Three of Seattle's most versatile actors, Todd Jefferson Moore, Marty Mukhalian, and Nathan Smith are story-tellers in Fellow Passengers, opening December 8 for a limited run at the Richard Hugo House in Seattle. The three share more than fifty characters in a play that uses almost every word of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol as a script. The result is the most authentic dramatization possible of Dickens' story of ghosts, reclamation, and the original notion of Christmas charity.
Fellow Passengers is directed by Julie Beckman, who adapted and directed Dickens' most biting political novel, Hard Times, at Book-It Repertory Theatre in 2003. Familiar with Dickens and the narrative play, Beckman was a natural choice to succeed Rhonda J. Soikowski, who created much of the concept for Fellow Passengers when she directed its debut at Strawshop in 2004. (Soikowski has stepped aside to pursue an acting opportunity in Book-It's Little Women, Part One, opening in November).
Beckman was in the audience for the 2004 version, and saw a grittier, more relevant story than she thought imaginable from such an overworked novel. Unexpected by almost all who saw the original Fellow Passengers were the dozens of scenes that traditional dramatizations have edited out to focus on the better-known characters, like Jacob Marley, Bob Cratchit, and Tiny Tim.
Strawberry Artistic Director Greg Carter adapted Fellow Passengers originally, and says it’s a mistake to omit the wider community. "The story is about how much we all need one another, and how much our lives are all intertwined," says Carter. "Dickens does not condemn Scrooge for being rude or for having a lot of money. He condemns him for his neglect of those around him. Scrooge can make a better world simply by participating in it. That's a strong statement about citizenship, and that's what this company always wants to talk about."
Fellow Passengers was a critical sensation in 2004, earning accolades from sources as diverse as The Seattle Times and The Stranger. Each noted the freshness of the script, and the unexpected pleasure of hearing Dickens at his satiric best:
• Chris Comte, on the drama website, SeattleActor.com wrote "this evocative, thoughtfully realized production is bound to elicit as much surprise as delight."
• The Stranger's Annie Wagner called Passengers "unconventional and surprisingly smart."
• Misha Berson of the Seattle Times highlighted a full-page Sunday column on Charles Dickens influence in America with a photograph of Todd Moore in the play's joyful last scene. Berson praised the whole production for its "lean, fierce story-telling" and specifically recommended Passengers as a Critic's Pick and in an appearance on KUOW-FM.
The cast includes three of the city's most familiar actors: Todd Jefferson Moore squeezes Fellow Passengers in between leading roles in The Grapes of Wrath at Intiman this fall and Richard III at Seattle Shakespeare later this winter. Marty Mukhalian--who Seattle Weekly named as one of their ten favorite actors this summer--finished Camino Real at theatre simple last month, and The Three Musketeers at Theater Schmeater in August. Nathan Smith has emerged quickly on the major stages, working in both The Taming of the Shrew at Seattle Shakes and The King Stag at Seattle Rep before signing on at Strawshop. .
Designs for Fellow Passengers are by Erin Eave, Eldon Tam, and Greg Carter, the same team that created the company's Accidental Death of an Anarchist at Hugo House in September.
Live music is by Julie Baldridge.
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