#MediaMind: @LyricTheatre makes 'life's usual #Humbug' a Mere-Flyover on the way to a Happy Holiday, with their #AChristmasCarol (presented by @DevonEnergy) #EbenezerScrooge #FromHumbugToHappy #Humbuggery

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You know the cherished line from Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol: Ebenezer Scrooge replies, "Bah! Humbug!" to 'revel-rousers' who try to bring him into the "Christmas Spirit" while he's busy counting his profits and pinching his pennies (or whatever they call them over there ... tuppence?)

'That word' (below-hyperlinked to Lyric's online box-office) is built on an even-deeper source ... something crucial that firms the foundation upon which our lexicon stands ...

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The word “Humbug” is schoolyard slang (of unknown origin) that means “|Trick, Jest, Hoax, |Imposition, |Deception” (influenced by words that mean "|Deceive by False |Pre|text, Spirit of |Imposition or -|Deception, Hollowness, |Sham").

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I went to see "Lyric Theatre's Christmas Tradition" on December 11, 2019. I think it's the first time I've ever seen the holiday classic LIVE (not to mention the first time I've ever attended a show in Lyric at the Plaza).

So–even though they were using 'all the classic lines' (along with "Bah! Humbug!" there was "There's probably more 'gravy' than 'grave' about you," "If they'd rather die, I wish they'd hurry up & do it! to reduce the impoverished population," "God Bless Us, Every One," and many others)–I felt like I was seeing a lot of it for the first time.

That 'first-watch feeling' might also be that way because Lyric puts a slightly darker tone on the tale. The first place I notice the difference was in their 'Ghost of Christmas-Yet-to-Come'-scene, where–instead of the upbeat funeral-song "Thank You Very Much" (or one like it, in case there were 'copyrights issues' that kept them from using the original song)–they used dialog (between a pair who mourned out of pity, a trio of (grave-robbing?) beggars, a couple who talked about a possible extension on their loan due to Scrooge's demise, and a lament from the Cratchitt-family).

There was excellent choreography. The dancing-scenes were fine, but the 'choreography' I'm talking about is more in 'the scene-changes.' See, Lyric at the Plaza's stage has a revolving floor, which was used to great effect ... especially in the scene where Marley's Ghost entered—Scrooge's room was spinning, letting the audience see inside the mind of Scrooge!

A Good Show! ... with a couple 'glitches' (and/or 'things I'm curious-about') ...

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First thing that comes to mind: Natalya Fisher's Ghost of Christmas Past. Don't get me wrong—her portrayal was excellent. I'm just curious about the arm-waving. As she delivered her lines (suspended above the stage on a track that ran out over the audience), she waved her arms around in 'a fairy with a magic wand'-pattern; but when she was silent and the focus was on 'events of Past Christmases,' she continued to wave her arms around in that pattern!

And–maybe this is more 'me realizing how the story has always gone' than 'them (particularly Dirk Lumbard) playing Ebenezer differently'–Lyric's Scrooge was more "an old man learning that 'getting into the Christmas Spirit' makes him feel better than 'worrying about fiduciary efficiency' all the time" than the "curmudgeon who hates Christmas (but learns to love it)" that I remember most of the other versions to be.

Or am I looking at that wrong (or 'wrongly' 🤓)? Tell
 me how-wrong/right I am in the comments below 😁