Amateur Hour

It’s good to get out of your rut, from time to time, and lately, I’ve been looking for ways to do that. So, I went to see a play, today, just for kicks. It was a musical production of A Christmas Carol, performed by the Chipola Theatre.

Now, if you know me, at all, you know that I’m the kind of person who worries about everything. The venue was at the Chipola College campus, where I’ve never set foot. I had had the forethought to purchase a ticket for an aisle seat (in case of panic attack, incipient diarrhea, fire, flood, or Russians dropping in, from the sky). This didn’t negate the fact that I would be seated next to a stranger, of course.

Fortunately, the theatre was a cinch to find — took me about ten whole minutes to get there (I love living in a small town). The stranger seated next to me was courteous and unobtrusive. I had a great time.

I’m not a theatre critic, so I won’t offer critique of the show, here. All in all, it was a splendid production. Caden Kearns was a hoot, as Scrooge, and got some good laughs. Sam Keel played a type of Jacob Marley that I’ve never seen before — chummy, mischievous, comical, and yet disturbing (in a good way).

Alayna Matthews, The Ghost of Christmas Past, had a lovely voice, and excellent energy. Trinity White really stood out, to me, as the Ghost of Christmas Past, though I would have liked to have heard more of her voice. Her dance abilities made up for it; the Ghost of Christmas Past is a silent figure, after all. (The sole reason she sang anything was that all of the Ghosts had dual roles.)

Everyone in the cast was wonderful — my specific mentions are just for the individuals who most drew me into the story. The play was very much worth seeing, and I look forward to future shows.