“A Scandinavian Story for Christmas” Delights at the 55th Annual Midwinter Revels

December 17, 2025April 8, 2026 Michele MarkarianLeave a comment

*Midwinter Revels: A Scandinavian Story for Christmas*
Photos by Paul Buckley

By Michele Markarian

“A Scandinavian Story for Christmas”. Inspired by Gregory Maguire’s “Matchless”, Written by Debra Wise and Patrick Sawonson. Dramaturg, Nicole Galland. Directed by Debra Wise. Music Direction by Elijah Botkin. Choreography by Tom Roby. Presented by Sanders Theatre, Harvard University, through December 28.

I have to admit, I have not been fully committed to the holiday spirit this year. With so much turmoil in the world, it’s hard to focus on merriment, feasting, and gift-giving, but I was intrigued by the Swedish theme of this year’s Revels and decided to check it out. The rich hues of the theatre were warm and inviting, matching the warm and genial manner of the Master of Ceremonies, David Coffin. As the cast entered through the mezzanine, voices harmonizing over the traditional Nu Ar Det Jul Igen (“Now It Is Christmas Again”), I could feel my attitude begin to thaw.

CSC’s ‘A Christmas Carol’ Stirs Christmas Spirit with Victorian Song

December 14, 2025April 8, 2026 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Kathryn McKellar, Will Lyman in CSC’s ;*Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol*‘.
Photos by Nile Scott Studios

Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol − Adaptation by Steve Wargo with Musical Arrangements by Dianne Adams McDowell; Directed by Steven Maler; Musical Direction by Dan Rodriguez; Scenic Design by Scott Bradley; Choreography by John Lam; Lighting Design by Jessica Elliot and Eric Southern III; Sound Design by David Remedios; Costumes by Fabian Fidel Aguilar. Presented by Commonwealth Shakespeare Company at Emerson Cutler Majestic Theatre, Tremont St., Boston, through December 23.

By Mike Hoban

I’ve been a huge fan of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol ever since I was a young boy, although I must confess that my deep appreciation didn’t come from reading the novella. Instead, it was the delightful cartoon musical Mister Magoo’s Christmas Carol that first captured my heart and imagination. Featuring a musical score by legendary Broadway composer Jule Styne (Gypsy, Funny Girl, and dozens more), the animated production entertainingly conveyed the story’s central message of redemption and learning to care for others in a way that even an eight-year-old could understand. From there, I graduated to the iconic 1951 Alastair Sim film, and each holiday season try to incorporate one or both into my holiday-themed viewing to rekindle some of that nostalgic Christmas spirit.

Keeping the Faith: Voncille Ross on 55 Years of Boston’s “Black Nativity”

December 12, 2025April 8, 2026 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

By Killian Melloy

For 55 years, the National Center of Afro-American Artists’ (NCAAA) production of Langston Hughes’ “Black Nativity” has been a holiday tradition, a community gathering, and what some have called “Boston’s Black community’s holiday card to the world.” At the helm of this enduring celebration is Voncille Ross, Executive Producer and Director of NCAAA Black Nativity, whose connection to the production has endured nearly as long as the show itself.

Theater Mirror’s Kilian Mellow Interviews Boston Favorite Will Lyman on Playing “Scrooge” in Commonwealth Shakespeare’s “A Christmas Carol”

December 8, 2025April 8, 2026 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Will Lyman as Scrooge in CSC’s “A Christmas Carol”

Ebenezer Scrooge is the ultimate Christmas villain. Indeed, his name has become synonymous with unthinking greed paired with the sort of flinty hard-heartedness that denies joy to oneself as well as to others. His trademark exclamation of “Bah! Humbug!” has become a universal shorthand for dismissal of all things joyful and celebratory.

Holiday Mashup of Dickens and Holmes is Both Familiar and Surprising

November 27, 2025April 8, 2026 CJ WilliamsLeave a comment

Jon-Vellante, Paul-Melendy, and Christopher-Chew in Lyric Stage’s ‘A Sherlock Carol’.
Photos by Nile Hawver

‘A Sherlock Carol’ – Written by Mark Shanahan; Directed by Ilyse Robbins; Featuring Paul Melendy; Leigh Barrett; Christopher Chew; Jon Vellante; Mark Linehan; Michelle Moran; Scenic Design by Erik D. Diaz; Costumes by Sophia Baramidze; Lighting Design by SeifAllah Solotto-Cristobal; Sound Design by Alex Berg; Presented by Lyric Stage Boston, Boston, MA running November 14 through December 21.

By C.J. Williams

Famously, Dickens’ A Christmas Carol opens with the line, “Marley was dead: to begin with.” Playing now at the Lyric Stage until December 21st, A Sherlock Carol, opens to the tune of “Moriarty was dead: to begin with”. The famous consulting detective is in a black, offensive, depression (throwing out friends and spitting “Bah!”). Moriarty is dead, and Holmes, self-obsessed and shut in on Christmas Eve, refuses all invitations from Watson to partake in holiday cheer…and Moriarty is dead. But that might just as easily have been said of Scrooge at the opening of his story, and Holmes, as we enter A Sherlock Carol, are dead themselves: They’ve both lost the thing that gives hope to the human heart.

Scrooge was essentially brought back to life. Can Holmes be?

Trinity Rep’s ‘A Christmas Carol’: Nothing New, But Always Heartwarming

November 17, 2025April 8, 2026 CJ WilliamsLeave a comment

Felese Kparyea as Martha, Jeff Church as Bob Cratchit, Salvador Rivera Scotti as Tiny Tim, Stephen Thorne as Ebenezer Scrooge, and Henry Nwaru as Nephew Fred in Trinity Rep’s “A Christmas Carol,” Photos by Mark Turek

‘A Christmas Carol’ – Written by Charles Dickens; Adapted by Adrian Hall with additional adaptations by Richard Jenkins; Co-directed by Sharon and Richard Jenkins. Featuring Nate Dendy, Stephen Thorne, Jeff Church, Kayla Dumont, Evie Dumont, Taavon Gamble, Gillian Williams, Allison Russo. Original Music by Richard Cumming; Music Direction by James Wood; Stage Manager Anais Bustos; Sound Designer Peter Sasha Hurowitz; Lighting Design by Brian Lilienthal; Costume Design by Toni Spadafora-Sadler. Presented by Trinity Repertory Theatre, Providence, RI, running November 12 through December 31.

By CJ Williams

Trinity Repertory’s A Christmas Carol has a 49-year tradition, but add that to the publication date of Dickens’ original story, and that’s 182 years. That’s all to say that there’s a good reason audiences return to this narrative of miser-redeemed year after year. A Christmas Carol may remind us year after year not to succumb to that sneaking hardness of heart we’re vulnerable to. But it’s also just rollicking good fun to watch an old grumpy geezer get pulled out of bed and thrust into a ghost-haunted pantomime of his past.