Chicago Tribune
- Recommended
"...Now in its 47th year, “A Christmas Carol” at this juncture is a hybrid of old-fashioned, analog pageant (this physical production is now two decades old) and some fresh tweaks from the most recent director, Jessica Thebus. The show itself has enough of a history to have its own internal traditions (for example, the musicians Malcolm Ruhl and Gregory Hirte have been in the cast for some quarter of a century), but it’s the same old adaptation and the same tired pushcarts with fake poultry that get trucked out each year, even if other scenic elements get reshuffled."
Chicago Sun Times
- Highly Recommended
"...Jessica Thebus’ directorial vision, an ensemble cast that knows its business, and a current economic climate that feels like a second Gilded Age, combine to make the Goodman Theatre’s 47th annual production of Tom Creamer’s adaptation of “A Christmas Carol” anything but stale. And I assert this as someone who hasn’t missed the seasonal production since 1994."
Chicago Reader
- Highly Recommended
"...Jessica Thebus's staging of the Goodman's A Christmas Carol this year includes several changes-not least of which is Christopher Donahue as Scrooge, filling the role played for 16 years by Larry Yando (now onstage as Severus Snape in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child). Donahue's Scrooge is less waspish and more choleric than his predecessor, but the transformation from bitter miser to openhearted man is no less moving."
Chicago Stage and Screen
- Highly Recommended
"...Scrooge’s transformation is a joy to watch. When he realizes he has not missed Christmas day,
he is filled with the wonder of a newborn. He rolls in his bed, kicking his legs and laughing, “I’m
like a baby!” which sends his chambermaid shrieking and running for the hills."
Let's Play Theatrical Reviews
- Recommended
"...I miss the high-tech animation in the set design. Still, its normality, the original adaptation with a few changes here and there, and quality performances continuously bring audiences into the epic story. Goodman embraced the original theme of the story while introducing subtle yet impactful changes throughout."
Around The Town Chicago
- Highly Recommended
"...This production of A Christmas Carol surpasses all Christmas Carols Past, Sets a New Standard for Christmas Present, and clearly Raises the Bar for Christmas Carols yet to come!"
Chicago Theatre Review
- Highly Recommended
"...With so many excellent holiday choices available in theatres all around Chicago, the one truly spectacular, bonafide Christmas production is back again at the Goodman Theatre. There are any number of other alternatives, but Director Jessica Thebus’ magnificent production is the real deal. This grandaddy of all holiday stories will immerse theatergoers in the proper spirit and remind audiences of what Christmas is all about. There’s no better choice. Goodman’s heartfelt holiday extravaganza is an absolute must-see at this time of year, whether it’s your first visit or your 47th. Do not miss it!"
Buzz Center Stage
- Highly Recommended
"...Muffed carolers, chestnut peddlers and poultry peddlers, and Scrooge & Marley's beckoning lending house. There we meet Christopher Donahue's Ebenezer Scrooge-mutton-chopped and hunched and as unhappy as we expect Scrooge to be. But that darkness, very real and very dark, is constantly counteracted by the radiance of the rest of the cast. Anthony Irons' Bob Cratchit, cheerful charity collectors played by Penelope Walker and Wai Kim, and Dee Dee Batteast's ever-loving niece all fend off Scrooge's glare and gruffness by not even acknowledging his grinchiness-their world, while perhaps less financially happy than Scrooge's, is a completely separate and better world emotionally than his, down to the vibrant colors of their costumes."
Third Coast Review
- Highly Recommended
"...An incredibly joyous night of theater. Everyone knows the story of A Christmas Carol. We have seen it a thousand times in a thousand variations—the Muppets, Mickey Mouse, or Ryan Reynolds—but you have not seen this remarkable story until you have seen it at Goodman Theatre this holiday season, directed by Jessica Thebus."
PicksInSix
- Recommended
"...In Director Jessica Thebus’s delightfully haunting new offering of Tom Creamer’s adaptation with contributions from Neena Arndt, Christopher Donahue wraps his own distinctive style of demonic humbuggery around Ebenezer Scrooge as he transforms from an embittered loner to the toast of the town after facing three spirits who show him the implicit error in his ways. Right from the start, Donahue infuses Dickens erasable miser with a dark and heavy dose of disgust for all things Christmas, from chastising his earnest clerk Bob Cratchit (Anthony Irons) over a lump of coal and dismissing the loving affection of his niece Frida (Dee Dee Batteast), to summarily rejecting the appeals for support from Mr. Ortle (Wai Yim) and Miss Crumb (Penelope Walker). The levels of meanness in Donahue’s Scrooge appear to have no bounds early on and provide the brilliant actor a wide range of emotions for the transformative scenes that follow."
Splash Magazine
- Highly Recommended
"...One thing that’s especially beautiful about the world of A Christmas Carol that Thebus has created is its remarkable inclusivity. People of all races and genders are welcome to partake of the holiday spirit here; this is especially prominent during the scene at Mr. Fezziwig’s Christmas party. There, characters incorporate many languages, including the sign language used by Fezziwig himself, into the celebration. Music and dance are also key elements of the story, with talented live musicians incorporated seamlessly."
