Spirit of redemption

Maybe there’s a little bit of Ebenezer Scrooge in all of us.

We forget to be thankful, we don’t treat people as well as we could, and very often, we’re angry and may not even know why.

“A Christmas Carol,” Charles Dickens’ classic tale of one man’s redemption of character, was written almost 200 years ago, yet countless numbers of people read the book or see some version of the story every December.

The play, opening Friday at South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa, is considered a holiday tradition in Orange County.

Now in its 28th year, actor Hal Landon Jr. will reprise the role of Scrooge, “the world’s most celebrated miser,” the character he has portrayed every year since 1980.

The story of the money-changer who spent his life alone, pursuing wealth, shunning family, friends and anything resembling the Christmas spirit until he’s confronted with his own past, present and future, has endured the test of time, Landon said.

“It’s a great, imaginative, wonderful story filled with these interesting characters, and it’s the redemption thing. You get a second chance no matter how badly you screwed up.”

Scrooge gets his second chance when the spirit of his dead partner, Jacob Marley, warns him that if he doesn’t change his ways he will not live to see another Christmas.

Worse than that, Scrooge will spend eternity walking the earth in penitence for the sins he committed in life, Marley tells him.

Three more spirits visit Scrooge over the course of the evening, taking him on a journey to past, present and future Christmases.

As the events of Scrooge’s life unfold, the audience, be it reader or viewer, is shown the painful memories Scrooge has been hiding from — memories that contributed to the hardening of his heart.

He had an uncaring father, he sacrificed the great love of his life to his passion for money, and he endured the death of his sister, all of which changed Scrooge from a loving, kind-hearted young man into the cold-hearted loner he has become.

Landon said what he hears from a lot of people after the show is that the story revives a lot of family memories for them, and awakens a dormant emotion in them.

“People talk about how Christmas starts with seeing ‘A Christmas Carol.’”

Many times after the show, people tell Landon they may have come in to the theater feeling grouchy about all this Christmas stuff, but they leave feeling more positive and want to go straight out to buy a Christmas tree.

In the story, the Cratchits are a poor family that represents the other extreme in Dickens’ story. Scrooge pays Bob Cratchit a meager salary and has no compassion for the hardships his employee endures as head of a large household.

The youngest son, Tiny Tim, is sickly and lame, yet the family is rich in spirit and thankful for each other.

The most dramatic part of Scrooge’s transformation at the end of the story is his realization that the Cratchits need and deserve his help, that they forgive him for the way he has treated them, and that he cares very much for Tiny Tim.

Family is at the heart of Dickens’ story.

“If you’ve got a family that loves one another despite adversity and hardship, that’s what the spirit of Christmas is,” said Marissa Schwartz, manager of Muldoon’s Pub, the Newport Beach restaurant her father opened more than 33 years ago.

For the last 20 years the pub has celebrated a “Dickens Christmas” by dressing up in Old English attire, roasting chestnuts, serving wassail (a traditional hot, spiced holiday punch) and otherwise recreating the “smells and tastes of Christmas” during the holiday season.

Schwartz believes the transformation of Scrooge reminds us that by examining ourselves, we can always evolve at being better people in all stages of life.

“It’s always a process, and you should never be done. It’s important for all of us to be the best person you can be,” she said.

Dan Vigilante is the youth pastor at St. Mark’s Presbyterian Church in Newport Beach. He said the message in “A Christmas Carol” is one of lasting hope of the season.

“The joy of Christmas is in giving, yet we get bogged down in our own ‘bah, humbug’ ways.”

Vigilante said what changes at Christmas for most of us is awareness of the people around us that we just haven’t seen clearly.

“Tiny Tim has been outside Scrooge’s door all along, and it’s not like he’s never met the family before. It’s more that he changes his outlook on people he encounters every day.

“I think the story will be around for a long time, at least until we get it right and learn to live every day as Scrooge does at the end of the play.”

IF YOU GO

WHAT: “A Christmas Carol”

WHEN: Opening Friday, through Dec. 24. Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday; 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday; noon and 4 p.m. Sunday. The Dec. 24 performance is at 4 p.m.

WHERE: South Coast Repertory, 655 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa

COST: $33 to $55

INFO: Call (714) 708-5555 or go to www.scr.org.

For more photos from “A Christmas Carol,” click here.

SUE THOENSEN may be reached at (714) 966-4627 or at sue.thoensen@latimes.com.