There is not much that can bring in the Christmas spirit better than seeing A Christmas Carol on the stage. Luckily here in Utah there are ample opportunities for being a part of this classic story each holiday season. In fact, I saw 3 different versions during just this weekend alone. I enjoyed all 3 but must admit the musical adaptation isn’t my favorite. I would definitely recommend the straight play versions at PCT and Parker over this but it is a very well done production and if you like the musical you will love it.

My main problem with this musical is it feels like composer Alan Menken took Beauty and the Beast and put A Christmas Carol skin over it. It opens with a song about Scrooge walking through the town and feeling different, it has a song about home and another bizarre number called “Abundance and Charity” that has definite “Be Our Guest” vibes where some how they work in a kickline into Victorian England. The score even sounds nearly identical to Beauty and the Beast It just leaves me feeling uninspired when it comes to the music.

All that said, the core story is still good and everything that OMT did to elevate the material totally works. In the end, a company can only work with what they’ve got and they do a great job with this musical. It is directed by Todd Wente and just visually it is extremely impressive. The massive 2-story sets by Josh Roberts light up like actual houses and are interactive for the cast to open and walk on creating a lived in feel to what is happening. The choreography is also very strong by Michael Hernandez. I particularly enjoyed “Dancing on Your Grave” where the dancers feel like the ancestors in Addams Family, which is a lot of fun.

The cast is also strong with Chuck Gillmore leading everything as Scrooge. I especially enjoyed his transformation Scrooge. He really sold the mania and heart of those scenes. Maddie Cruz Curletto is also very good as Ghost of Christmas Past with one of the best singing voices and stage presences of the night.

The best song of the evening is probably “God Bless Us Everyone” and Theodore Kenneth Burton is very cute as Tiny Tim. Peter K. Weiner is also a warm and empathetic presence on stage as Bob Cratchit.

Unfortunately tonight is the last night of A Christmas Carol at OMT but if you want to see a musical version of this story it’s worthy of your time. They do everything they can to elevate this material and I do think OMT is one of the most underrated theatre companies in Northern Utah. If February they have The Scarlet Pimpernel coming up and that is worthy of your time.

A Christmas Carol has music by Alan Menken with lyrics by Lynn Ahrens and a book by Mike Ockrent and Lynn Ahrens. It is based on the classic novel by Charles Dickens and was performed at Madison Square Garden from 1994 to 2003.

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