NEW BRUNSWICK -- To stage A Christmas Carol or not to stage it--that is the question in December when thoughts of theatre companies turn to sugarplums, or box office success.
At the George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick through Dec. 31, the choice is Inspecting Carol, a cross between the Dickens' classic and Gogol's The Inspector General.
This is the second time the Playhouse has staged this clever production by Daniel Sullivan and Seattle Repertory Theatre, again with artistic director David Saint at the helm. Also returning is actor Dan Lauria as Larry Vauxhall/Scrooge, a character who last year recited his lines in Spanish to bring contemporary relevance to the story.
Peter Scolari plays Wayne Wellacre, a very bad aspiring actor mistaken for a National Endowment of the Arts evaluator, who unexpectedly arrives four days before the Soapbox Playhouse mounts its annual Carol. The cast also includes Peggy Cosgrave, Catherine Cox, Randy Donaldson, MacIntyre Dixon, Wally Dunn, Michael Mastro, Mary Catherine Wright, John Keller, Aaron Wilton, and Christopher J. Stewart. All are superb. The insider's look at a theatre barely hanging on ("Of course we're broke. We're an arts organization!" one character utters), elicited many laughs from the opening-night audience filled with arts lovers, including representatives from various philanthropies.
While Lauria and Scolari are known for their TV roles--the former for The Wonder Years, the latter for Newhart and Bosom Buddies-there are no "stars" in this cast. Except, perhaps, for the NEA inspector cameos played by various New Jersey celebrities. Former New Jersey governor and Environmental Protection Agency chief Christine Todd Whitman, for example, essayed that role on Dec. 3.
The thing is, with A Christmas Carol, one gets a story about good and evil and the redemptive power of love and forgiveness. It's a universal theme with which many people from different countries can identify. With Inspecting Carol, one gets lots of theatre jokes and sight gags. The jokes about arts groups having given the NEA everything it asked for won't work everywhere. Will an actor complaining about looking like the "ghost of Liberace" get laughs in Germany?
In the end, as with all plays designed for a specific time and place, Inspecting Carol's relevance will pass and its age will show. There is no doubt as to which Carol will be around in years to come. But while here, Inspecting Carol is a fun night at the theatre.
Inspecting Carol runs Nov. 29-Dec. 31 at the George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick, N.J. Tickets: (732) 246-7717; website: www.georgestplayhouse.org.