Eric Sharp and David Beach Photo by Dan Norman

The production was captivating, and I learned that a thrust stage meant sitting close to the action. Friends with older siblings had warned me about the "Guthrie spit." This was the original Barbara Field version, which featured a framing device in which Charles Dickens decides to write the story of Ebenezer Scrooge. I remember a general feeling of awe, confusing the characters of Dickens, Fred, and Bob Cratchit, having a tenuous grasp of the plot, and having a fantastic time. I saw countless subsequent productions of the Guthrie's A Christmas Carol over the years once Joe Dowling became the artistic director, beginning in high school and through college. These years were Gary Gisselman's tenure as director, in which the framing device with Dickens was dispensed of, but the adaptation was still created by Barbara Field. I worked as a tour guide at the Guthrie after it moved to the river in the '00s, witnessing firsthand the scenic changes that were incorporated in that production in that era.

A Christmas Carol is a slim novella with strong Dickensian characters, a poignant redemption story, and a celebration of the Christmas season. It works across mediums: film, stage, and television. It can be a creepy ghost story and dispense of the Christmas music, or it can emphasize the Christmas and make light of the scarier aspects. Unfortunately, this latest version at the Guthrie, introduced in 2019, seems to have a tenuous grasp of all aspects of this enchanting story. The Fezziwig scene is not overly festive, and the ghosts are not overly scary. The actors, aside from David Beach giving his all in the strangely underwritten role of Ebenezer Scrooge, are tenuous and seem almost under-rehearsed. Despite the fact that I am certain many actors played the same roles last year, dialects are inconsistent or simply not present. The ensemble provides the narration in short bits of dialogue and they appear to be stronger singers or dancers than speakers, as much of the narration is incomprehensible.

The blocking and scenic design by Matt Saunders is infuriating as it seems to lack the fundamental concept of what my old Dean/Carra Directing 101 textbook refers to as "central staging." In central staging, actors are staged in a series of triangles on the thrust, with whatever variations and levels the director desires. In this production, Scrooge's bedroom and home occupies the entire upstage, essentially creating a proscenium arch, leaving the actual thrust to be used primarily as a giant cobblestone apron. No worries about "Guthrie spit" in this production–the actors are too far away. Not only that, but the actors are literally staged in lines as opposed to triangles. A perfect example of this is the short scene with Old Joe, played gamely by veteran Nathaniel Fuller. In the current staging, Old Joe is roughly center stage on the thrust, but the Charwoman (Emily Gunyou Halaas) and Laundress (Summer Hagen) stand next to him in a line stage left. Central staging would place these characters down right and down left, respectively, but Gorlin-Han prefers to only make use of the downstage entrances and exits for city onlookers in carolling scenes.

I could go on, but I don't like to write negative reviews. This is a brisk production, clocking in at an hour and 45 minutes with intermission. The color scheme is very cold, with a lot of blues and grays. I was hoping to leave this production in a festive mood, but I left disappointed in the misuse of the magical thrust stage. This production could easily transfer to the proscenium stage next door.

A Christmas Carol runs through December 28, 2025, at the Guthrie Theater, 818 South 2nd Street, Minneapolis MN. For tickets and information, please call 612-377-2224 or visit guthrietheater.org.