‘Carol’ too far from original PTC takes a risk with Dickens twist

Christmas is a holiday of traditions. The tree, the gifts, eggnog, red and green, silver and gold. It’s the one time of year when happy Christmas-going crowds want to indulge their memories in yesteryear, days of lore, the past. So it’s safe to say that theatergoers, especially those with children in tow, are not typically looking to be modernized when it comes to “A Christmas Carol.” They want to see something classic, with all the trimmings of Victorian London.

They’ll get that – sorta – at Penobscot Theatre Company. This year’s “Christmas Carol,” adapted in 1977 by Doris Baizley and running through Dec. 23 at Bangor Opera House, frames Charles Dickens’ story within another saga about a contemporary theater troupe with a disgruntled stage manager (who becomes Scrooge) putting on “A Christmas Carol.” The show opens with the actors in pre-show chaos and more or less follows them throughout a production of the holiday classic.

The result is that neither plot is told compellingly because the script is clunky and splintered, and the actors, for all their collective talent, don’t make smooth transitions between the two time periods. Director Nathan Halvorson teeters between ramping up the action with feisty backstage shenanigans and trying to capture the haunting, transfixing spirit of the more important story. The production ends up being unable to decide if it’s a farce about theater divas or a morality tale about a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner.

Even Ken Stack, who has played Scrooge for the last 100 years – to the point of responsibly representing the old miser for an entire generation of children – can’t save the day. His last few minutes, during which he giddily illustrates his character’s magical transformation, are as powerful as, well, all his other performances of the role, and it’s lovely to see. But it’s too little too late.

That’s not to say there aren’t admirable moments in the show. For instance, Halvorson sends the actors into the house for some friendly – and funny – interactions with audience members. And Lex Liang’s rotating set solves the problem of cramped spaces that can hobble this show.

Still, the seasonal sentiment seemed lost in the flurry of un-Dickensian theatricalities.

For a second year Penobscot Theatre has substituted a novel approach for a more traditional adaptation, intending to nudge audiences toward thinking newly about an old standard. Not a bad idea. I’m all for it. But not with this show, especially if the writing doesn’t hold up to Dickens. Last year, the theater squeezed “A Christmas Carol” into a script featuring the Beatles. This year, it’s about actors. And neither one really gets to the heart of the story especially for theater novices who may not be able to follow the grown-up jokes and may wonder what two characters making out onstage have to do with Scrooge. A person could end up feeling scrooged out of Scrooge.

Bah humbug, indeed.

The better deal this year is “The Santaland Diaries” running at the opera house in repertory with “A Christmas Carol.” This one is definitely not for the kids, and it breaks entirely with the holiday tradition of good will toward men. But it comically dares to voice every nasty Christmas thought you’ve ever had about the holidays and all its trappings.

Written by David Sedaris, “Santaland” is a diary of the author’s experiences working the holiday season at Macy’s department store in New York City – from elf training school to the last-minute shopping horrors of Christmas Eve. The monologue, which runs less than an hour, originally aired as a public radio broadcast in 1992, and was then adapted by Joe Mantello for the stage. It’s a grand adult alternative to a holiday family show. This is parents’ night out for sure.

Scott R.C. Levy, the theater’s producing artistic director, fully fills the green felt booties of the main character, and is directed smartly by his real-life wife Joye Cook-Levy. In true Sedaris style, Levy tends to go with understatement, and the show works best when he sticks to that.

Penobscot Theatre Company will present “A Christmas Carol” and “The Santaland Diaries” through Dec. 23 at the Bangor Opera House. For tickets and information, call 942-3333.