Danvi Pham Play review #2 1/1/14 On December 20th, 8:00 P.M.

at Silver Spring Stage, a group of actors perform the play A Christmas Carol. The play is based off of Charles Dickens well-known novel of the same name an is a beautiful Christmas story, centered around the themes of generosity and kindness. The main character of the play is a rich, selfish and harsh man named Scrooge, who throughout the story learns to be kind and generous, no longer secluding himself from other people. On Christmas eve Scrooge is visited by his old business partner, warning him of his ways and the three spirits that will later visit him that night. The three spirits that visit him show his past, present, and future Christmases eventually causing him to realize that he must change his ways. A Christmas Carol was in general somewhat fun to watch. The acting was is not very impressive. Deryl Davis as Scrooge, is the least remarkable, especially considering that he is the main character. Although Deryl accurately depicts Scrooges character, he uses faces many people use to depict the same emotions. His acting lacks in drama and could have used more dramatic gestures. The other actors are mostly on the same level as Davis, but are not so noticeably dull, mainly due to them being supporting characters rather than main. On a scene where many people are on stage celebrating Christmas, it is noticeable that some of the children were out of character, probably because of the number of people on stage and them being supporting characters. The acting overall, was unprofessional. The play as a whole was well put together. All aspects of A Christmas Carol were mixed together to form a well-organized performance .The spotlight on Scrooge when the spirit of present Christmas left him was exactly centered on him, demonstrating the attention director Erin Bone Steele must have put in directing the play. From the placement of the props, the position of the actors and the timing, everything seems to be well planned and much thought is given to detail in staging.

The choreographer Dr. Christopher Martin does an average job on the choreography. There was nothing special or unfitting in the choreography. It was simply ordinary. The dance on the present Christmas party was just like any other dance out there, but the movements are quite fluid and flow together well. Many people dance together and although one can tell that it is a joyous event, the dance does not quite capture the spirit and mood that is supposed to be present. The costumes that are worn are pretty fitting. Scrooges outfit of a suit and nice pants for example match his serious and stingy character. Nothing negative can be said of the casts choice for costumes. The set design and lighting are also good and go well with the whole play. The stage is quite small but Andrew Greenleaf; the set designer makes good use of the space. There is a little corner with a sofa and chimney that stays permanently on the stage to represent Scrooges home, which does not seem out of place when other scenes are done, as the actors move to the center of the stage. The set seems natural and fitting to the setting of the performance, and never does the audience feel distracted because of the set. The same can be said of the lighting. The use of spotlights, dim, bright, and no light was carefully chosen to depict the mood of each scene. James Robertson did a good job on the lighting, an example being at the scene where Scrooge is despairing over what the Spirit of future Christmas has shown him. In this scene the stage is completely dark, except for a spotlight on Scrooge, which emphasizes his feelings of aloneness and despair. Considering all aspects of the play, A Christmas Carol is an ordinarily enjoyable play.