live the electric keys of the era...they take me back whenever I hear them.

***

Do you remember me
I sat upon your knee
I wrote to you with childhood fantasies
Well I'm all grown up now
And still need help somehow
I'm not a child but my heart still can dream

So here's my lifelong wish
My grown up Christmas list
Not for myself but for a world in need
No more lives torn apart
That wars would never start
And time would heal all hearts
And everyone would have a friend
And right would always win
And love would never end, no
This is my grown up Christmas list

As children we believe
The grandest sight to see
Was something lovely wrapped beneath the tree
But Heaven only knows
That packages and bows
Can never heal a heartached human soul

No more lives torn apart
That wars would never start
And time would heal all hearts
And everyone would have a friend
And right would always win
And love would never end, no
This is my grown up Christmas list

What is this illusion called the innocence of youth
Maybe only in our blind belief can we ever find the truth

No more lives torn apart
That wars would never start
And time would heal all hearts
And everyone would have a friend
And right would always win
And love would never end, no
This is my grown up Christmas list
This is my only lifelong wish
This is my grown up Christmas list



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