‘A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story Told by Jefferson Mays’

 I usually choose my holiday (think Christmas) plays very carefully. Seen once and I’m on to a non- holiday show. So, when a friend asked why I was at the Old Globe to see a Christmas Carol, I had to answer ‘Jefferson Mays’. 

Mays is like a chameleon, changing from one character to another as simply as the way he walks, prances, skips, jumps, weaves, moves his hands, and looks over his shoulders, changes his voice tones and, with absolutely no music, costume changes, props, save a small table with a pitcher of water and an empty glass, the Dickens version of “A Christmas Carol” begins. 

But I get ahead of myself. A little introduction: Directed by Artistic Director Barry Edelstein and written by Mays, Susan Lyons ( Mays’ wife)and Michael Arden, Mays is no stranger to The Old Globe. In 2017 he won a Tony for his performance in “I Am My Own Wife” at the Old Globe where he played 40 different characters. He was also Tony nominated for the Broadway musical, “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder”. So, yes. Jefferson Mays

Mays simply enters the stage and begins to tell the audience how, when he was a child, his parents used to read the Dickens tale to their children, each taking turns at reading and before we know it, we are immersed in the ‘Ghost Story of A Christmas Carol” with the likes of Ebenezer Scrooge (Bah Humbug), the ghost of Mr. Marley, Scrooge’s long ago partner, Bob Cratchit, his clerk, and his family including Tiny Tim, Scrooge’s family and the ghosts of Christmas’, past and present. 

Without intermission, and for 90 minutes straight Mays continues the story, leaving nothing but our imaginations to ‘watch’ the tale unfold. To call it a masterpiece in storytelling would be an understatement; it is nothing less than brilliant.  

If you are interested in seeing a holiday show that's a tad bit different,   ‘A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story Told by Jefferson Mays’ would be your choice.

Enjoy.

See you at the theater. 

When: Opens Dec. 12 and runs through Dec. 22. 7 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays; 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays

Where: Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre, the Old Globe, 1363 Old Globe Way, Balboa Park, San Diego

Photo: Jim Cox

Tickets: $64 and up

Phone: 619-234-5623

Online: theoldglobe.org