Stage Review: Circuit Playhouse says 'Humbug' to sentiment in 'Mrs. Bob Cratchit's Wild Christmas Binge'

Circuit Playhouse

Alice Berry (left) is the title character and Phillip Hughen is Tiny Tim in Circuit Playhouse's production of the irreverent "Mrs. Bob Cratchit's Wild Christmas Binge."

Better than any writer of his era, Charles Dickens knew how to draw tears from the most arid of eyeballs. It's a testament to his 168-year-old novella, "A Christmas Carol," that we still celebrate the holiday season by remembering Ebenezer Scrooge and his transformation from miser to philanthropist after a night of ghostly time travel.

For 34 years and counting, Theatre Memphis has staged a traditional adaptation of the story, complete with a chain-rattling Jacob Marley, a cute-as-a-button Tiny Tim, and a spindly legged Bob Cratchit.

And for about the same amount of time, the producers at Circuit Playhouse have tried to hang all that holiday sentimentality out to dry.

"Mrs. Bob Cratchit's Wild Christmas Binge," which opened last weekend, is a holiday-themed comedy that follows in the Circuit tradition of "The SantaLand Diaries" and "The Eight: Reindeer Monologues." Darker Christmas fare isn't for everyone -- just those who think a spoonful of vinegar helps the sugar plums go down.

Known for his absurd writing style, Christopher Durang begins his own adaptation of Dickens' story on a fairly straightforward note: Scrooge is about to embark on his journey of redemption.

Claire D. Kolheim (as the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future) offers some contemporary observations about the Dickens classic. She suggests, for example, that Tourette syndrome is the reason for all of Scrooge's "Bah, Humbugs."

"Slap yourself in the face, Bob Cratchit!" says the sadistic Scrooge to his cheerfully masochistic underling. As evil as Durang's Scrooge is, it's hard to feel sorry for Cratchit, who is so kindhearted that he has adopted 20 orphans. With his pitiful salary, Cratchit can't afford to take care of them.

Other than Scrooge (Jim Palmer), the only other person who doesn't see his generosity as a positive trait is Cratchit's wife, Gladys, played by Alice Berry. She's sick and tired of children, of being poor, and of her husband's unflappable optimism.

"I can't stand all this pathos!" screams the suicidal Mrs. Cratchit as she heads for London Bridge like a distraught George Bailey in "It's a Wonderful Life." (Durang frequently alludes to other sentimental stories such as "Touched by an Angel" and "The Gift of the Magi").

At every turn, Mrs. Cratchit's grasp on reality (and her common sense) pulls Scrooge away from the Christmas salvation that the ghost is desperately trying to foist upon him.

Directed by Copeland Woodruff, "Mrs. Bob Cratchit's Wild Christmas Binge" contains some truly hilarious acting moments. Phillip Hughen, as the attention-starved Tiny Tim, and Jo Lynne Palmer as the saintly Little Nell, beautifully fill out the big, comic caricatures that Durang has written.

On the negative side, some elements of the production are entirely wrong. The cartoonish mall toyland set (which is shared with a children's play opening this weekend) doesn't fit the tone of the script whatsoever. Also, a comedy that runs as long as the drama it's satirizing is a comedy that is one act too long.

'Mrs. Bob Cratchit's Wild Christmas Binge'

Performances continue at 8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays and 7 p.m. Sundays through Dec. 23 at Circuit Playhouse, 51 S. Cooper. Tickets $28-$33 adults, $20 seniors, $15 children. Call (901) 726-4656.

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