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Arcadia Weekly Dec 23, 2015
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Fifty-Year Anniversary Marked at Glendale Centre Theatre
By Jeff Loewen
I have learned throughout my 52 years that traditions play a very important part in every human-being’s life. It is understandable that many people might say that they are non-traditional or that they really do not have any traditions. But ask them about how they spend holidays such as Thanksgiving, Hanukah, Christmas, Eid, Kwanzaa or New Year’s and they will tell you all about how they like to spend their time. Literally, they tell you all about something which they do annually, something that they hold fast to and are unwilling to change.
For some Tchaikovsky’s “Nutcracker” is a seasonal must, whether it is a kids’ production or a professional ballet company. For others it is all about the foods, including sweets like mincemeat pies, fruitcakes, peanut brittle, and the like. Then there are those who attend annual performances like those of the Rockettes of Radio City or the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. There are movies and shows to watch, songs to sing, treats to eat, candles to burn, trees to decorate, houses to light, places to go, people to see, and things to do.
For this author, the necessity for traditions lives long and well. There are things that must be done, foods to be prepared, songs that have to be sung, and plays that must be attended. This is a show that is not found on Broadway in New York City, nor at the Pantages in Los Angeles, nor at the major palaces of theatre around the country but, instead, at an intimate 400-seat theatre-in-the-round that is found in Glendale, Calif.
The Glendale Centre Theatre (GCT) produces one of the finest shows ever to be done on an annual basis – Charles Dickens’ immortal classic “A Christmas Carol”. What is distinct about this show is that it is the longest running show of its kind. Producer-director Tim Dietlein takes the helm of this 50th anniversary production, starring Tom Killam, who does an excellent and believable job as Ebenezer Scrooge. It is a show that, if you have never seen before, will become a tradition for you and your family. It celebrates all that is good about Christmas and shows how even the most staunch and inflexible of people are not beyond redemption.
The entire cast invites you to come and celebrate Christmas with them through the singing of carols, designed to reach deep into your memory and draw out the warmth of your own Christmas past and present as you look towards the future. Familiar faces like Tim Dietlein, Nick Mizrahi, Amanda Bailey, Seth Freed and Paul Reid along with many more give you reason to smile warmly and leave this intimate gathering singing their old familiar carols.
From the moment you arrive in the lobby of this beautiful theater at 324 Orange St. in Glendale, to the meet and greet of the actors afterwards, you will find yourself drawn in to the Christmas spirit, period. The special effects do not feel awkward, nor do they seem separate from the show, as they augment all that this classic tale sets out to tell. There are no surprises in this story, yet one finds themselves becoming a participant in the transformation of Ebenezer Scrooge from lad to old man. It is one that deserves annual retrospection in order that the true spirit of Christmas might manifest itself in each of our lives, all year long.
This 50th anniversary production is uniquely marked by the fact that it was video recorded for viewing on platforms like Hulu, Vimeo, AppleTV, and others for the whole world to watch and enjoy. Check the GCT website (www.glendalecentretheatre.com) or their Facebook page (www.facebook.com/TheGlendaleCentreTheatre) for more information about times and locations to view online. However, I would highly recommend that if you live within 100 miles of Glendale, Calif. take the time to come see it for yourself, as you will not be disappointed. The Glendale Centre Theatre box office, located on the upstairs level of the lobby, is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday. They can also be reached via telephone at (818) 244-8481 or via email (boxoffice@glendalecentretheatre.com). Their performances are Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m., with matinees on Saturdays at 3 p.m.
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