A Scrooge Is Born

Had I been a child when I saw ACT's A Christmas Carol last year — innocent in the ways of costume design, wind machines, and theatrical lighting — the Ghost of Christmas Future would have haunted me forever. It was spooky-fun stuff as the floor-to-ceiling black demon filled up the stage, and the memory stayed with me for at least a couple of weeks, which is more than I can say for that season's Saw II. I hope the ghost is one treatment director Carey Perloff brings back this year, given that the company is tinkering with the show. Expect revised scenes (more with the Cratchit family and the Ghost of Christmas Present), a retooled score (including a new Christmas hymn based on Charles Dickens' lyrics), and a new Scrooge, played by longtime Bay Area actor James Carpenter, who's never been cast in the play.

Previews, which feature the cheapest seats of the run (for you holiday misers), start tonight at 7 (and the show continues through Dec. 24).
Nov. 26-Dec. 24