Reviews: Critics Are Weighing In On Jefferson Mays' A Christmas Carol | Playbill

Playbill Universe Reviews: Critics Are Weighing In On Jefferson Mays' A Christmas Carol

The Tony winner tells the Charles Dickens holiday tale as a dedicated storyteller playing all the characters on the Broadway stage.

Jefferson Mays in A Christmas Carol Courtesy A Christmas Carol Live

Officially open at the Nederlander Theatre November 21, A Christmas Carol stars Jefferson Mays (The Music Man, Oslo) playing a host of characters from the Charles Dickens story. Critics are releasing their reviews for the holiday classic which began previews November 8 for a limited engagement through January 1, 2023.

God bless us, everyone! Mays collaborated with Susan Lyons and Michael Arden on the solo version of the holiday tale. Arden directs the Broadway run, and originally conceived the piece with Tony-nominated designer Dane Laffrey. Telling the uplifting tale of Ebenezer Scrooge's change of heart after visits from the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future, Mays acts out the story in a play that returns to having a single storyteller.

Read the reviews here.

Broadway News (Brittani Samuel)

CitiTourNY (Brian Scott Lipton)

The Daily Beast (Tim Teeman)

Deadline (Greg Evans)

Did They Like It? (Ran Xia)

New York Daily News (Chris Jones)*

New York Post (Johnny Oleksinski)

New York Stage Review (David Finkle, Frank Scheck)

New York Theater (Jonathan Mandell)

New York Theatre Guide (Joe Dziemianowicz)

The New York Times (Alexis Soloski)*

Theater Pizzazz (Marilyn Lester)

TheaterMania (Pete Hempstead)

Theatrely (Joey Sims)

Time Out (Adam Feldman)

Variety (Marilyn Stasio)

Vulture (Jackson McHenry)

The Wrap (Robert Hofler)

*This review requires creating a free account or a paid subscription.

Playbill will continue to update this list as reviews come in.

Mays has previously taken on a similar challenge in Doug Wright's I Am My Own Wife—Mays played over 40 characters, earning a Best Actor Tony Award in 2004 for the performance—as well as A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder.

The creative team features lighting designer Ben Stanton, projection designer Lucy Mackinnon, sound designer Joshua D. Reid, hair and makeup designer Cookie Jordan, puppet designer John Kristiansen, casting director Stephen Kopel, and associate director and production stage manager Justin Scribner.

Jefferson Mays in A Christmas Carol Courtesy A Christmas Carol Live

A Christmas Carol made its world premiere in 2018 at Los Angeles’ Geffen Playhouse. In winter 2020, a film version, produced by Hunter Arnold, was released to benefit partner theatres during the height of the pandemic shutdown.

 
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