It seems that many, many playwrights dream of and write a play about staging a play. Daniel Sullivan, conspiring with the Seattle Repertory Theater, did just that. Their Inspecting Carol, directed by Gil Savage, is currently on the boards at Scripps Ranch Theater.
`Tis the time of year for all theater companies (just look at the San Diego offerings coming up) to consider a holiday-themed offering. The Soapbox Theater, a professional house, decides to put on Dickens' classic, with some modifications. Director Zorah Block (Michele Guisti) has just been informed by her finance guru, Kevin Emery (Jerry Monroe), that the theater is broke and that the NEA (National Endowment for the Arts) is holding up their annual grant so that an evaluator, Betty Andrews (Jamie Haire), can judge the quality of their productions. Add to the dilemma a traveling tyro actor, Wayne Wellacre (Kenneth Gray), who is trying to get an audition and is mistakenly thought to be the evaluator.
And so we have all of the elements for a classic farce. Larry Vauxhall (Kirk Irvine) makes major script changes unbeknownst to director Bloch. Luther Beatty (Danny Herrera), who plays Tiny Tim, gets a major gig in the big city and leaves the production the night before opening. Things get more complex with every moment.
0 Guisti's director is the epitome of frustration. Her right-hand person, stage manager M. J. McMann (Kaly McKenna), attempts to hold everything together. McKenna makes a perfect second in command. Gray is amusing as an actor who suddenly has the power of the NEA behind him. His character is in total command until the truth is revealed with the arrival of the real NEA representative. Haire gives her tiny role a bit of showy elegance. Monroe's fiscally frantic character gets several effectively panicked moments.
The cast, with a couple of exceptions, has performed for years. Ten-year-old Luther Beatty (Danny Herrera) is a tad too big and husky to be poor wretched Tiny Tim. He is impossible to carry and, in fact, must carry Phil Hewlitt (Dave Hibler) after Phil's back goes out. Jim Caputo's aging actor Sidney Carlton has some of the best lines and knows how to deliver them. Darlene Cleary plays his friend and actress Dorothy Tree-Hapgood, who is somewhat limited by a leg in a cast. Michael Hubbard is the token black, Walter E. Parsons. His character is responsible for the ghosts, which also leads to amusing incidents. David Ferraro plays Bart Frances, a utility actor and special-effects person.
Set designers Jim Caputo, Gil Savage and Rick Carlson did an outstanding job. The theater has nice touches of elegance, while the stage area is much less than professional. The mechanical design works quite well.
Rosemary King's scenic artistry adds to the character of the set and the play. Greg Townsend's lighting design heightens dramatic touches to the production. Michael Richards, who designed and operates the sound, enhances the production quality. Lisa Forrest's costumes give the actors a lot to work with.
Director Gil Savage's talented cast is, in fact, was much better than the material they have to work with. The play, at just over two hours, is long (say a half hour) for a farce. The first act set-up drags, no matter how inventive the cast.
The second-act partial performance of "A Christmas Carol" almost redeems the first act. It's a complete farce with everything that can go wrong, going wrong -- including a spectacular audience surprise and delightful denouement.
