‘Tis the season for red, and green, eggnog, and maxed out credit cards. With all the added “To Do” List stress of season, I couldn’t help but to wonder what precisely I was doing sitting in a small black box theater in Cranston on a Sunday afternoon seeing the opening weekend of A Christmas Carol.  At most, I expected a two hour reprieve from my latest quest of finding the perfect crockpot for my aunt.  I certainly didn’t expect that I was going to receive my much needed dose of holiday cheer.
     Between the scents of home-brewed hot cider wafting from the café, to the theater’s modest-sized stage that makes you feel as if you are walking directly into Scrooge’s study, The Artists’ Exchange makes an ideal setting for this cozy Dickens tale.  Whatever doubts I had about The Cranston Road Trip did not linger long, as it became clear within minutes of  Mark Carter’s masterfully immersive portrayal of the narrator Jacob Marley that this was not your average-quality, community, obligatory Christmas play. Known for its diverse talent pool, The Artists’ Exchange cast an enthusiastic lineup of both fresh talent and familiar faces to bring this production to life. Whatever acting mishaps occurred were few and did not take away from the joyous spirit the production evoked. I knew I was sold halfway through the first act when I caught myself singing along to the Christmas carols that were woven into the story. (Apologies to those around me for this. Voice lessons would be a well-appreciated Christmas gift.)
     The most impressive aspect of A Christmas Carol was the production value it attained by making a perceived weakness into a strength. For a production with a fairly sizeable cast as this had, a small 24-seat theater with incredibly limited stage space would be considered by many directors to be a limitation – especially with supernatural components, frequent scene changes, and Victorian era set design considerations.  Instead of simply masking the limitations of such a theater, the director was able to turn the size of the theater into an asset. This is portrayed best during Scrooge’s first meeting with his deceased partner.  About of fantastic sound editing absolutely shook the audience as Marley’s ghostly wails reverberated off every wall of the theater, placing the audience right in the bedroom with Scrooge instead of simply voyeurs to his ordeal, and giving us a far more intimate portrayal of events than would be possible in a theater of a much larger size.

     A Christmas Carol runs at The Artists’ Exchange Black Box Theater (located on 50 Rolfe Square in Cranston) with shows on December 13,14,15,20,21,22 at 7:00 p.m. and December 9,16,23 at 2:00 p.m. If you are looking for your cup of holiday cheer or just to deScrooge thyself, I urge you to go.  With the holiday season among us, there are many renditions of A Christmas Carol that you could see. However, you would be hard-pressed to find one that is merrier.