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Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol is a dark and gloomy ghost story densely packed with social commentary on the class divide in Victorian England… unless, of course, you set it to tunes from popular comic operas.

Kansas City Young Audiences, along with Yvonne Jameson, presented “A Gilbert & Sullivan Christmas Carol” in the auditorium of St. Teresa’s Academy. Lyricist Gayden Wren wittily reworked melodies from the oeuvre of Gilbert & Sullivan in an entertaining retelling of Dickens’ classic tale. Directed by Linda Ade Brand, with musical direction by Mark Ferrell, this was the culminating event of KCYA’s 50th anniversary celebration.

This rendition was considerably more humorous than the spooky novel, which focused on the social issues of the day in a fairly frightening, if ultimately uplifting, tale. The performance was incredibly lively and good-natured, if a little slapdash; staging was minimal but effective, despite a few rough transitions.

The show was presented concert style, with most of the cast, dressed in winter garb, shifting between multiple roles.

Kip Niven portrayed the rascally Scrooge and Williams Grey Warren served as the narrator, reading the familiar lines with aplomb. The three Ghosts, played by Victoria Botero (Past), Debra Bluford (Present), and Sylvia Stoner (Future), haunted Scrooge with a very cute variation on “Three Little Maids from School” from The Mikado. Bluford’s infused her role with elbow-nudging, eye-winking humor.

Botero’s crunchy, “cor, gov’na” accent in the role of Belinda brought chortles from the audience, as did Rick Truman as a precocious Tiny Tim. The talented cast was rounded out by Kevin Albert, Jeanne Averill, Amy Cahill, Larry Greer, Cynthia Hyer, Brian Steele, Joe Winans, and Tobias Wright.

Not every actor was up to challenging vocal lines and a few performers tongue twisted lyrics and were partially drowned out by the piano. Generally, though, they performed well and any such weaknesses were made up through comic ability and jovial attitude. On the other hand, some excelled, as was the case of Joshua Lawlor (Bob Cratchitt), whose fast-paced “Matter, Matter, Matter” (based on the famous patter song from Ruddigore), brought down the house.

A majority of the script focused on the setup and packed many of the events of the second act into just a few songs. The pivotal scene of "Christmases Yet to Come" was glossed over; were this someone’s first experience with the story, they would have been very confused as to Scrooge’s drastic change of heart.

But this show is, after all, about the memorable tunes and the tongue-in-cheek lyrics, presented by some of Kansas City’s best-loved performers and, in that, they succeeded.

In conjunction with the performance, author Andrea Warren was on hand to discuss her book, Charles Dickens and the Street Children of London, a scholarly look at the setting and background of the original novel. 

REVIEW:
Kansas City Young Audiences and Yvonne Jameson
A Gilbert & Sullivan Christmas Carol
Saturday, Dec 3, 2011
St. Teresa’s Academy Auditorium
5601 Wyandotte St, Kansas City, MO 
For more information, visit www.kcya.org or call 816-531-4022.

Top Photo: (L to R) Sylvia Stoner, Victoria Botero, Kip Niven, Debra Bluford in "A Gilbert & Sullivan Christmas Carol" (Photo by Mary Needham)

By Libby Hanssen

Traditional and New Classical, Theatre Contributor

Libby Hanssen holds degrees from University of Missouri-Kansas City (M.M.) and Ball State University (B.M.) in trombone performance and also studied music education at Indiana University. She has studied trombone with Carl Lenthe, JoDee Davis, John Seidel, John Huntoon and Denis Wick, and music education with Brent Gault, Estelle Jorgensen and Katherine Strand.

While at IU, she taught classes in general music, focusing on listening skills and music fundamentals through practical music usage and exploring new sound constructions. During the course of her studies at UMKC, she performed with many ensembles, including the Conservatory Orchestra and Musica Nova. She has also performed with the Kansas City Puccini Festival, the People's Liberation Big Band of Greater Kansas City, the New Jazz Order, the Indiana Wind Symphony and the Muncie Symphony Orchestra.

In 2010, she was a fellow (one of 23 journalists selected from across the US) for the seventh annual National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Arts Journalism Institute in Classical Music and Opera at Columbia University’s Journalism School in New York City.

Most of her free time is spent with her three boys (son, dog and husband) and camera, exploring the many fine aspects of Kansas City living. She enjoys listening to KKFI - Kansas City Community Radio and KCUR - Kansas City's NPR station, visiting Kansas City's fine collection of museums and galleries, and scavenging in thrift and antique stores to add to her collection of toy instruments.

She writes for the joy of words and the process of constructing a story, maintaining the blog Proust Eats a Sandwich (www.prousteatsasandwich.wordpress.com). She is working on her first book: Murray Goes to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.