OKC's Lyric Theatre puts on another 'Christmas Carol' as good as gold: What to know

A year after Lyric Theatre brought its popular presentation of Charles Dickens' iconic "Ghost Story of Christmas " back to the Plaza District, the Oklahoma City professional theater's new production of "A Christmas Carol" remains "as good as gold and better."

The state's official theater is closing its 61st season with its 14th annual production of "A Christmas Carol," adapted by Producing Artistic Director Michael Baron in faithful fashion to Dickens' well-loved Victorian tale.

Thanks to a $1 million gift from Devon Energy, last year's production boasted a new set, costumes, lighting and sound effects, which are all back this year.

Directed by Baron and Lyric Executive Producer Ashley Wells, the yuletide story of selfishness, avarice and redemption continues to channel the spirit of the Christmas even more than 180 years after Dickens published his novella.

With performances through Dec. 27 in the Plaza Theatre, here's what to know about Lyric's 2024 edition of "A Christmas Carol:"

What can people expect from Lyric Theatre's 2024 production of 'A Christmas Carol?' 

After performing "A Christmas Carol" outdoors at the Harn Homestead for three straight seasons during the COVID-19 pandemic, Lyric transported its annual production of Dickens' often-adapted ghost story back inside last year.

In its second year, the magic has not faded with the new production, and it's a credit to Lyric's creative team that the show still casts such a powerful spell even though "A Christmas Carol" has been done so many times in so many versions on both stage and screen.

Baron's abiding love for Dickens' treasured tale has always been evident in Lyric's productions, and the latest is no different. Keeping the story's original setting in Victorian London, the show revolves around the same comfortingly familiar characters, themes and story beats, with much of the dialogue taken straight from Dickens' novella.

But the OKC theater's version introduces little-seen details that help set it apart, including a solemn funeral procession for future ghost Jacob Marley ( Lyric staple Vince Leseney ) and another appearance by Leseney, alongside Michael Anthony Page , as lighthouse keepers belting a spirited seasonal sea shanty.

Plus, this year's production introduces Lyric regular Ashley J. Mandanas as a divinely feminine version of the Ghost of Christmas Present, who for the second year gets a steam-powered grand entrance.

Who else is starring in Lyric Theatre's 2024 production of 'A Christmas Carol?'

Among their multiple roles, Mandanas and Mariah Warren play the narrators in this year's production with aplomb, and their beautiful voices ring out like Christmas bells as the cast performances classic carols like "Good King Wenceslas," "Ding Dong Merrily on High" and "The Holly and the Ivy."

After taking over the lead role last year, D. Lance Marsh, professor of acting and head of performance for Oklahoma City University's School of Theatre , returns as penny-pinching businessman Ebenezer Scrooge, who is forced to reexamine his life choices when he encounters four spirits on a fateful Christmas Eve. As Scrooge, Marsh wears his stinginess, his hard-heartedness and his disdain for Christmas as proudly as a peacock displays its feathers, making his transformation all the more satisfying.

Charlie Monnot confirms that he is the best Bob Cratchit in the business, an unfailingly kind fellow who meekly endures Scrooge's miserly ways while lavishing love on his family, despite their meager financial circumstances, and Leseney's latest turn as Marley's ghost manages to be both hauntingly intimidating and pitiful.

In his Lyric debut, Tyler Malinauskas makes a fine young Scrooge in flashbacks, but he's even better as Scrooge's determinedly cheerful nephew Fred. Emily J. Pace again makes the light of truth shimmer brightly as she returns to the role of the Ghost of Christmas Past, boldly zipping over theatergoers' heads on one of the two swings that run on tracks above the sprawling stage.

What does Lyric Theatre's new production of 'A Christmas Carol' look like?

Lyric's 2024 version of "A Christmas Carol" features choreography by Wells, Victorian-era outfits by longtime costume designer Jeffrey Meek and set design by Adam Koch , who recently celebrated his Broadway debut as a designer for the Louis Armstrong musical "A Wonderful World."

One year in, Koch's new set design still looks like a million bucks, bringing to life a London city block circa the 1840s. The story moves smoothly from one scene to the next on his stage with its three-sided turntable, or revolve, that even incorporates a staircase that characters can climb and a bridge that they can cross while the set turns.

And even if the Oklahoma weather outside frightfully refuses to cooperate, ticketholders can be rest assured that there will always snow at Christmastime at Lyric's "A Christmas Carol."

True to the spirit of the story, the theater's is continuing to extend its annual invitation to audiences to donate to the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma following each performance. During the past dozen years, Lyric patrons have donated more than $217,000, providing more than 870,000 meals to help feed thousands of Oklahomans in need.  

Since so many showtimes sold out last year, Lyric has expanded its run of "A Christmas Carol" to include four shows after Christmas, which falls on a Wednesday this year.

With the bustle of the modern holiday season, the chance to sit and savor Dickens' timeless story will do harried celebrants good, God bless it.

LYRIC THEATRE'S 'A CHRISTMAS CAROL' 

• When: Through Dec. 27. 

• Where: Plaza Theatre, 1727 NW 16.   

• Runtime:Two hours, including a 15-minute intermission.

• Information: https://lyrictheatreokc.com .      

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OKC's Lyric Theatre brings back its 14th annual 'A Christmas Carol'