"A Christmas Carol"
Meadow Brook Theatre
Rochester, Mich.
Through Dec. 24, 2025
Meadow Brook Theatre brought the charm of a Victorian Christmas to life with their annual production of “A Christmas Carol,” directed by Travis Walter. Based on the Charles Dickens novel, adapted for theater by Charles Nolte, Meadow Brook’s production has become a staple of Metro Detroit’s Christmas traditions for good reason. Although this is the theater’s 43rd presentation of play, it was my first time seeing it, and the experience was magical.
Most people are familiar with the tale: Set in Victorian England, the play is a redemption story about Ebenezer Scrooge, a bitter, selfish miser who learns the meaning of love and Christmas while visited by the ghosts of his past, present and future. He’s forced to remember the most influential and painful parts of his life, understand the reality of those less fortunate in his present, and foresee the grim future ahead of him if he doesn’t change his ways, leading to a satisfying, heartwarming conclusion.
The Meadow Brook production sets the tone right away with a band of Victorian-costumed carolers who perform on the stage before the play begins. When the curtain rises, we’re taken back to the bustling, cheery streets of 19th century London at Christmastime, quashed by an angry Scrooge yelling from his window above. The rotating set soon turns to reveal Scrooge’s home and office, where he is busy counting his money while his freezing associate tries to sneak extra coal into the fire to ward off the chill. We soon learn the depths of Scrooge’s cold heart as he refuses to donate money to help the poor – “Where are the prisons and workhouses?” – rejects a Christmas dinner invitation from his nephew, and works his associate to the last drop, despite the holiday.
As the story progresses the production captures the eerie powerful nature of the supernatural setting, with flickering lights, moving furniture, fog, and a smoking trap door that leads to hell. Scrooge is so encompassed in his misery that only a formidable larger-than-life force can change his ways, and Meadow Brook brings it.
The cast is stellar. Phil Powers stars as Scrooge, returning after his role debut in 2024, encompassing the anger, misery, humor and joy of a complex character. Despite Scrooge’s mean-spiritedness, Powers evokes our compassion as we understand the source of Scrooge’s pain, and your heart breaks with him as he cries in despair at the end of Act I. Even in the character’s roughest stages, Powers’ bumbling, snarky Scrooge has charming moments of humor, offering glimpses of likeability from the onset.
Mary Magyari, in another returning role, brings the Spirit of Christmas Past to life, floating with the grace and ethereal nature of a ghost while exuding the strength to break through Scrooge’s hard exterior to begin his transformational journey. She is a standout among a cast of incredible actors who collectively capture the essence of the Dickens’ classic.
With a commanding cast of actors, detailed period costumes, dramatic special effects and beautiful Christmas music, Meadow Brook Theatre’s production of “A Christmas Carol” takes you back in time to a period of charming Christmas nostalgia. Their storytelling highlights the meaning of the Christmas spirit and the importance of love, generosity and forgiveness. It reminds us that we don’t have to let our past define who we are in our present, and it’s never too late for healing and redemption.
