ACT’s ‘Christmas Carol’ revival is a holiday treat to savor

The ghost of Jacob Marley will forever haunt the moving production of “A Christmas Carol,” playing through Dec. 24 at San Francisco’s American Conservatory Theater.

Fond memories of the late great Ken Ruta, an incomparable actor and original company member at ACT who played the role for 14 years, gild this staging with bittersweet resonance. The holiday ritual has long been a showcase for estimable Bay Area actors and this production, the first in three years, feels like a homecoming after the heartache and isolation of the pandemic.

Like many who grew up in the Bay Area, I have a history with this beloved Dickensian tradition at ACT. I loved it as a child, performed in it as a teen and now I cherish bringing my own child to it.

Directed by Peter J. Kuo, this magical revival soars on swift pacing and deeply-felt performances by noteworthy actors such as the estimable Anthony Fusco as the misanthropic Scrooge, Catherine Castellanos as the earthy ghost of Christmas present and Sharon Lockwood as Scrooge’s long-suffering servant Mrs. Dilber. Dan Hiatt has stepped into Ruta’s shoes as Marley in a passionate performance that pays tribute to the master thespian.

The pleasure of watching veteran actors revisit roles year after year heightens the alchemy of the holiday ritual. Missing this tradition for the last few years has only burnished its power. The piece has evolved, the choreography (Val Caniparoli) of the musical numbers feels far more raucous than it used to and there are more children (all adorable) in the show than I remember.

Of course, it’s comforting that some things never change. I particularly relish the banter between Fusco’s embittered Scrooge and the deliciously tart Lockwood as Dilber. It should be noted that Fusco alternates the role with the equally laudable James Carpenter.

I also look forward to the giant black wraith-like puppet that serves as the ghost of Christmas future. I can remember when my kiddo was so little she was terrified of it.

To be sure it’s not a perfect staging. Some of the Victorian set design seems cheesy, particularly the street scenes. Some of the scenes feel a bit rushed.

Some might also knock holiday shows for their overt sentimentality. Not me.

I think catharsis is what the holidays are for. It’s a time to revisit what we hold dear and why.

Indeed, try as I might, I usually end the play a little misty-eyed, deeply moved by old Ebenezer’s epiphany that the poor are no less noble than the rich. I often wonder how this show can be so popular in a world where so few seem to share that belief.

Meanwhile, Daphne delighted in the piece from start to finish, laughing and clapping so loudly that she drew some rebuke from the people sitting in the row in front of us.

In the past, I might have been mortified by that. I too have spent years as a stickler for theater etiquette. But now I think that perhaps the heart of “Carol” is about cherishing childhood in all its innocence and chaos. Scrooge finds his redemption in his memories of youth, after all. He remembers who he once was and the knowledge transforms him.

Clever double casting, with Adam Kuveniemann playing both young Scrooge and his kind-hearted nephew Fred, heightens this effect.

Certainly Daphne came away from the show bursting with yuletide joy. I left the theater steeped in thoughts of Ruta, watching him in “Heartbreak House,” The Dresser” and “The Cherry Orchard,” gossiping with him over espressos years ago.

I’ll certainly never forget his warning about how quickly time passes, once you’re old enough to notice that it’s fleeting. Still, there’s something about preserving holiday traditions like going to “Christmas Carol” with your family that makes time shine a tad brighter.

Contact Karen D’Souza at karenpdsouza@yahoo.com.