Theatre Horizon's "Very Merry Xmas Carol'

The Very Merry Xmas Carol Holiday Adventure Show begins with an avuncular man in a chair (Brian McCann), settling down to read us a Christmas story. His manner reminds us of the Man in Chair who introduces the Broadway musical of 2006, The Drowsy Chaperone. As that character started spinning recordings, the stage became filled with singers and dancers. Here, the man starts reading and we are transported into Scrooge's office on Christmas Eve.

The earlier show was a homage to old musicals. This play, by four actor-writers who call themselves The Berserker Residents, is a satire of the Dickens classic, A Christmas Carol, with other holiday characters like Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer (Justin Jain) thrown in. It's clever tongue-in-cheek, not a broad send-up.

Early in the proceedings, a ghostly vision appears to Scrooge (Bradley Wrenn), pre-empting the presence of Marley's Ghost. This usurper is Frosty the Snowman (Dave Johnson), who warns Scrooge that a villain named Xmas is trying to destroy all the Christmas stories in the world, and all the characters from those stories. The allusion to commercialization destroying the spirit of Christmas is obvious but handled lightly.

Frosty, Scrooge and their red-nosed companion trek from London to the Arctic in search of the villain. The adventure benefits from the resourceful sets and lighting by Lisi Stoessel and Maria Shaplin. The play is artfully directed by Pig Iron alumnus Alex Torra.

We often hear about plays intended for audiences of all ages, but this is a rare one that really works across a wide spectrum. Some of the jokes are broad, some are intellectual. It includes broad physicality in many forms, including mime, dances and circus stunts, such as two men inside a box.