After two years of the packed houses with the holiday triumph “All is Calm,” Thingamajig Theatre Company returns with a new seasonal jewel: “A Christmas Carol,” opening Friday, Dec. 12, at 7 p.m. at the Pagosa Springs Center for the Arts.
A special Opening Night Talkback with the cast and creative team will follow.
Director Andrew Barratt Lewis brings Patrick Barlow’s adaptation to life with imaginative staging, quicksilver pacing and an uncompromising trust in the power of ensemble storytelling. The production glows with the kind of intimate theatrical magic Ben Brantley once described as “art that breathes.”
At its center, Dan Morrison delivers a crisp, layered and ultimately heartfelt performance as Ebenezer Scrooge, charting the character’s emotional thaw with clarity and grace. Logan Polson, Bob Cratchit, offers a quiet, steady warmth, but his contribution extends far beyond Cratchit alone. In the great tradition of repertory storytelling, Polson slips nimbly into roles as varied as lively children, spectral visitors and Scrooge’s younger self, revealing his remarkable range and giving the production much of its momentum.
The remaining ensemble (Ellie O’Hara, Samantha Luck and Trevor Brown) creates an astonishing gallery of characters that fill Victorian London with wit, tenderness and ghostly wonder.
O’Hara moves fluidly between stern housekeepers, young heroines and the regal-yet boisterous Spirit of Christmas Present, showing sharp comedic instincts and a gift for tonal shifts.
Luck navigates past, present and memory with equal ease, portraying everything from warm maternal figures to spirited guides whose presence deepens the story’s emotional undercurrents.
Brown delivers one of the evening’s most touching turns as Tiny Tim, but also brings delightful humor and presence to roles such as Fezziwig, Frederick and a variety of spirits and passersby — performances that showcase his agility and emotional range.
Their collective work forms the heart of the production, a finely tuned dance of character and storytelling that makes Barlow’s adaptation shine.
The design work supports the story with elegance: Lighting Designer MacKenzie Lowe crafts a world of shadow, lantern glow and ghostly suggestion; Sound Designer Tim Moore blends atmosphere, underscoring and memory into a cohesive emotional landscape; and Properties Curator Tanya Quinn supplies a charming array of Victorian touches that keep the world textured and alive.
With its wit, imagination and openhearted storytelling, Thingamajig’s “A Christmas Carol” stands as a worthy successor to “All is Calm” — a holiday tradition renewed.
Additional weekend performances continue Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m.
For show information and tickets, visit pagosacenter.org or call (970) 731-SHOW (7469).
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