Theater Reviews—

Scrooge’s Story, Part Two, Is Extremely Well Done In New Milford

By Julie Stern

NEW MILFORD — TheatreWorks New Milford is an outfit that is bursting with creative talent, along with a sardonic sense of humor and a perfectionist work ethic. All these are present in good measure in this year’s holiday presentation, Ghost of A Chance.

Written by TheatreWorks Artistic Director Bill Hughes, and staged some years ago as a straight dramatic sequel to Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, Ghost of A Chance is a courtroom drama in which Ebenezer Scrooge dies under mysterious circumstances and his amiable nephew, Fred Pennyworth, is put on trial for his murder.

Now the work has been entirely reconstructed, as a musical — with a rollicking score and lyrics provided by Steven Oliveri, and performed Avenue Q-style, with large, wacky puppets working in tandem with the actors. Mr Hughes designed the puppets himself with the same flair and dedication that he put into the richly detailed set and costumes.

In this variation on the Christmas chestnut, Scrooge, who has been recently weaned from his characteristic misanthropy by his encounter with the three Christmas ghosts, suffers a fatal fall from his bedroom window. Based on the testimony of Meg Dilber, a woman of the street, Pennyworth is accused of having pushed his uncle to his death. An impoverished actor, the nephew is the sole heir to the old miser’s fortune.

As the vindictive prosecutor, Eberhard Badgerwick, assembles a damning array of evidence, Pennyworth’s fate depends on the skill of his defense counsel, Drumble Dullworthy, to save his bacon.

Filled with Dickensian color and twists of plot, the show benefits from the nifty direction of Jane Farnol, as well as some of the best actors and voices around the region.

Keir Hansen and Thomas Libonate are well matched as the dueling legal adversaries, and Jackie Sidle, as Meg Dilber, and Missy Slaymaker-Hanlon, as Pennyworth’s devoted wife, Bess, are equally strong, especially in their musical numbers.

Nicholas Kier is both frightened and determined as the idealistic defendant, and Todd Santa Maria and John Stegmaier provide a rousing chorus in the person of two newsboys shouting the latest developments in the case.

Jeff Savage plays the magistrate with the studied sobriety of Samuel Alito, and the cast is rounded out with solid performances by Jonathan Ross, Glenn Couture, Joe Russo and Krystopher Perry.

Of course it is those raffish, leering, scratching puppets who keep the audience really entertained, right up until the unexpected Dickensian ending. According to the credits, Susan Tollis was the instructor who taught the actors how to use the puppets, and they clearly learned their lesson.

The whole production is a total delight. There is one caveat, however: while these are not X-rated puppets (a la Avenue Q), this is not a show for very young children. It wouldn’t upset them, but I don’t think they would be able to follow what is going on.

For middle-schoolers and up, however, it would make for a great family outing. And if you leave the kids at home, you won’t be disappointed either.

(Performances continue on Friday and Saturday evenings until January 7.

There will be Sunday afternoon matinees on December 11 and 18, and a special New Year’s Eve Gala.

Tickets for regular performances are $17.50; gala tickets are $35. Call 860-350-6863 for additional information.)