Theater audiences are never too old to learn a few things from the stage in addition to being enlightened and entertained, and the Goodman Theatre’s annual run of “A Christmas Carol” is no exception, including sign language and performances accessible to a wide audience.
The theater is in the midst of the 47th annual run of “A Christmas Carol,” this season as directed by Jessica Thebus and starring a new Scrooge in the form of Christopher Donahue taking bows for his first year as tormented Ebenezer.
Playing through Dec. 30, this year’s ticket holders, like Dave Innes and Helenka Zeman of Hammond, are finding an extra surprise in this year’s annual telling, now celebrating a near half-century of ghosts, Christmas goose and redemption for changed ways.
As readers like Innes and Zeman tipped me off about, director Thebus has folded in wonderful moments including dialogue conveyed completely in sign language among the characters. Many of these moments are found during the flashback scenes of a young Ebenezer working for “jolly” Mr. Fezziwig at his counting house. For the 2024 imaginative run of Goodman’s “A Christmas Carol,” the character of Mr. Fezziwig is deaf and communicates using American Sign Language. The character is played by Robert Schleifer, who is a deaf actor.
Favorite actress Kate Fry has also been added this year as a narrator interspersed with passages throughout the story. Anthony Irons is new as Bob Cratchit and Bri Sudia is the ivy and holly-covered bellowing Ghost of Christmas Present along with young Ava Rose Doty as Tiny Tim. Donahue opts for a mopey approach to his Scrooge rather than his predecessor Larry Yando’s very believable bitter and acerbic characterization for the previous 15 years.
All of the above cast are featured in the sign language scene at the Fezziwig counting house party, and in some moments, even share featured lines in various other languages too.
The grand finale of the just over two-hour performance also features sign language, including a sing-a-long rendition of “We Wish You A Merry Christmas.”
The following are dates for added enhanced and accessible performances of “A Christmas Carol” at the Goodman Theatre:
*Touch Tour and Audio-Described Performance: 12: 30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 7, and 2 p.m. performance has the action/text audibly enhanced for patrons via headset.
*Open-Captioned Performance: 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 15 at 2 p.m. with an LED sign presenting dialogue in sync with the performance.
*Spanish-Subtitled Performance: 7 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 15 with an LED sign presenting Spanish-translated dialogue in sync with the performance.
*Sensory-Friendly Performance: 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 29 with sensory-friendly/relaxed performances designed to create a performing arts experience that is intended for patrons who have autism or other social, cognitive and physical challenges that create sensory sensitivities and their families.
Visit www.goodmantheatre.org/tickets/accessibility/ for more information about Goodman Theatre’s accessibility efforts.
Tickets for performances range from $25 to $159 and are available at GoodmanTheatre.org/Carol or 312-443-3800.
Philip Potempa is a journalist, published author and the director of marketing at Theatre at the Center. He can be reached at pmpotempa@comhs.org.