Theater Alaska’s ‘A Christmas Carol’ brings lessons of past, present and future to various stages
- Jasz Garrett
- 3 hours ago
- 8 min read
New and returning cast members spread the spirit of giving, love, and redemption to all by performing at nontraditional venues
By Jasz Garrett
Juneau Independent
For the second year, Theater Alaska is performing “A Christmas Carol” at community centers, libraries, schools and parks. Producing Artistic Director Flordelino Lagundino said the theater’s mission is to bring theatrical events directly into community spaces, creating accessibility to the arts.
“People can feel like they’re still participating in art and in theater, no matter what is challenging them to get to that performance, so we’re trying to make it so it’s not a challenge at all,” he said. “Performing for the youngest of kids to the oldest of individuals. That’s the family program that we’re trying to do. Anyone in the family could come and see the show.”
The performance will run through Dec. 21, with the upcoming shows at McPhetres Hall and Thunder Mountain Middle School. Lagundino said it was a packed house for their opening night on Wednesday at the Juneau Pioneer Home.
“Some people were remarking they noticed the differences between last year and this year. There’s some choreographic differences. Some of the people are different as well, some of the actors,” he said. “Also, some of the actors are the same, but they’re playing different roles. I think the biggest thing is that a woman was visiting her mother there, and she was saying it’s so great for us to go there because otherwise her mother wouldn’t be able to participate and see our show. That’s always wonderful. That's the reason why we do these things.”
The cast has more than 30 people, including more than 20 youth actors and this year’s addition of musicians – including piano, flute, mandolin, violin and percussion. The music and theatricality brought holiday cheer to Riverview Senior Living on Thursday night, where a toasty fire and Christmas tree served as the small stage area’s backdrops. The event was free and open to the community.
Lagundino said scenes can be remade from place to place by using music and choreography instead of relying on a unit set. “A Christmas Carol” uses one table, five chairs, two stools and a bunch of props. He said both he and Hali Duran worked with the actors to give the transportable set a life of its own.
“This is important for us because then we can change it anywhere we go,” Lagundino said. “The story is held within the actor and the relationships happening on stage. The actor has to have, ‘What does this prop mean to you? How is this now different?’ The table is now a bed, is now a table, is now a windowsill. You infuse it with your imagination.”
The clashing of bells, the throwing of a blanket, and a three-chair dance helped place the audience into a new scene. A chime of the triangle, a ring of windchimes, or a flute instrument signified Ebenezer Scrooge’s transition out of the spirit world.
“A Christmas Carol” was adapted for the stage by Arlitia Jones and Michael Evan Haney. This classic holiday tale by Charles Dickens brings to life the transformative journey of Scrooge, a miserly old man who learns the true meaning of Christmas through the visits of three unforgettable spirits: Ghost of Christmas Past, Ghost of Christmas Present and Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come.
It was Tom Robenolt’s second year playing Scrooge, the lead role. He called the show timely for him, saying his age makes him view the show and the character he plays differently.
“Last year it was new and I discovered this transformation is really what it’s all about – the buildup,” Robenolt said. “How does he subtly and slowly change throughout the play? This year, it’s more of seeing things in a different way. There’s new cast members, so interacting with (the Ghost of Christmas) Present is a completely different way than we did last year. Other things are hitting me as I get older and have more relevance. As time starts to run out, how do you treat other people? How would you like to be treated? In some ways, I feel like I’m learning more from the play than I did last year.”
He said he drew from life experiences to embody Scrooge – thinking of “anything and everything that’s ever annoyed me.” With a chuckle, Robenolt used the way people drive in downtown Juneau as an example. To spark the sudden joy, he said he thinks about his family and friends. Robenolt said he can be a humbug himself sometimes, but he tries more and more not to be now.
He said another thing the show taught him was how to adapt to changing venues. He said it’s challenging to perform in a room half the size he is used to, but remembering he is giving people a performance they really want to see helped him love it.
Robenolt captures Scrooge’s transformation through lively facial expressions, body language, and dialogue – a furrowed, mean brow, rigid posture and “Bah hambug!” turns to wide eyes, open arms, and “Merry Christmas!” the moment Scrooge wakes from his ghost dream.
