A Christmas Carol at the Merchant's House NYC Reviews and Tickets

"You don’t need CGI to get the point across. Just a good storyteller. Jones is very good. Standing in the parlor of the historic Merchant’s House Museum, which is decked for the holidays, Jones summons Charles Dickens’ classic characters seamlessly under the direction of co-adapter Rhonda Dodd. A flick of a facial expression, a shift in vocal tone and canny change in body language does the trick."
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"The Summoners Ensemble Theatre eschews grandiosity for authenticity...The effect is akin to a family reading of the story, as led by a very charismatic uncle...While slightly altered for a modern audience, the text loses nothing in richness and dexterity, especially when voiced by Jones' resonant baritone...This is masterful storytelling, like a live-action book on tape...It is likely that only a few hundred people will get the pleasure of seeing it. Make sure you're one of them."
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"A delightful production…There's a Christmas tree and some holiday sprucing, creating a festive and historic background for John Kevin Jones' thoroughly engaging solo performance…With outstretched arms, his ghost of Jacob Marley is an eerie, breathy growl. As directed by Dr. Rhonda Dodd, the assortment of characters that follow, from richly Shakespearean to music hall slick to storybook innocent, are played with realism befitting the intimate setting."
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"Jones traverses the familiar moments in an abbreviated version of the novella without giving short shrift to the key plot points and themes of despair and joy, death and new beginnings...Adorned with period holiday decorations, Merchant’s House is a special place to get reacquainted with the holiday classic...Despite 'A Christmas Carol' being the recipient of countless modern-day interpretations that almost everyone has seen in one form or another, Jones’s rendering is fresh and lively."
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"It is immediately clear that Summoners Ensemble has found a capable, captivating performer in Mr. Jones. With his commanding voice and adroit cadence, Jones’ Dickens plays like a live-action audiobook. He navigates with facility the changes between characters and moments, finding humor and pathos in the complex prose...A sincere, stripped-down, wholly interesting and wholly innovative approach to the text that left me feeling the right kind of warm and fuzzy."
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"John Kevin Jones gives Dickens' novella a fresh theatrical flavor...Jones, as stand-in for Dickens, has a commanding presence and urbane air...This take on 'A Christmas Carol' comes across like a piece of chamber music. With his endlessly expressive voice, Jones taps into the rich textures of Dickens' embroidered language and makes the iconic characters come alive one by one...The performance has no dull patches. Jones continually pulls the audience in."
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"In the quaint yet ornate setting, Jones easily captivates the audience with his brightly hued voice. Portraying Dickens as narrator, his delight for sharing the story is tangible and intoxicating...The end result is a truly spellbinding presentation of 'A Christmas Carol' that makes the familiar tale feel fresh and new all over again. Jones’ telling of the narrative is so richly evocative that the audience often forgets that they are simply listening to someone tell them a story."
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"I love the story, I love Kevin, and I love this adaptation...After all these years, there's an ease and such clarity to the performances. Each character, even our omnipotent narrator, is so beautifully delineated, it's as if we've seen 20 actors instead of one. The ease also added a lot more natural humor in the piece, which then set off the powerful humanity at the end of the evening. I was weeping, as always."
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"The talented co-adapter of the classic story has a clear love of the classic ‘A Christmas Carol’ text, and relays the tale flawlessly in his one-hour, intermissionless performance. But to simply call this a 'reading' would be a gross understatement. Jones brings this timeworn story of greed and redemption to life via his animated acting and careful touches…This spirited rendition of ‘A Christmas Carol’ has quickly become an instant holiday classic."
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