The miser in Charles Dickens "A Christmas Carol," bent over his account books, was hardly an acrobat. Jason Bruffy and Christopher Guthrie stand Ebenezer Scrooge on his head, though, in their rousing pop-rock version titled "Christmas Yet to Come."
While this cooler Scrooge still doesn't undergo his reformation until the second act after the visit of four spirits, changes to this story abound throughout.
This delightfully jarring metamorphosis of the Christmas story should come as no surprise, though: It's a production of the Know Theatre of Cincinnati.
For starters, Bruffy and Guthrie have incorporated the services of the young and lithe dance troupe Exhale Dance Tribe to underscore much of the story.
The Know's "Christmas Yet to Come," which continues through Dec.
23, maintains the moorings of the traditional story. Nevertheless, this contemporary retelling is filled with creative and, in one case, a riotous twist on tradition.
Some of the changes include a singing master of ceremonies (Adam Slemon in a black muscle T-shirt), that Scrooge's nephew (Adam Standley) is gay and has a lover, and that the Ghost of Christmas Past (Victoria Lee Wood) is a child with a big voice.
Best of all, though, the Ghost of Christmas Present is a drag queen. She's played by an in-your-face Robert Williams ("Call me, Miss Present").
Williams, strutting about the Know performance space, pantomimes Aretha Franklin's "A Deeper Love.
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Williams is hilariously decked out in a fuzzy white leotard. It comes with elongated curved sleeves with oval ends reminiscent of a medieval court gown.
He also throws in a cartwheel for good measure - in high heels yet.
It's a high moment.
In his collaboration with Exhale Dance Tribe, Bruffy, who also directed, uses the dance troupe in traditional spots in the story as well as more interpretative ones.
Dressed in eclectic black costuming influenced by the Goth culture look, these dancers wear mini skirts, tank tops, high boots, lots of sexy black lace, teased hairdos and exotic makeup.
Their dance vocabulary spans ballet (turns on one leg, abandoned pirouettes) to contemporary (angular hand and jetting pelvic moves).
Some of these dancers are trained better than others, but they do complement the driving music under the direction of O. yemi well.
Exhale Dance brings exuberance to Fezziwig's party in lots of ensemble moves and high energy to the joyous conclusion (All American Rejects' "Move Along"). They also are quite dramatic as deprived children representing Dickens waifs Want and Ignorance.
Of course, even with this metamorphosis of "A Christmas Carol," Scrooge remains center stage, even though he is often lost in the gyrating dances and music.
Nick Rose's Scrooge is not quite in sync with this production. The miser's cantankerousness is played down a bit for a pervading cynicism.
Rose, a superb actor who often brings great power and nuance to the characters he plays, is trapped in a kind of emotional monotone.
Rose's Scrooge is filled with lots of angst as he tries to impress us with the struggle going on within during this journey. The anguish over his past nears nervous collapse status.
Oddly, this Scrooge, who when not emoting often sits on set platforms as an observer, is not so dramatic and imposing as the musical that surrounds him.
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