An Audience Member's Review

MetroStage's "Carol" is just fun, and funny. Yes, it weds Dickens's classic "Carol" with Broadway tunes, lyrics re-written. Dickens would have sharpened his writing if he had known that Kathy Feininger and Donna Migliaccio were going to get his story into a half-nelson then tickle it.

Arrive early (its general admission, and some patrons will have their view obscured by the on-stage piano), and feast your eyes on the set. Allison Campbell used an elf's paintbox to create a colorful Christmas-time treat. Just sit for a few minutes . . . and enjoy. Pick up a few pointers for the color scheme in the den.

Donna Migliaccio is an award-winning force of nature. She reminds us that not all terrific comediennes are going to get the Mark Twain prize. Just wait until you see her act the role of . . . a doorknob!

I see from the notes that Migliaccio toured in the 50th anniversary version of "Guys and Dolls." That would explain her knock-'em-dead rendition of "Belle's Lament" which was borrowed from Miss Adelaide. As for her Mae West in chains, well, you'll just have to go up and see it sometime. Terrific. Ditto her Peggy Lee who – what else? – is seeking alms for the poor.

If I had daughters who wanted to work on the stage (wait! I do), I would want them to see Miss Migliaccio's work. Her joie de vivre and talent are infectious and, perhaps, inspiring. Theater majors and acting classes, take note, and get the ticket office on the phone.

Matt Anderson is a pal of mine, so everything I write about him is colored by the fact that I am uttering the absolute truth. His Ghost of Christmas Past is a hoot, and he wields his prop to perfect effect. (Hint about the prop: four tennis balls.) His take on "Annie" and his role as Tiny Tim are perfect, and he has set a pole-vaulter's high bar in his pas de deux with a chandelier. Note the small touches in that scene: energy-efficient bulbs and a traditional, Home-Depot-aisle-14 extension cord in this season’s fashionable color, road-cone orange.

If you are a delicate soul, prepare to be stirred by some politically incorrect lines about Tiny Tim's disability. On the other hand, being politically incorrect, funny, and brightly performed gets the lines a triple word score. (Can someone check to see if Miss Feininger, the author, is still in residence at the Sunny Valley Care Facility for madcap playwrights? I would hate to think she had been turned loose to drop another script like this on an unsuspecting, but grateful, public.)

There was some ad hoc-ery between Anderson and Migliaccio in the performance I saw – and there ought to be more (even if the ad hoc-ery needs to be scripted!). These two work beautifully together in what might be called slapdashitude, squared. They have been on the same stage before, and they'll be together at Ford's Theatre in the spring, and this synergy ought to be encouraged by all theater-goers.

Peter Boyer is Scrooge. He is said to be "introduced" by this play, as if he had been discovered waiting tables in Old Town. No. He has been perfecting his craft in Baltimore.

When the call went out for two zany actors and one rock-solid nucleus that the zanies could revolve around, he answered the call for the nucleus. He combines that always-on-stage stability with a sense of humor and a fine voice. His acting in the early scenes (before the ghosts-of-silliness get hold of him) makes you think that he is sour enough to be Marley's penurious partner.

Aaron Broderick provides the music, but don't miss his helpful, long-fingered contributions for the Ghost of Christmas Future...

Congratulations to Larry Kaye (Director) and Nancy Harry (Choreographer) for getting this madcap trio to move around the stage with brio and relatively few collisions -- which is not to say that more collisions might not be even more fun! (One of my favorite bits of business is Migliaccio playing a boat's figurehead – although the prop manager might need to oil those wheels. I don't know if her acting is improved by having to work like a stage hand with that "boat.")..."

This is a personal review (written without request and certainly without remuneration of any sort) by Lincoln Oliphant on November 20, 2010. The author sent it to MetroStage and asked them to post it on their site, as he thought potential ticket buyers would find it useful. The author is proud of his reputation (just created) as an independent – yet incisive – critic, and any attempt to influence his judgment or any monetary offer, from any source whatever, whether high or low, whether Hollywood or Podunk, will be strictly reviewed for amount.