Displaying items by tag: Manual Cinema

As someone who is ever the cynic about telling the same old stories every year under the guise of tradition, A Christmas Carol rarely draws me in. Manual Cinema’s latest production, however, takes a Christmas classic and makes it new again. Told through the eyes of a narrator who shares my skepticism, Dickens’ nearly 200-year-old tale becomes something modern and accessible, shaped by humor and a perspective that understands both the fatigue of repetition and the value of returning to the story.

The first Christmas following the loss of her husband, Aunt Trudy finds herself celebrating on Zoom, begrudgingly carrying on his tradition of performing a one-man puppet show of Charles Dickens’ Christmas Carol for his family. Throughout the night, Trudy experiences every stage of grief, struggling to complete the classic story, and is joined by three ghosts (Lizi Breit, Julia Miller, and Jeffery Paschal) who transform the puppetry from a faltering solo obligation into a fluid, ensemble-driven act of storytelling.

Everyone knows that for every moment that appears effortlessly onstage, there’s ten times as much unseen labor happening behind the scenes. In Manual Cinema’s production, however, much of the typically unshown work takes place on stage. Rather than hiding the mechanics of either the puppetry or music, the show invites the audience to watch its intricate systems at work, transforming the process itself into part of the performance.

The immediate set is Aunt Trudy’s half-packed house, allowing us to watch her in the behind-the-scenes reality of her puppet show. Above this is a projector screen that displays Trudy's show from the other perspective of the video call, allowing us to also watch the show as a member of the Zoom. On one side of Trudy’s space is a projection set-up where the three ghost/puppeteers perform what almost looks like a choreographed dance while creating some of the most intricate and beautifully animated visuals I’ve seen – not only are the puppeteers creating these images LIVE, but also while physically performing themselves. On the other side is the pit orchestra, playing live on stage and dressed in typical performance blacks, who feel almost like esemplastic shadow puppets who also provided beautiful instrumental and stunning vocals throughout the show.

At the center of it all – a smart adaptation of a classic, stunning puppetry, and haunting music – is everyone’s new favorite aunt, Aunt Trudy, played by LaKecia Harris. Truly incredible on every level, Harris portrays a grieving widow and beginner puppeteer on the big screen while simultaneously operating as a vital part of the onstage puppeteering machine, grounding the production with warmth, humor, and emotional clarity.

If you’re a fan of A Christmas Carol, then you have to see this show. And, if you’re a bit tired of the old story, this may be exactly what changes your mind.

Manual Cinema’s Christmas Carol is running at Studebaker Theater through December 28th, as well as live streaming the production on select dates. Tickets are available at

https://manualcinema.com/work/christmas-carol-live.

Every December the Chicago theater community goes into full holiday mode, producing a wide array of favorites for reliably sold out houses. COVID obviously has altered many traditions, and theatrical performances have been forced to digitize operations or simply skip this year.

Manuel cinema hadn’t planned on doing a holiday show this year, but when COVID paused the theatre community, they pivoted and began work on a “Christmas Carol.

Working as an ensemble; the narrator (N LaQuis Harkins), the musicians (led by Ben Kauffman) and the shadow puppeteers (helmed by Lizi Breit), Manual Cinema creates a near perfect contribution to Chicago’s holiday theatre landscape. Manual Cinema’s production team has impressively navigated the hurdles of our newfangled telecommunication to present this intricate performance live every night without hiccup. In fact, their telling of ‘A Christmas Carol’ seems more suited to this format than a traditional theater space.

In rich textures and arresting original music, Manual Cinema creates gorgeous imagery with overhead projections, shadow puppetry and other clever slights of hand. There is truly nothing else like it, and yet so much of it recalls the warmth of classic Christmas TV specials like ‘Charlie Brown’ and the Bass Rankin films.

Instead of a tried and true standard adaptation of the Dickens story, this version is framed out by the narrator, Aunt Trudy, played by N LaQuis Harkins. Trudy is suffering from the loss of her husband, Uncle Joe, who used to put on a puppet show every Christmas. Trudy struggles with the Zoom call as she banters with her family and the show gives way to the Dickens tale.

This production does not ignore the elephant in the room, and though it seems too soon be part of our Christmas narrative, Manual Cinema deals addresses the realities of COVID without getting political. Given this work is so timely, it’s fun to imagine how it might be changed to be a bit more timeless in the future, however it does create an interesting snapshot of Christmas 2020. Manual Cinema’s ‘Christmas Carol’ is a bold new take on a classic, retold as a heartfelt animated Christmas card.

Through December 20^th. manualcinema.com/christmascarol/