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Christmas Carol @ Guthrie
Have any of you been previous years? Have you been this year? Do you have plans to go?
I've never been to A Christmas Carol at the Guthrie until tonight. And apparently this year is not quite the same as past years. I thought I'd share my experience and see if any others had been as well.
So, this year they opted to go with a newly written interpretation of the show. It wasn't by any means a far departure from the original Dickens work; The writer's idea was to write a narrator-less version.
I gotta say that I really didn't love it. I kind of strongly didn't love it, actually. I imagine that everything from the casting to the costumes would have remained the same, had they done the original, so the difference truly was the script. It felt..... amateur. And I try to say that without sounding like a pompous prick, but I really don't know how to describe it! There's something so substantial and significant (and of course traditional) about the classic that interpreting it in such a way just felt kind of awkward. It's like hearing a cover band play your favorite song....
(P.S. I still LOVE the Muppets and the Mickey versions!! :-) Maybe I'll have to watch those soon.)
Thoughts?
Re: Christmas Carol @ Guthrie
No narrator? Weird. I went a few times with my dad when I was younger at the old Guthrie.
H and I actually got engaged at Christmas Carol last winter! So... I'll be honest; I don't remember a whole lot about the play other than staring at my sparkling new ring.
But I'm almost positive there was still the classic narration and script.
P.S. I love the Muppets version too!
Eat.Drink.BeMarried. Blog.
Well that's sad. I remember seeing it a LOOONG time ago when I was in elementary school and I really loved it.
DH and I were thinking about going this year but maybe we'll pass.
We went a couple years ago and just loved it. I have several friends who go every year (they must not have gone this year yet) and have always raved about it. It seems like this is one play that really just doesn't need any updating. Less narrating? That's one of the key points of A Christmas Carol! I wonder if they'll stick with this new format...
I went a few years ago and to last year's production. Last year they had an interesting interpretation as well. Their original production is over 2 hours long, and last year they condensed it to a little over an hour with no intermission. I was very disappointed as they cut out a lot of things and it just wasn't up to par with the previous production I had seen.
I'm glad you posted this. DH's uncle used to bring all the boy cousins to this for years. It was a tradition that ended when DH's grandpa passed. I know how he loved the tradition and was thinking of surprising him with tickets this year. I guess I'll pass.
Bummer. I think the last time I saw it was at the old Guthrie, and Charles Keating played Scrooge. My sister scored awesome tickets because she knew someone in the production. I couldn't imagine that show without using the original script.
I loved it in the old theatre. I haven't been to the new one yet.
Let me just say that it WASN'T horrible -- some may actually prefer the new one! It was written a little less.... heavy-handedly. The original was so serious, where this one has a bit more lightness to it. I guess I was just disappointed, because I LIKE the seriousness and the bleakness. That's what made it Dickens and that's what made the ending all the more joyous and uplifting.
Take my thoughts as you will -- and if anyone sees it, let me know what your thoughts are!!!