By NICK TODARO

Staff Writer

Going to see "A Christmas Carol" may seem juvenile, at first. It is a story from childhood and that was just so long ago, it seems.

The show, which ran on Nov. 5, 7, 8 and Dec. 3 through 6 in Howard Auditorium, Center for the Performing Arts, was also performed for area elementary, middle, and high school students.

Director Mark Guinn, an associate professor of theatre, said the high school kids were the hardest audience.

Reading the program before the show was surprising. A sophomore general studies major and football player got picked for Ebeneezer Scrooge.

Reese Roark's Scrooge was masterful and well-crafted.

He seemed to be always concentrating on the nuances of a Scrooge character, and he pulled it off.

Roark said he is seriously considering changing majors to focus on theater.

"I picked up that people think it is out of the ordinary," Roark said. "I expected to be resented, which scared me a little."

Amanda LaFitte, a sophomore animal science major, saw the play and said she enjoyed it. "I think it's cool they have that element of variety in their cast. He was a good Scrooge," LaFitte said.

Oddly, Roark's only stand-out flaw was forgetting to take his shoes off before trying to get into bed.

During the visit from Jacob Marley, a part of the set was knocked over through the curtains of Scrooge's window, and the next available opening to get to it during a prop change was far off.

Roark lifted himself from the bed shortly after the scene, and with nonchalance, he lifted the toppled chair and table, complaining "he even knocked over my favorite chair!" Audience members loved it, laughing out loud.

Seventh-grader Jake Guinn, son of director Mark Guinn who played the Ghost of Christmas Past, showed talent in both his delivery and his ability to prance about.

The ghosts were well acted. The roles of Jacob Marley, played by David Reed, a graduate student of theatre, and the Ghost of Christmas Present, played by Nick Harrison, a graduate student of theatre, showed seasoning in drama.

The Ghost of Christmas Future was represented by a towering puppet about 20 feet tall, which required a team of puppeteers, including one designated to control the puppet's monstrous head.

Set design and construction were creative and intriguing and included some rather artistic pieces.

Most notable, beyond the mammoth Ghost of Christmas Future, was Scrooge's awkwardly slanted desk and chair.

For some reason, the caroling in "A Christmas Carol" was not too merry. It seemed more melancholy, which might be chalked up to the stage presence of Ebeneezer Scrooge.

Or it could just be that singing Christmas carols can be annoying on the final performance nights of a play.