Mrs. Bob Cratchet's Wild Christmas Binge

Critiqued by Emma Gift

Running December 4 and 5, Littleton High School produced Mrs. Bob Cratchit's Wild Christmas Binge by Christopher Durang, a twist on the holiday classic A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.

This time, one of the main characters is the pessimistic wife of Ebenezer Scrooge's employee, Bob Cratchit. Littleton High School Teacher, Stephanie Ortiz directed this crazy play with the help of her assistant director, Senior Faryn Tobler.

There were many actors that played varied parts throughout the production, but those who remained constant were the Ghost of Christmas past, present and future, Scrooge, and the Cratchit family. Junior Maddy Dockery-Fuhrman played the glamorous and somewhat inept Ghost of Christmas past, present and future. She adapted her character well through the way she spoke condescendingly and moved very fluidly. This made her character believable as someone who thought she had a perfect plan that kept going awry.

The character of Ebenezer Scrooge was played by senior Cody Ullrich. His execution of Scrooge was very accurate and entertaining. All of his lines were delivered so bitterly and the timing made every line that much more fun to watch. His physicallizations with his cane and adaptation of the old age was so believable that he could very well be mistaken as an old man.

Mrs. Bob Cratchit was played by senior Lilli Hokama who was hilarious as the wretched, defeated housewife of the optimistic, happy-go-lucky Bob Cratchit. The gravely tone and register of her voice paired with her horribly cruel lines was a genius match. The contrast between her and her husband was so funny to watch. Bob Cratchit (played by senior Josiah Prezkuta) was so optimistic about life, Josiah’s chipper and energetic tone contributed to the character foil as well. Also, his British dialect almost never faltered which made the play nice and relaxing to watch.

Despite the many positive aspects of this production, I do have some criticisms. For instance, the transitions between sequences were awkward and made rough by the actors. Also, I thought that the intonations and inflections of the Cratchit children were a little redundant and repetitive. Things in general could have run smoother in terms of the actors' execution. Perhaps if the energy was higher or they had more time to prepare, it would have been less inconsistent.

This December production was a great way to kick off the holiday season and did a fantastic job of getting people in the Christmas spirit once they had heard enough "Bah Humbugs!"