Drums build the tension while Scrooge searches for answers and more time during the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, writhing on the carpet. The music is abruptly cut off as soon as he opens his eyes. Then he exclaims, teary-eyed, “I must make amends.”
“That’s the whole show, right? If that doesn’t happen, then you don’t have much. It’s a complete contrast of what you’ve been seeing the whole show,” Robenolt said. “You can kind of think of it as this person has been trapping this in since he was a kid. Finally, the cork is taken off the shaken bottle — the spirits shook him up — and now he's out. So he’s able to express himself in ways that he’s never really expressed himself since he was a kid. So he’s kind of like a child in that moment, is what I was looking at. And just like the complete explosion of just joy.”
Joy Johnston sat in the audience at Riverview Senior Living, singing along to Christmas carols throughout the show. She had a prop of her very own – a walker decorated with candy cane lights, adorned with sparkling blue bows and ribbons. She said she used to perform in musical shows in Contra Costa County, California. Johnston said, like others in Riverview, she can’t drive anymore and called watching “A Christmas Carol” at home a treat.
“Last year they didn’t have the orchestra. They were outstanding,” she said. “I’m hoping they’ll come in the springtime. Like they said, if you know the song, sing along. I’m an alto, so I harmonized with them, so it was really nice. I’ve sung in church choirs. I used to have my own gospel band in California, and then of course, playing my violin.”
Nine-year-old Emily Feliciano-Soto said for each performance, she looks forward to singing the Christmas carols, especially “In the Bleak Midwinter.” Last year, she made her acting debut as Tiny Tim with Theater Alaska. This year, she played schoolboy Scrooge.
“There’s a lot of harder, different choreography,” Feliciano-Soto said. “In the patapan scene where Scrooge is getting bullied in the Christmas past, there’s a lot of different choreography there, a lot harder. It’s really fun, though.”
Fifteen-year-old Ilannie Mateo played Martha Cratchit, the eldest daughter of the impoverished Cratchit family. Her character already has a job to help support her family. Like Robenolt, Mateo said she drew on real-life experiences to inspire her character.
But she is the middle child in her family, not the oldest. So she turned to her older brother for advice.
“He said we’re a lot to handle,” she said with a laugh. “It really helped me because personally my brothers and I are very competitive with each other, or very touchy with each other. We like doing pushes or side hugs, and close family bond things. I tried incorporating that with my character, especially in the dinner scene.”
She said she brought this into her character by being caring in small interactions with Martha’s brother, Tiny Tim, the Kratchit’s youngest child, who is very ill. Mateo also worked on her posture more this year to convey how strong Martha Cratchit is for her family.
“Last year, I didn’t give much thought into how heavy I wanted this character to be. She was a bit more upbeat last year, very bouncy and playful,” Mateo said. “But this year, we talked more about needing my posture to change. My character constantly has a bag over her shoulder. She has all this emotional weight, all this baggage about her family and her situation.”
Mateo said she wants to continue pursuing acting after high school, in movies and Broadway shows – “anything that involves acting because it’s really my big passion.” She performed the role of a stepmother for “Cinderella” with Theater Latitude 58 and Floyd Dryden Middle School and placed third in “Juneau’s Got Talent” in 2023. She received training with Perseverance Theatre’s STAR program and, most recently, with Theater Alaska’s Musical Theater Workshop at Juneau Fine Arts Camp. She said the musical theater camp taught her to be louder and to better express a character through bodywork.
“I would love to work with Theater Alaska again if they have another opportunity,” she said.
Upcoming pay-as-you-want performances
Tickets at www.theateralaska.org
Wednesday, Dec. 10, 7:30 p.m. - McPhetres Hall (325 Gold St.)
Thursday, Dec. 11, 7:30 p.m. - McPhetres Hall
Friday, Dec. 12, 7:30 p.m. - McPhetres Hall
Saturday, Dec. 13, 7:30 p.m. - McPhetres Hall
Sunday, Dec. 14, 3 p.m. - McPhetres Hall
Friday, Dec. 19, 7:30 p.m. - Thunder Mountain Middle School (3101 Dimond Pk. Lp.)
Saturday, Dec. 20, 7:30 p.m. - Thunder Mountain Middle School
Sunday, Dec. 21, 3 p.m. - Thunder Mountain Middle School
• Contact Jasz Garrett at jasz@juneauindependent.com or (907) 723-9356.
