You have one more weekend to join the New Mexico State University Theatre Department for its fabulous production of Charles Dickens’ timeless classic, “A Christmas Carol.”
This musical is ensemble storytelling at its best and most delightful, as it brings many NMSU theatre students and community members on stage as the narrators of Dickens’ timeless tale. (How I loved the perfectly pitched bong, bong, bongs of the Vauxhall Players of London, as their human clock counted down to the entrances of the ghostly visitors.) Individually and collectively, they seamlessly interweave all of Dickens’ rich and beautiful language with the performances of Randy Koonse, Dustin Wright, Camren Vugteveen, Elianna Lopez-Sanchez and Emma Kenney as, respectively, Scrooge, Marley, and the ghosts of Christmas present, past and future.
Add the Cratchits (including Tiny Tim), the Fezziwigs, nephew Fred, Topper and all the others, and you have the perfect way to spend this coming Friday or Saturday evening or Sunday afternoon in the Mark and Stephanie Medoff Theatre in the ASNMSU Center for the Arts, 1000 E. University Ave.
Gold stars all around to the cast and crew – the acting, singing and dancing, the costumes (such a vast and “revealing” gown for the Ghost of Christmas Present!), the properties, set, lights and sound.
Special kudos go to director Norman Lewis for finding a new way to present Dickens’ nearly 200-year-old story while preserving his words and images and the magic of Victorian England that we have come to cherish so much.
Kudos also to Jamin Bever as Tim the Fiddler and the multi-talented Jessie Ortega joining him on the violin (fiddle is, of course, more appropriate for Dickens), as they add such richness to the show.
Go and see “A Christmas Carol.” Take your family and friends and welcome the holidays with a flinty “Bah, Humbug” and a heartfelt “God bless us every one.”
Remaining performances of “A Christmas Carol” are at 7:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday, Dec. 2-3; and 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 4.
Tickets are $20 general admission, $18 for students with valid ID, $16 for senior citizens and military and $10 for under age 18 with valid ID.
For tickets and more information, visit https://theatre.nmsu.edu/. Click on “Performances & Events” and “2022-2023 Performance Season” and scroll down below the posters to the text for “A Christmas Carol.” Click on the “PURCHASE TICKETS HERE!” link. You can also buy tickets at the theatre box office before each performance.
