With New Staging, CSC Director Steve Maler Addresses the Redemptive Power of 'A Christmas Carol'

EDGE: This is such a beloved chestnut you could probably do the same thing every year and audiences would still love it. But I'm sure CSC will put its own unique stamp onto this production.

Steve Maler: Yes, you're absolutely right. This is an iconic piece of literature. There's a reason it's been so cherished and beloved for so long, just like Shakespeare has been so cherished and beloved. The story is [about] the power of human redemption, the power of connection of humanity. Those themes are so deeply urgent to us now.

The notion of joy and celebration and celebrating our fellow man, those are the things that drew me to the material, and the things that the creative team focused on. We wanted to make this piece a love letter to theater, as well. One of the trademarks of our work on the Boston Common is embracing the theatricality of Shakespeare, the music and dance and story, the fighting and great language. We're coming through that lens with this production as well. This piece has over 20 excellent [selections of] holiday music from Dickens era, that are beautifully interwoven to comment on and advance the story. Just glorious, glorious arrangements. We have 16 amazing singers. I have to say, the sound that comes off the stage is so ravishing, and so powerful, and so moving. It helps us weave through a very faithful adaptation of Dickens' narrative with glorious choreography by John Lam. An exquisite design team has built this very, very beautiful production.

EDGE: Is this version a musical?

Steve Maler: It kind of is. None of Dickens' language is set to music, but it really does feel like a musical. There are big dance numbers. There's beautiful singing and extraordinary choreography. But in the midst of that is an incredibly powerful story about the journey to forgiveness, the journey towards celebrating community and love of one another. I think it has the best of both worlds: All the wonderful theatricality that you want from a musical or a holiday extravaganza, but then embedded in it is a powerful story that's so beautifully told by Will Lyman's journey through the character.

EDGE: There have been a number of theatrical adaptations of "A Christmas Carol." What sets this one apart?

Steve Maler: We looked at a bunch of different adaptations when we were considering doing this production. This one really jumped out at us because it celebrates the nature of storytelling. It's almost a devised theater approach to the piece. The way we've thought of it is, it's this group of traveling players who come to our little theater and, out of a bunch of crates, there unfolds this beautiful production that embraces the nature of theatrical storytelling.

EDGE: The tale is evergreen, being about a man who has closed himself off from compassion and isolated himself from society at large. But what does a story penned in the 1800s by a British author have to tell us about this moment in America?

Steve Maler: I feel like the themes of care and love for our fellow man are increasingly important and urgent. Our world today has become very balkanized and very divisive. One of the great things that theater does, and great stories do, is bring people together. I think this piece reminds us of the emptiness of our lives if we don't embrace the people around us, and support and love each other. The notion of consciousness over commerce really is such a core message of the piece.

One of the influences to Dickens' original story was the horrible child labor conditions in England in his era. He was urging audiences to think better about how we govern ourselves, how we care about each other, and how we look after those less fortunate than us. I think it really is a piece for our time.

EDGE: You've got an absolute dream cast: Will Lyman, Aimee Doherty, Kathy St. George, Bobbie Steinbach, Jared Troilo, and so many others.

Steve Maler: Will Lyman is Scrooge. When you have Will Lyman in your cast, you're in great shape. We've done so much work over the years with Will. He was our leader on the Boston Common – he was our Brutus in "Caesar," and the star of many other productions. He's someone who I admire so much as an actor, and as a friend.

The cast blends truly extraordinary actors like Will and Aimee and Kathy alongside some of the greatest singers in our community. This piece has some heavy singing at certain points, so I'm so thrilled about Neil Ferreira, who's our Fezziwig, and Laura McHugh, who's our Mrs. Fezziwig. They're such powerhouse singers, and they just bring the house down with a big number.

And in the middle of the Fezziwig scene, Robert St. Laurence and Aimee Doherty are a lovely Bob and Mrs. Cratchit. Kathy St George plays the char woman, and also church woman at the very beginning of the piece, and a number of little wonderful cameos – again, it's just such a joy to have her in the company. Jared Troilo is our Fred, and he's fantastic and charming and charismatic. Stephen Caliskan is a young actor who's playing Peter Cratchit. Alex Poletti is a lovely young actor who plays a younger version of Will Lyman. Our three ghosts are Kathryn McKellar, who plays the Ghost of Christmas Past, and then Damon Singletary, he's the Ghost of Christmas Future. Our Ghost of Christmas Present is Carolyn Saxon. They're all just extraordinary. Bobbie Steinbach is playing Jacob Marley, and also Old Joe.

EDGE: What I wouldn't give to see Bobbie Steinbach as Marley!

[Laughter]

SM: It's really fun. She's doing an amazing job with it.

EDGE: In the spirit of giving, your first five shows are being offered at a discount.

SM: One of our longtime board members is Christy Cashman. Christy and Jay are incredible philanthropists, and one of the things that that they truly love doing is celebrating the holidays. I think they really appreciate the communal spirit, the community spirit, and that sense of togetherness that that this holiday represents for so many people. They made a very generous commitment to support the production, and we decided to deploy that as kind of regifting it – gifting the gift forward, as it were – and offering some very affordable pricing for our first five performances. We hope that this is going to become a beautiful holiday tradition for many years to come, and we're hoping to kick it off with a great run this year to celebrate our community and celebrate this great community of artists and artisans and welcome our audiences from the Boston Common inside, where they don't have to worry about the rain, and hopefully meet some new friends who will join us outside on the Boston Common for our free productions out there.

EDGE: Speaking of, what are you going to do this coming summer out there on the Common?

SM: I don't think we've officially announced that yet, but I will tell you it's going to be another fun play – so, that eliminates probably half of them. I've narrowed the field for you, so you can start doing your Shakespeare guessing game.

"A Christmas Carol" runs at the Emerson Cutler Majestic Theatre December 8th- 22nd. Tickets to the show's first five performances (Dec. 8-13) are being offered at $25. Typical balcony and mezzanine tickets start at $23.75, with orchestra tickets starting at $78.75. Premium seating starts at $103.75. For more information, follow this link.