Reviews of "A Dickens Christmas"

THE PLAIN DEALER December 9, 1993

A star Turney on Dickens

By Marianne Evett

After playing Scrooge for so many years in the Cleveland Play House version of "A Christmas Carol," it seems very natural for Wayne S. Turney to appear onstage as Charles Dickens.

"Christmas With Dickens," presented by the Cleveland Theater Company in the Factory Theater Building at Cleveland State University through Dec. 24, gives us an evening with the celebrated author, reading from his works as he often really did on tours of Europe or the United States.

It’s a treat to see Turney, creating not only Dickens, but a whole gallery or upper- and lower-class characters, each with a distinctive voice and impeccable accent.

I only wish he had better material. He has chosen to avoid ‘A Christmas Carol"—or, rather, he uses it as a gimmick, beginning each of three acts by reading a scrap of it but soon letting it remind him of another tale, less familiar, that he wants to share with us. But two of the tales are decidedly substandard Dickens, full of self-conscious attempts at humor or great globs of Victorian sentimentality.

The best section comes from "Oliver Twist," the shivery account of Nancy’s brave journey to inform on Fagin, her murder by Bill Sikes and his subsequent flight and death. Turney invests it with all the emotional horror it deserves, keeping the melodrama under control but letting the story itself grip us.

Impressive as his performance is, it’s still an oddly chilly tale for the holiday season. Neither of the other two stories is especially Christmassy.

"Boots at the Holly Tree Inn" is about a shy traveler who listens to a story told by the man who polishes the boots (the "Boots" of the title) at the inn. The story is one of those insufferable cute, sweet ones beloved by the Victorians, about some dear little children who elope. Dickens treats almost everybody involved in the telling and the tale with condescension.

The last story, "The Poor Traveler," is related to "Carol" because it shows a soul reclaimed—a man who joins the army as a way of committing suicide but learns to love unselfishly and, finally, to forgive. It covers many years, however, it’s undramatic stuff, and you can see the end coming a great way off.

Turney does his best with these two duds. Seated with his books in Eugene Hare’s cosy Victorian set, he’s obviously enjoying himself. Director Thomas Q. Fulton Jr. has helped hone the performance so that Turney never seems self-indulgent as an actor.

This is an entertaining evening, if on the thin side as to content. Maybe next year, Turney should just throw caution to the winds and read us "A Christmas Carol." After all, Patrick Stewart does it as a one-man show.

THE SUN PAPERS:

Turney’s talent delivers spirit into "Christmas with Dickens" by Teddi Gibson-Bianchi

In an age of special effects and computer generated doodads, the notion of simple storytelling might sound like anemic theater fare. But, it’s not—at least not in the hands of actor Wayne Turney.

Turney stars in Cleveland Theater Company’s ‘Christmas With Dickens,’ a staged reading/one-man show directed by Thomas Fulton Jr. Using only the words of Charles Dickens and the suggestion of a set, Turney populates the stage with crones, curmudgeons, cockneys and other characters.

The evening purports to show the celebrated British author reading his own stories, just as he did on his tours during the mid-1800’s. Of course, he opens with a snippet from "A Christmas Carol," but that’s just a device to introduce some less familiar yarns.

Two are slightly related to the holiday season. "Boots at the Holly Tree Inn" deals with a snow bound traveler who hears a tale about two eloping children. Admittedly sugary and sentimental, it has some comic moments. The second, "The Poor Traveler," is stuffed with Victorian melodrama.

These tales pale next to "Oliver Twist," the most dramatic and effective section of the evening. Here is a recounting of Nancy’s midnight journey to inform on Fagin, her brutal murder by Bill Sikes, Sikes’s ghastly flight and death. It’s scary and spine-chilling, though there’s not a bit of gore in sight.

The show gives Turney a chance to exercise his impressive range of skills and talents. Aided by Fulton’s sympathetic direction, Turney deftly creates several memorable portraits. All characters are brought to life vividly, from the wizened and cackling Scrooge to an innocent young lad.

One could quibble with the structure of the program and with a story or two. These are small flaws, though, in an otherwise enjoyable evening.

What’s more important, perhaps, is that "Christmas With Dickens" shows simple tales, well told, are sometimes the best.