Dolly Parton’s Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol did something to me that I can't explain 🟠 The country music legend's take on Dickens will well and truly warm your heart, even if there aren't enough rhinestones ⭐⭐⭐
. Yes, it began life in her theme park Dollywood, but this musical is free of kitsch, devoid of cleavage, and has had all rhinestones surgically removed in some kind of painful-but-necessary operation.finds the country music megastar in hardscrabble nostalgia mode, her songs evoking the grimness of December in a Depression-era Appalachian mining town where everyone wears plaid and no one can afford any presents.
This Scrooge isn’t just a miser, he’s an out-and-out monster, determinedly bleeding dry the small town he calls home. He owns the mines, the bank, and the village store at Morton’s Hollow, and when his workers become ill and fall behind on their payments, he’s got no qualms about booting them out into the snow on Christmas Eve. He even betrays poor Fezziwig , shopping him for selling moonshine.
So it’s a little bit surprising that David H Bell’s adaptation does so much to humanise Scrooge: he even babysits the adorable Tiny Tim while beleaguered Bob Cratchit sees to the books. Later, we hear that he once spent hours playing with a puppy. It’s a “businessman are people too” agenda which perhaps plays better in the homeland of the American Dream than here, in cynical old London.
Fittingly, Robert Bathurst’s turn as Scrooge is more curmudgeon-next-door than evil arch-capitalist: he lacks the kind of villainous menace that would make his ultimate redemption truly heartwarming. But believe me, your heart will be well and truly warmed by Parton’s songs, which are gorgeous: bluegrassy, packed with complex harmonies, and showcasing the talents of an ensemble that have been picked for their voices .
For this show to make the dent on Broadway its creators are no doubt dreaming of, we need more of that light and shade on stage. And, dare I say it, maybe a sprinkling of Parton kitsch and spectacle to really set our hearts aglow.
Ireland Latest News, Ireland Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Eddie Howe Christmas 2021 to Christmas 2022 compared to what went before - Absolutely astonishingAbsolutely astonishing - Eddie Howe Christmas 2021 to Christmas 2022 compared to what went before at Newcastle United.
Read more »
Editor's Choice: Jessie-May's Best Mountain Bikes & Gear 2022Time to lay on thick the praise, compliments and general hype for the mountain bikes, components and kit I thought was brilliant in 2022
Read more »
At least 12 wedding guests killed as minibus rolls 650ft down a mountainA VEHICLE carrying passengers coming from a wedding veered off a mountain killing all 12 people on board. The minibus was over capacity when it rolled off the mountain road in Nepal, about 250 mile…
Read more »
Bryce Dallas Howard joins The Watcher star in Disney+ showIt's a modern entry in the Witch Mountain franchise.
Read more »
P-22: Los Angeles celebrity mountain lion capturedP-22, who had lived in a city park for many years, was tranquilised weeks after killing a Chihuahua.
Read more »