Ebenezer Scrooge Inspires at the Bellrock Schoolhouse Theatre

Dec 20, 2012

Photo: Ebeneezer Scrooge, played masterfully by Fred Colwell, sees the light on stage at the Bellrock Schoolhouse Theatre

In a special performance on December 15, members of the Bellrock community presented Dickens' famed classic A Christmas Carol at the Bellrock Schoolhouse Theatre. The play was a pared down but impressive take on the classic tale of the man whose name now applies to modern-day Christmas skeptics and misers. It was produced and directed by Fred Colwell (who also played the lead role of Scrooge), with Suki Falkner managing the stage and set design.

This is the tale of the cold-hearted, cheapskate Ebenezer Scrooge, who miserably fails to empathize with his fellow human beings. Miraculously, Scrooge changes his ways after being visited successively by numerous ghosts; first that of Marley, his former business partner (Tom Falkner), then the ghost of Christmas Past, (Dick Miller), and lastly Christmas Present (Bob Brown). The visitations ultimately lead to Scrooge's rebirth and in the end he is transformed into a compassionate and generous old mensch.

The set was designed masterfully by Suki Falkner, given the smallish stage and the generous length of the tale. The first hurdle was overcome by keeping the sets to a manageable minimum and cleverly utilizing the stage doors as the windows into Scrooge's numerous ghostly visions.

As for the production's length, it ran for just over an hour thanks to the two narrators, Connie Shibley and Tom Falkner, who read a good portion of the play expertly and with great feeling from the script. This gave the actors the chance to take on the more dramatic events in the play and they did so to great effect. These memorable scenes included many at the home of Bob Cratchit (Dick Miller) with his wife, played by Connie Shibley and their loving family, including the crippled young Tiny Tim (Tye Stover) who had the last and most memorable line in the play.

By far though, it was Fred Colwell's masterful Scrooge that took the play to its most inspired heights, with Colwell first portraying him as a scowling, crusty old hunched-up, complaining curmudgeon who, as the ghostly visions unfold, is transformed into a caring, kind and generous gentleman. Kudos also to the stagehands who transformed the stage into countless simple but warm and inviting scenes. Despite a few missed cues, which made for some rather comic moments in what was otherwise a smooth-running production, the cast and crew brought to the audience a very memorable production of this timeless tale about how even the lowest of the low can see things anew, and given some insight can change evil ways and begin life anew, thanks to a few concerned spirits. What a perfect message for this time of year.