Review: Dolly Parton's Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol

Cast of Dolly Parton’s Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol. Photo by Moonrider Productions

The beloved characters of Charles Dickens' all-time holiday classic A Christmas Carol are given a Southern spin in Dolly Parton's Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol. Adapted from a book by David H. Bell and directed by Bobby Garcia, the musical premiered in Boston in 2019. On November 18, 2021, the production made its Canadian debut at the Arts Club Theatre Company's Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage in Vancouver.

It's Christmas Eve, 1936. An unforgettable blizzard whips through the crags and crannies of the Smoky Mountains in East Tennessee. Here lives Ebenezer Scrooge, the magnate of a coal mining company in the imaginary town of Morton's Holler. Hard-hit by the Depression, the poverty of Morton's Holler echoes that of the original Scrooge's Victorian England. Obsessed with the bottom line of his assets, which include the school, the police, the bank, and seemingly every service and facet of life in Morton's Holler, his only concern is keeping his books as black as the coal in his heart. 

The story is partially told through exposition by residents of Morton's Holler who gather every Christmas season to recount the tale of Scrooge. Though some cast members play multiple roles, the characters are clearly defined, preventing any confusion. When it comes to local talent, there's perhaps none more fit for the job of Scrooge than theatre veteran David Adams. Between the stage and radio, he wagers he has portrayed every male character in A Christmas Carol short of Tiny Tim.

While the 15-strong cast shone with their enthusiastic performances, the live musicians also deserve special praise. Fiddler Kathleen Nisbet pulled double duty, acting as the silent Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, who communicates with Scrooge through her instrument alone. She and the rest of the seamless quintet scored the show with both original Parton songs and seasonal gems like “Once Upon a Christmas,” “Smoky Mountain Christmas,” and the reoccurring “Three Candles.” Favouring such picks over the likes of “Coat of Many Colors” or “My Tennessee Mountain Home,” the show avoided the pitfall of featuring hits for hits' sake; instead, the song selection was deliberate and thoughtful.

Set pieces almost entirely on wheels made for quick and smooth set changes, usually happening as scenes continued on. Surrounding all the action was a wooden frame pinned with wagon wheels. Along the top horizontal beam, a miniature train periodically tooted across the stage, exhaling tiny puffs of smoke behind it.

Long scenes centred around the Ghost of Christmas Past – Scrooge's deceased business partner Jacob Marley – filled up most of act one. By comparison, act two breezed by, especially at the play's conclusion when Scrooge made his amends and extended his hospitality to family, employees, and strangers alike. But the relatively swift ending did not diminish the heart and warmth of the story that was the miserly Scrooge's redemption. The ultimate lesson rang as clearly as Christmas bells: we are stronger as a community than as individuals.

Dolly Parton's Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol runs until January 2, 2022 at the Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage. Get your tickets here.