“Mardi Gras Masquerade Ball”
Thanks for having us tonight it really was nice! Thought I would share a couple of the photos with you too… take care and keep up the great work J And the coffee was really good too! (at The Labrynth Press Company.)
Frankie Lewis
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Ebenezer
Next weekend, you're invited to the Crown Theater in downtown Jamestown for a new and different look at Charles Dickens' beloved story ''A Christmas Carol.''
Before you decide you've already seen more versions of that story than you ever wanted to see, realize this: local radio personality Lee John has taken the familiar holiday classic and re-written it into a personal statement and an examination of how things are, and how they could be made better. The result is a one-man show titled ''Ebenezer.''
Since there will only be two performances, we were requested to review a rehearsal, which took place on Saturday morning, so that we could share with you our reactions, while there was still time for you to consider attending. The performances will be Saturday and Sunday, both beginning at 7:30 p.m. Ticket purchases to both performances will benefit the programs of the Joint Neighborhood Project.
Dickens' original short story tells of how Ebenezer Scrooge, a miserly and bitter old man, is visited by four ghosts on Christmas Eve. Each teaches him lessons about himself and the negative effects his eccentric choices have made on the people around him. The next morning, he wakens with a healthy and caring attitude which astounds the people who have suffered under his previous reactions.
John has chosen to focus instead on how Scrooge came to be alone in a self-made fortress of anger and bitterness which drives away anyone who might care about him, so that he can reject them before they reject him. His Scrooge isn't so much handicapped by not knowing he needs to change his approach to life, but rather by lacking the courage and self-confidence to choose a way of changing, and to carry out that change.
The two-hour production sees the actor portray five distinct characters: Scrooge; the ghost of his former business partner, Jacob Marley; and the ghosts of Christmas Past, Christmas Present and Christmas Future. The ghosts teach the audience about Scrooge's failings, usually in terms of robust humor and broad comedy.
After each ghostly appearance, his Scrooge teaches us his feelings relating to these failings of his own, and what he has tried to do to change them, and what he hopes to do differently in the future.
The Scrooge segments get extremely intense, and the relief of the funny ghosts allows us to relax and release the tension which has built up in the personal elements of the show.
While the actor was changing costumes, a variety of carolers sang familiar holiday fare, without accompaniment, to successfully keep the forward movement of the production. Since the sets and costumes were only partially completed when we saw the performance, we won't comment beyond saying what was completed had great promise.
The play still has elements of a work in progress. It will eventually benefit from some additional shaping and timing, but it works very well as it is. Just as an example, the setting of the play is Victorian England, but occasionally the script contained a word of two of modern slang and references to American situations, such as a quest for a silver dollar when Scrooge would be seeking pounds and shillings.
None of this is important, but it's just a bit distracting. I found the production both entertaining and very moving, and I do recommend it to you with enthusiasm, as a work of art.
By Robert W. Plyler of the Post-Journal
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Mr.and Mrs.