It’s a humorous new take on an old classic.
“It’s madcap, it’s screwball,” Director Patricia Rataj said. “It’s still the actual story of Scrooge, redemption and hope for the future that is built in, but it is not the Goodman ‘Christmas Carol.'”
Steel Beam Theatre presents “The Ultimate Christmas Carol,” by E. Scrooge, Esq. (as told to Charles Dickens, Author) with original music by Douglas Orlyk, from Friday through Dec. 30 at its St. Charles theater. Performances are at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and at 3 p.m. Sundays.
“What the author did was take the actual story, which is known, beloved, revered by all this time of year, and put some twists into it. It’s a send-up of it,” Rataj said.
Included are topical references, as well as geographic references to the Fox Valley/St. Charles area, she said.
“We mention area vendors and businesses in the show to bring it home to the audiences,” Rataj said.
While there are several recognizable Christmas carols in the show, it’s not a musical, she said. Instead, it’s a “show with music.” In the play, a troupe of actors is brought together on a bare stage to put on the show.
“And they each have to play multiple roles with lightning-speed costume changes right there on stage,” Rataj said. “There’s a trio of singers who perform most of those songs.”
The show is done with a feeling for the ensemble, she said. There are six adult actors and four children in the cast, who take on all of the roles throughout the show.
“So it’s quite different,” Rataj said. “This is the first time the script has been mounted. The author wrote it back in August, so it’s brand-new. It is a brand-new script, and I was very fortunate to have an ensemble cast that is creative. They think outside the box.”
The ensemble, she said, is “open to try anything that will work and make the point, and still keep in mind the honesty and the idea of hope for the future that Dickens presents in the original work.”
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While Rataj is a longtime director in the area, including shows at Independent Players and Elgin Community College, this is the first time she is directing a production at Steel Beam.
One of the challenges she encountered directing “The Ultimate Christmas Carol” was dividing the dozens of characters among the six actors, she said.
“Figuring out who could play what when, and how to get them there,” said Rataj, who lives in Elgin.
The ensemble, she said, helps keep the production costs down, and keeps the creativity up.
“Which I think we definitely, definitely do,” Rataj said. “It’s a challenge. And it’s a challenge for the actors, but they are having fun with it because they get to play multiple roles and they get to create strong characters for many, many parts. Some of the scenes are very short, but they’re distinctive characters.”
The set, she said, is minimal, with scene changes taking place through the use of props and creative ideas.
“With the wonderful stage that we have, we can transform it by moving boxes and crates around and some prop pieces into Cratchit’s home, into Scrooge’s bedroom and into the land of the Ghosts that come through,” Rataj said. “At times some of the children become part of the bed that Scrooge’s sleeping in. So we make use of all sorts of conventions and creativity in the staging of the show. And lighting effects and the sound effects are usually cast-generated. It’s very much an organic piece that the people on the stage bring everything together for the audience.”
The play, she said, is one the whole family will enjoy.
“And with most good pieces of entertainment, it can reach multiple levels and age groups,” Rataj said. “So there’s some things the kids won’t get but the adults will and there’s some things the kids will just laugh over, so we try to appeal to all people.”
Kathy Cichon is a freelance writer.
‘The Ultimate Christmas Carol’
When: Nov. 25-Dec. 30
Where: Steel Beam Theatre, 111 W. Main St., St. Charles
Tickets: $28 adults; $25 seniors 62 and over; $23 students
Information: 630-587-8521 or www.steelbeamtheatre.com