Frank Langella as Scrooge:  whatta concept!

According  to the program, it was the idea of the show's choreographer Susan Stroman.  Stroman, of course, recently won a Tony for "Contact," so she's obviously an artist with impeccable taste. 
This particular brainstorm seems to be paying off for everyone.  In the role of Dickens' memorable miser,  Langella  seems to be having a wonderful time, but more on that in a  moment.

First, just some background on this show. It's performed every year in the Theater at Madison Square Garden (if you go, you won't be sitting in the sports arena in case you're wondering). This is the 7th edition. I've seen five of them. My 8-year old son, who accompanied me this trip, has seen four, counting this one.

It's a big theater nonetheless, so if you are thinking of getting tickets, try to get the middle section (200) and find a seat that's not too far back. If you do end up in the rear, the people on stage will look pretty small. Bring opera glasses.

The scenery of the stage extends beyond the proscenium to create a little London village. During the show, scenes take place in these side sections too. Before the show, you will enter a lobby that is also decorated like the London set, complete with Victorian actors walking around, caroling and doing other Christmasy things. If this doesn't get you in the mood, they also sell a lot of overpriced souvenirs as well as popcorn and Coca Cola in big Christmas Carol cups. My son always gets the popcorn because it comes with a special hat, and he likes the cups too. The programs are big and have several good photos of Langella. Unfortunately, most of the
scenes pictured in the booklet do not feature Langella, but Scrooges from past years. They really only change about four pages of the booklet from year to year. This year, it costs $12, though it has that great close-up of the star on the cover. If you don't want to spring for the big booklet,
there's also a small program available for free.

The show itself runs 90 minutes with *no intermission* (be prepared to hit the rest rooms before and after). It is nearly all singing with only a little dialogue and moves fast and hard like a freight train. Dickens purists will not be pleased. Fezziwig owns a bank, for instance. Scrooge is a tightwad because his father was sent to debtors' prison, etc. Belle here is named Emily. In other words, they've jiggled the original text.
 
I must admit, when I first saw the show, compared to other Christmas Carols, I didn't like it all that much. In addition to the revisions to Dickens, it's very gaudy and very loud. It's exhausting for the audience as well as the performers. There's not a lot of subtlety. This is because it's really aimed at kids as well as adults. They also want to make sure that every musical note and every gesture are big enough to register in the back rows.

The Scrooge role is a tough one. Not just because of the show's nearly non-stop singing and dancing, but because --- except for a few scattered moments --- Scrooge is on stage all the time. If he's not singing or performing himself, he is actively observing the scene. One year, the role was actually split between two people, Roddy McDowell and Hal Linden.  Some years, I have sat close enough to the stage and watched whomever was playing Scrooge sweating bullets by the end. Roger Daltry,  for example, despite his long years touring with the Who, was heaving great lungfuls of air at the  curtain call.

Having seen this particular part performed by a number of different actors, comparisons are easy to make. For the role, Langella has adopted a sort of throaty growl which, when used with some lines to good effect, earns considerable laughs. It's a little hard to sing with, though. Langella has a great speaking voice but he's really only a competent singer. This is not an unusually demanding score though it does have its moments. Langella hits most of the hard notes and  the
performance I saw was the third of the day (with one more to go) so I give him credit for managing to even stay in tune.  In the early scenes, when he's moving around a lot, he uses mostly a Rex Harrison-type talk/singing but later, occasionally, I could hear the voice I remembered from "Those Lips Those Eyes," albeit a bit deeper and growlier.

That said, however, Langella wins hands down in the acting department. Broadway musical veteran Terrence Mann originated the role and was very good, but Langella's interpretation probably beats even his. Langella really put a lot of thought into this despite the fact that the role, as written here, is not particularly deep. He gets laughs where I've never heard them before.

His is quite an aristocratic Scrooge. Because of his height, he towers and therefore intimidates everyone. He's also a robust Scrooge --- I'd compare his interpretation to George C. Scott's on TV in the 1980's. I also noted they gave Langella a brand new robe  ---probably because the old one was too small.  Most of the other actors were quite a bit shorter. His great coat is also truly a *great* coat. And when he hoists Tiny Tim unto his
shoulders (several times) I'll bet the kid gets a nosebleed.

I know this production well and Langella has added all sorts of new business I hadn't seen before. He interacts a great deal more with the London street urchins, with Marley's Ghost, and with Tiny Tim. In the flashback scenes, his Scrooge is more of an active presence.

As I said, this is a huge flashy production. Enough is never enough. Marley's face doesn't just appear on the doorknocker ---it's projected upon the entire house. When Marley shows up, he is soon joined
by dozens of crazy, spooky spirits (glowing under black light) who use their chains for jump ropes. This number, called "Link By Link," is the most memorable of the show. The Christmas Future scene is also very macabre, with grave diggers and hooded figures and a red, witchy Ghost of Christmas Future. And when Scrooge is shown his gravestone, it's several *stories* high.

Because the effects and scenery are so over the top, Scrooge often gets lost. But Langella knows how to be flamboyant and his voice carries over the auditorium. Miking him seems almost superfluous.

Christmas Present is always played by an African American performer ---Ben Vereen originated the role. He, in turn, is always accompanied by a Rockettes-like chorus of chlorines (nothing like that in Dickens, I can tell you :) ) Eventually, Scrooge joins in so it was great fun to see Langella dancing and singing in a kick line! :)

The star also added several poignant notes to the end in his interaction with nephew Fred and the Cratchits. When Christmas Day comes, the performers move through the audience dispensing little gifts of candy and chocolate coins to kids sitting on the aisles. This year, Scrooge went out in the audience too (which was never done before!) throwing candy at the kids. During this scene, it begins to snow from the ceiling ---not only on the stage but over the audience as well. If you're sitting in the first third of the theater, be prepared to be snowed upon (my son loves this part).

Overall, Langella looked like he was having a lot of fun. He stole a couple of moments to wipe his brow and catch his breath behind the scenery, but as I said, this is a killer role. If you go, stay past the curtain call to the very, very end. Langella lingers with Tiny Tim, talking to him, and before they walk off, they wave and blow kisses to everyone. 

---A New Jersey Fan