Clarence Brown plays 'Carol,' 'Wonderful Life' once again

Johanna Dunphy and David Brian Alley rehearse in the Clarence Brow Theatre's "Itís a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play."

David Kortemeier as Scrooge trembles at Jed Diamond's performance as Marley in Clarence Brown Theatre's "A Christmas Carol."

The University of Tennessee's Clarence Brown Theatre celebrates the season with the return of two holiday classics.

For the fifth and final year the theater presents the Edward Morgan-Joseph Hanreddy adaptation of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol." The play has a Nov. 23 preview and Nov. 25 opening night. The show with a 30-member cast then runs on select dates through Dec. 18.

Actor David Kortemeier plays Scrooge; the visiting guest artist is the fourth actor to play the key role in "Carol's" five-year run. He most recently played writer Ben Hecht in Clarence Brown's season-opening "Moonlight and Magnolias." Two UT associate professors and former Scrooges also have key roles: Jed Diamond plays Marley's Ghost; last year's Scrooge Terry Weber is Bob Cratchit.

And for the second year, the theater presents a second holiday-themed production with the return of "It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play." The play will run Dec. 1-18 in the Carousel Theatre.

"Wonderful Life" tells the story made famous in the 1946 Frank Capra film but does so within the format of a 1940s radio show. UT artist-in-residence and theater faculty member David Brian Alley reprises his roles as Jake Laurents/George Bailey in the production. Bill Jenkins, who chairs Ball State University's Department of Theatre, returns as director.

The current adaptation of "Carol" has been at Clarence Brown since 2007. It's been a record setter; more than 31,000 tickets have been sold during its tenure. It's also been the longest-running consecutive production in the last 30 years.

Morgan, a freelance director, writer and teacher, has directed his adaptation all five years. The play was initially planned to run three years but was brought back last year and this season. He thinks the story is appealing for several reasons, from Dickens' 1843 story to the seasonal music selected for the local production.

"In the first place, it's the most popular story in western literature," says Morgan. "It works as a holiday story, as a sentimental story, as a ghost story and as a drama of redemption And on top of that, we wrote a very good, successful adaptation."

Morgan says the story remains fresh "because of different casts and their mixture of professional and community actors." Each year he'd change some lines during rehearsals.

And then there is the music selected for the play. Those sounds make "Carol" " more than a play. "It's kind of a church service, kind of a concert, kind of a music video. And people want to come back for that. It makes it more than the story and the words," says Morgan.

This is the last year for the Morgan-Hanreddy adaptation. Initially it looked like Ebenezer and Tiny Tom would be taking a hiatus from the UT theater next year. Clarence Brown officials earlier this month said they did not plan to produce a version of "Carol" next season. But last week they said they are considering a different adaptation. No decision has been made yet. The theater will likely set its slate of plays by early 2012.

© 2011, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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