“Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol” is a retelling of the Dickens’ classic, but from Marley’s perspective.
The play, written by Tom Mula and directed by Randy Warren is staged at the Bravo! Theatre until December 22. While you might think that this is a simple change in viewpoint for the well-known tale, it is much more. It is not only the account of Scrooge’s sins and redemption, but of those of Marley as well.
The play, well-acted and well-directed, has our actors not only portraying their characters but acting as narrators as well. This works particularly well and provides an experience far richer than would be possible with dialog alone. The play opens by telling us (in no uncertain terms) that Jacob Marley (Maloy Murdock) is dead. We see him enter the afterlife where a Record Keeper (Roger Larson) tells him that his account is severely unbalanced. He gets a taste of Hell before being offered one last chance to redeem himself and be free to “seek joy.” Unfortunately, his last chance seems like a lost cause in that he must cause the awful Scrooge to have a change of heart in less than 24 hours. He is to be assisted in this task by his own tiny personal bogle (Suki O’Brien).
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