HAGERSTOWN – The window displays downtown are sparkling, and a Christmas themed cocktail is calling, inviting you to duck out of the cold and into the toasty lobby of Authentic Community Theatre, or ACT.
The holiday season brings a plethora of traditional performances to whet your appetite, and “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens often tops the menu. Everyone has their favorite flavor … Alastair Sims from the 1951 film, Bill Murray in 1988’s “Scrooged” and, of course, many consider the Muppet’s 1992 outing a top-shelf vintage.
ACT is hoping to add a shot of zaniness to the familiar December mix with their comedic adaptation “Christmas Carol: Drunk After Dark” by Taylor Martin. Members of the cast describe it as a totally new take on a show you think you know. It has constant comedy and a new perspective that brings hilarity to the normally serious plot.
“It’s one of my favorites” says playwright Martin. “It has been for years.” He was in high school when he appeared as an actor in another comedic version of the story. “That really inspired my love of the show.” Martin views “A Christmas Carol” as “a timeless story that’s very adaptable.” To lean into a more absurd storyline he shifts away from the usual redemptive arch of the tale and focuses on the theme of “be mean to rich people; they kind of deserve it.”
Martin’s original one-act version of the script was discovered by Director Michelle Boizelle when she was adjudicating ACT’s one-act playwriting competition. She remembers laughing out loud with the audience throughout the reading and thinking it was a perfect fit for ACT. “We have to do it.”
ACT supported Martin in developing the script into a full play, debuting it last December, 2024. A successful reception made its inclusion in this year’s season an easy call. A second outing with the script has allowed Martin to make some adjustments. “Lines, character choice and more changes will be made to it after watching it this time. It’s still kind of in its infancy.”
Boizelle invites audiences to consider “Drunk After Dark” as a chaser to the more traditional “A Christmas Carol” (LINK: https://localnews1.org/play-review-act-presents-two-scroogey-options/ ) (follow link to review by K. Davison) ACT is presenting in tandem this holiday season. Although there has been a trend in recent years to host “drunk” shows where actors actually do shots before performing, Boizelle was quick to assure me that all the beverages are 100% G-rated, even if the show’s content is not. “The actors have flasks, but there is juice in those flasks. There’s no drinking on the stage. That would be a fun spin, but no. There’s too many lines in the show for that!”
But the actors’ discipline shouldn’t dissuade the audience from enjoying a treat at the bar. On offer are “Matinee Mimosas” along with “Bah,Humbug!” and “’Ebeneezer’s Awakening’ espresso martinis.” The teetotalers in the crowd will find non-alcoholic drinks to whet their whistles, and there are a variety of snacks on offer to stave off over-imbibing. (While ACT does not provide a DIY drinking game for the show, I’ll be offering a few suggestions for those who want to play along, AS LONG AS you have brought a designated driver.)
Those looking for an ACT approved add-on to their night out can purchase dinner and a show via ACT’s website.(LINK: https://www.onthestage.tickets/show/authentic-community-theatre-inc/68d5c7d2367076286e9c238f/) This collaboration with the restaurant, Veva’s on Potomac (LINK: https://vevasonpotomac.com), affords a 6 p.m. dinner reservation for a fresh meal before curtain. The $58 per-person ticket price is extremely reasonable, given the stand-alone ticket price of $25. Even a pre-ghostly visit Ebenezer would struggle to fault with the value of both options.
Tickets are general admission with the theater opening 30 minutes prior to the start of the show. You can plan to arrive a bit early if having an aisle or front row seat is a high priority. However, with a chair count of fewer than 70, there is truly no bad seat in the house.
Speaking of seating, audiences are invited to enter the playing space through two separate doors. A major adaptation ACT made to their shows this year is a shift from a traditional proscenium presentation to a viewing arrangement with the audience on two sides of a simple and utilitarian set constructed by Ray McCormick. This style is sometimes known as tennis court, and it certainly suits the fast-paced verbal volleys being lobbed by the cast. But more on that later.
Separating the two seating risers is the large arch of a partial clock face. It serves as a frame for the action and a looming reminder to Scrooge and the audience that time is always passing, and there is less of it than you might think. The arch spans a simple black platform holding a single acting block. The block is handily used by Boizelle throughout the show to create seating for actors, a holiday table and, of course, a bar – or two – or three. On each side of the platform there is a staircase to the floor. Several performers take the stairs with intentional and comedic caution which seems to hint at a close call or two during rehearsals. (Take a drink every time you worry a performer will slip.)
It wouldn’t be surprising to hear that there was a minor accident or two leading up to opening, because this cast of volunteer performers puts their whole hearts, bodies and voices on the line for this production. Every member of the ensemble maintains high-energy vocal and physical choices throughout the evening’s events.
