The sentiment for “Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol,” running through Dec. 21 at Three Brothers Theatre, is the same as the original story for which it was named, according to its director, Mark Bracken Jr.
“It’s a story about redemption,” said Bracken Jr.
“It’s a retelling of a classic story that we all love. It’s told simply and beautifully. Tom Mula did a really wonderful job of crafting a well-known story in an original way,” said Bracken Jr. “Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol” includes an 11-foot-tall dark-robed puppet and a spirit named “Bogle.”
“Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol” played for two seasons at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre. Mula wrote the story from Marley’s perspective as a play and novel in the middle 1990s. Jacob Marley was Ebenezer Scrooge’s dead business partner in the classic “A Christmas Carol,” written by Charles Dickens in 1843.
At Three Brothers Theatre, performances are at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays through Dec. 21.
Bracken Jr. directed it once before at a theatre house in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
In Mula’s play, the same story about Scrooge and his visit from ghosts meant to help him change his miserly ways, is told.
But with Mula’s play, “You follow Marley’s path through the afterlife and how he can break himself from the chains he’s wearing,” Bracken Jr. said.
“He’s accompanied by a spirit called Bogle — a spirit that is with him who is supposed to help him change his ways, help him realize what he did wrong in life, and guide him on his quest to redeem himself,” he said.
Like “A Christmas Carol,” “Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol” is haunting and beautiful, Bracken Jr. said. One example is a scene in which Marley sees tall black figures next to every human. Bogle explains that Marley is seeing death beside all of us.
The play is done in story theater style. That means while there’s dialogue, the actors also deliver narratives such as telling the audience that Marley is walking in a dusty hallway.
“One of my favorite monologues is at the beginning of the script when Marley is left alone in the void of whatever afterlife is. He’s describing what’s around him,” Bracken Jr. said.
The scene guides the audience to envisioning most of it instead of showing it all to them, Bracken Jr. said.
Actors play several roles in the show, including as narrators. One character, however, isn’t portrayed by a human. The ghost of Christmas Yet to Come is played by a giant puppet that Bracken Jr. helped create.
He’s made and worked with puppets before and worked with a puppeteer to design an 11-foot-tall vision of a Grim Reaper. It’s a black-roped figure with a misshapen face.
“It’s operated by three puppeteers. One of our actors is in the center structure. The other two act as the hands,” he said. Bracken Jr. said he’s never heard of a puppet being used in Mula’s play and said he appreciates the fact that Three Brothers Theatre allows him to take risks.
The play’s set depicts old London lit at night; and the costumes combine Victorian pieces with modern day attire. For example, “Scrooge wears ripped jeans with a beautiful, black frock coat,” Bracken, Jr. said.
“Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol,” is a family show, accessible to all ages, he said. “It’s told in a way the whole family will understand.”
Bracken Jr. won’t give away the ending, but he did say, “It’s a heart-wrenching moment in which both Scrooge and Marley are redeemed.”
‘Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol’
Time: to Dec. 21
Where: Three Brothers Theatre, 221 N. Genesee St., Waukegan
Tickets: $15-$20
Information: 224-419-4325; threebrotherstheatre.com
Sheryl DeVore is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.
