Review: A Christmas Carol
- ThomM
- Dec 13, 2025
- 6 min read
Updated: 3 hours ago
The Dickens holiday classic returns with a spirited production at Pasadena's A Noise Within Theatre
Immersive Scene Los Angeles 2025 review
You’d have to be a proper Scrooge not to find something to smile about at A Noise Within’s 2025 production of A Christmas Carol. The Pasadena-based theatre company is a reliable stalwart of this holiday classic, and their patrons eagerly welcome the Dickens tradition each and every season.
This year’s show offers a minimalist approach to sets and lighting and a maximum heart-tugging factor in the performances. It’s a breezy affair, lasting less than two hours, which might feel a bit short to Carol devotees like myself, but will be just the right length for audiences who prefer shorter presentations. This play with music hits most of the right notes: quality acting, clever staging, music, dance and enough visual surprises to win over fans of Dickens who no doubt have seen numerous iterations.
You know the story. Miserly curmudgeon Ebeneezer is up to his usual shenanigans: not paying his long-suffering clerk enough, slamming doors at holiday-season fundraisers, and generally being a reliable downer to everyone around him in otherwise jolly old London town. The spirit of the season means nothing to this grump, other than having to close shop for a full day. But soon enough it’s the spirits themselves that will give him one last chance to change his ways and redeem himself before it’s too late.
The ANW show begins with a timeless narrator on a nearly bare stage as she reads from the text of Dicken’s masterpiece. “Marly was dead….” and then scowling Ebeneezer makes the briefest appearance before circling through the theatre in the (near) round audience before returning back to the stage where the true narrative begins. Set pieces quickly roll onto the stage creating Scrooge’s frigid and dreary counting house where we see the penny pincher at work berating his long-suffering clerk, Bob Cratchit. Then we’re off to the races: a visit from his loving and determined nephew, a trip to the humble Cratchit home where the large family defines love despite their struggles - most of all Tiny Tim’s deteriorating medical condition - Scrooge’s night of fear and revelation led by the three spirits, preceded by a good loud scare and warning from his former, and very dead partner, Marley. All that’s left is whether the perennial misanthrope will heed the message and turn things around in his life and in the lives of those around him. Spoiler alert: Really? Of course he will.
Directors Geoff Elliott and Julia Rodriguez-Elliott have been faithfully staging this holiday tradition for 13 years, and Pasadena, a sort of perfect Christmas town itself, would seem incomplete without the annual return of Charles Dickens' most memorable character, from “Humbug” to “Giddy as a child!”. The Elliotts somehow manage a fresh take on the material each season, yet always deliver in what is regarded by many as the region’s strongest offering of the show. And, believe me, there are many of them. Having seen a few, but not all, of ANW’s versions, I’d say this one lands somewhere in the middle of the pack. It is entertaining, heartfelt and will have more than a few audience members wiping away some moisture in the region of the eyes…must be the darn pollen.
It is also fast, maybe just a bit too much so. It feels like the lights have just dimmed and then they’re quickly up again for intermission before we’ve even settled into our seats. That brisk trip through the first half of the spirited story (between present and future if you’re following), does cleverly bring you back to the present right after the fifteen-minute break, just as Scrooge is poised for some hard truths and ultimately his transformation into the person he was always meant to be.
The Elliotts remain true to the essence of the text while adding a few musical numbers to enhance the holiday atmosphere. Some, from the pleasant score by Robert Oriol, like the show-stopping celebratory number at Fezziwig’s, exude pure holiday joy, others seem to be squeezed in, perhaps to lighten the mood a bit.
The heart of the show ebbs and flows but truly finds its rhythm after intermission in a powerful scene with the Cratchit family seated center stage. This emotional tableau lifts the show to a level it only hints at earlier, and it’s pure rooting for the happy ending from here on. The staging is slick, brisk and purposeful, with actors making entrances and exits via the ramps in the theatre’s seating area, creating a somewhat immersive experience. The most memorable use of this is the stunning entrance of Jacob Marley and his chain gang.
The performances are outstanding across the board. On the night I attended, Amber Liekhus shone as Mrs. Cratchit, Trisha Miller brought an ethereal aura as the Ghost of Christmas Past, Jack Zubieta was earnest and endearing as Fred, Kasey Mahaffy delivered a heartfelt Bob Crachit and Riley Shanahan was haunting as Jacob Marley.
Of course, the true heart at the heart of A Christmas Carol always lies in the roles of Tiny Tim and the man himself, Ebeneezer Scrooge. Of the former, cute as a button Aria Zhang - a little girl it might be noted - plays the afflicted Tim with all of the sweetness and joy of life, despite the character’s circumstances, that we’d hope for. If your heart doesn’t melt, you might want to check your pulse.
In the lead role of Scrooge, Henri Lubatti, though looking younger than most actors who play the role, brings a grounded believability to a character that can be easily overplayed in lesser hands. His “Humbugs” and cane wavings directed at those around him somehow feel refreshingly genuine. The actor’s line readings have a conversational quality, albeit as a character you’d probably cross the street to avoid talking with, that is rarely seen in portrayals of the generally bark and bite skinflint. The guy is just real. Lubatti’s singing voice is also quite tender, which lends itself well to when Scrooge finally finds his humanity. Note: Director Geoff Elliott plays this role in about half of the performances.
Though the sets come and go, and often the stage is nearly empty aside from the actors themselves, when pieces are rolled on and off stage by the cast themselves, they’re modest but quite effective. The moveable sets include faithful renditions of Scrooge’s dingy counting house, Fezziwig’s workplace/party warehouse, the humble Cratchit house and Ebeneezer’s bed chamber where all the locks in the world can’t keep out the otherworldly apparitions. Victorian England is captured on a large projection screen at the rear rather than in fully built sets, which is a common theatrical approach these days.
Costumes are wonderful and effective, capturing the reality of the time and place of the story and adding in some fanciful creations for the more dreamlike scenes. The three ghosts and Marley all have outfits that define them brilliantly, but the highlight is the Ghost of Christmas Present’s towering creation that appears as if a holiday tree had a sparkling meetup with Carmen Miranda. Costume Designer Angela Balogh Calin is to be commended for her original works of wearable art.
All other aspects of the show are top grade, with the panache expected of an A Noise Within production. The sound, lighting, choreography and makeup are all excellent and handled with expertise, rounding out the appeal of this theatrical holiday gift.
If there are any shortcomings noticed they are minimal, with only two drawing my thoughts from time to time. The excellent cast seem to be a bit overused, by that I mean double or even triple tasked in playing multiple roles. A few more performers in the company, perhaps, would help to fill out the ensemble and alleviate the need for trying to make an already well-established actor portray additional parts. Also, the background projection, while pleasing to the eyes in its representation as Old London Town, feels a bit too 21st Century when it animates to life on occasion.
There are just two weeks left in this excellent production. You’ll no doubt have ample choices of where you might experience A Christmas Carol in greater Los Angeles this year, but ANW’s production is one you won’t want to miss. As Marley himself might say, get there before it’s too late. Like Scrooge’s fateful night, that would be by December 24th.
Rating: 4.0 (of 5)
Immersivity: 2.0
A Noise Within
3352 East Foothill Blvd
Pasadena, CA
Now thru December 24th
Tickets: $75 - $121
Review by: Thom Mills