The man of the hour is NOT, as you might anticipate, Ebenezer Scrooge. Instead, his always optimistic nephew Fred takes center stage. Fred (played with bombastic humor by Josh Admire) has just finished hosting his Christmas dinner when his friend Benjamin (Alexandra Faye) arrives late. Shocked to find a dozing Scrooge on Fred’s parlor sofa, Benjamin is looking for answers.
Fred happily provides them by narrating the story of “A Christmas Carol,” as recently told to him by his uncle. Since Fred is already two sheets to the wind and continues to steal a tot from any liquor bottle that finds its way into a scene with him, his recollection may vary a bit from the story we normally hear.
While the show is ostensibly set in the traditional Victorian London, there are more than a dash of modern-day references. For the most part, these mix well with the premise and add to the humor, but a few might leave a slightly sour aftertaste. (Take a drink when some decidedly non-Victorian weapons make an appearance.) Given the sheer volume of added asides, puns and innuendos, the overall effect is laugh-out-loud-fun.
The cast of ACT’s “Christmas Carol: Drunk After Dark”
Admire and Faye are capable ringmasters over the circus-like atmosphere of this retelling. They keep their dialogue moving like the aforementioned tennis match. (Although perhaps pickleball for day drinkers is more their speed?) They convey a genuine friendship through their interactions, which adds a unique energy to this adaptation.
Admire has the challenging job of simultaneously narrating a play within a play while occasionally existing inside the storyline. He creates several entertaining moments as he bounces in and out of scenes. However, he is truly at his best when he makes one-on-one connections with those in the audience. (Take a drink whenever he says “You know what I’m talking about.”) Benjamin isn’t the only person Fred is inviting on his madcap journey. Admire makes sure each member of the audience is along for the ride as well.
As Fred’s “straight-man” Benjamin, Faye provides welcome breaks from the frenetic line delivery of much of the show. Her deadpan humor is delivered with pitch perfect timing and she should be especially commended for the consistency of her accent. (Take a drink when someone’s accent wavers in and out.) Her final, physical interactions with Scrooge are delightfully juvenile.
Despite the focus on the show’s narrators, Ebenezer Scrooge is more than present. Charmingly portrayed by Jim Zuna, this Scrooge is always on the move. Zuna makes sure that all sides of the audience are recipients of Scrooge’s famous “humbug” negativity and are equally invited to view the moments of regret and fear the character experiences. The theatricality of all the drunkenness could overshadow these more tender moments, but Zuna makes sure they are as present as his impressively natural mutton chops.
Going chop to chop with Zuna is Matthew B. Withers, who portrays the younger Scrooge. It is his Ebenezer that turns away love for money. When I asked him if growing facial hair was a prerequisite for casting, he cheekily replied “I have a fantastic ability to grow facial hair, with absolutely no ego attached to it. It’s just wasted on me, but it’s useful for theater.”
While this sense of humor has little place in his depiction of Scrooge, Withers puts it on full display as a grocer and general secondhand dealer of sundries with a cockney accent that’s as thick as molasses. (Take a drink when you miss a word, or 10.)
Someone whose natural hair never gets stage time is Britney Atwater. She and fellow actor Lois Jarman first appear as charity collectors. If you have a few pence ready you can drop them in their buckets to benefit ACT. As one of the first story beats to occur, their delightful chemistry together while they simultaneously fundraise and dish up exposition, sets the show up for a strong start.
Atwater also portrays the three spirits who haunt Scrooge. She uses all the tools in her actor kit to create unique characterizations for each. All do share both a censure of Scrooge and compassion for him at their core. Atwater delivers equal parts tough love and entertaining lunacy. She sports a series of cloaks, coats and wigs from the utilitarian to slightly absurd. (Take a drink every time a crazy wig makes an appearance.)
Like Atwater, Jarman changes clothes and hairstyles to play two “Christmas Carol” matriarchs, Mrs Fezziwig and Mrs Cratchit. She brings the energy of the classic theater broad archetype to each role. Her less than motherly Mrs Cratchit may trigger an uncomfortable flashback or two for some attendees who have experienced their own challenging family dinners.
Her bad behavior must have rubbed off on her children because the Cratchit kids are foul-mouthed, with attitude to spare. The fact that they are played by actual child actors, William McDonald and Lillie Hazelwood*, makes their cursing and occasional flipping of the bird that much funnier. (Take a drink every time they do something age inappropriate.) McDonald is simultaneously cute as a button and snidely daring the audience to judge his snarky behavior. Again, audience members who are currently, or have ever, parented a teenager, may feel triggered.
Scrooge (Jim Zuna) berates Bob Cratchit (Richie Dobson) for attempting to stay warm at work.
As a beleaguered husband, father, and Scrooge’s abused clerk, Richie Dobson oozes downtrodden everyman energy in his turn as Bob Cratchit. His attempts to connect with his family and create a happy holiday are so naively optimistic that the audience can’t help but root for him. And when he loses his temper, we share a little of his catharsis.
A slightly less dysfunctional family is headed by Dan Richey as Fezziwig. The love for the members of the show’s team and ACT as an organization bleeds into the holiday cheer and good nature he exudes as the jolly party animal. Richie shared that “when he [Martin] reached out to me [about the show], I didn’t even ask what part he wanted me to play. I just said ‘yes.’” (Take a drink when Fezziwig offers a toast, of course.)
Fezziwig is a doting father to the younger Scrooge’s fiancée, Belle. Pam Neeley gives Belle a giddy romantic nature, as frothy as the lace on her neckline. But she isn’t afraid to show her strength when a young Scrooge’s parsimonious nature derails the plans for their wedding. As a counterpoint to the ingenue Belle, Neeley also gets to showcase a more sultry energy as dinner guest Lucy.
Sal Chichone, playing Fred’s friend Topper, offers up some of the best double entendres of the evening. Topper and Lucy’s flirtatious and occasionally cringy banter provides a much-needed energy lift in the second act as the show’s darker themes threaten to kill the buzz. Chicone’s previous work in “Avenue Q” likely gave them a leg up in handling several of the racier running jokes of the night.
By the time Fred has finished his tale and Benjamin finds himself back in the parlor with a sleeping Scrooge, the night has been filled with quite a few surprises and unexpected moments. Some are scripted and others, not so much, but that is the joy of this charming show. There are several theater and Hagerstown themed Easter eggs for those in the know (Take a drink if you get it.)
Because the script is fairly new and is being produced by a community theater team, there are some expected inconsistencies. Accents fade in and out, costumes vary in quality and style, and the occasional prop may topple from the stage into the first row. The intrepid cast takes all this in stride and is not afraid to laugh about it while inviting the audience to share the joke.
It was lovely to see a stage populated by people of various ages and sizes. What the company lacks in high-value production trappings, they more than compensate for in enthusiasm and personal connection. ACT President Jennifer Enfield feels strongly that performers of all ages, body types, identities and disabilities should have a place on the company’s stage. This welcoming and inclusive mission was repeated by multiple members of the ACT family.
When speaking with the performers after the show, many mentioned they found their way to the cast by being personally asked. Those close-knit ties are apparent throughout the performance and in the lobby after the show. Rather than make a newcomer feel excluded, it seems more like you are just one shared pint away from being a part of the family yourself.
Attendees at the show should be sure to connect with a cast member or two. ACT actors and creatives are genuinely excited to share the story of the production and the company with their neighbors and friends. And after the show is over, and all the lines are spoken, I’m willing to bet the actors will be looking to share a celebratory non-juice libation. (Take a drink with someone who made you laugh.)
ACT’s “Christmas Carol: Drunk After Dark” opened on Dec. 12th and runs through Dec. 20, with 7 p.m. shows remaining on Friday and Saturday, and a 1 p.m. matinee on Sunday, at ACT Black Box Studio, 43 S. Potomac St., Hagerstown.
The run time is approximately two hours, including a 15-minute intermission.
If you are wondering who to bring with you for an evening out, Boizelle suggests the target audience is “Everyone. Everyone who likes crude kind of humor. There’s a little bit of cursing, a little bit of sexuality and of course [simulated] drinking, [but] even my Mom, who’s almost 80, loved ‘Drunk After Dark.’”
While much younger children should probably stay home with a babysitter, older kids will likely enjoy this less-traditional take. Parents should make an informed decision that aligns with their family values. The script does use the ‘S’, ‘B’ and ‘F’ words. Cast members also flip the middle finger multiple times. Double entendres are fairly mild.
In addition to productions for adult performers, ACT offers educational opportunities in the arts through classes, theater performances for youth of all ages, and summer camps. Please visit www.actforall.org for more information about the theater’s upcoming events. If Scrooge has inspired you to give more this holiday season, please consider donating to this and other community arts organizations.
ACT wishes to recognize The Schurzs Foundation for their continued support of the company.
Lois Jarman toasts the room as Mrs. Fezziwig.
*Hazelwood was unable to perform in the show the reviewer attended.
Photo credit: Savannah Admire: To Love and Admire Photography (Link: https://www.instagram.com/toloveandadmire/)
