The Farndale Avenue Housing Estate ….

The Farndale Avenue Housing Estate Townswomen’s Guild Dramatic Society’s production of A Christmas Carol Produced by Starkit Productions By guest reviewer Gary McMillanStarkit Productions remounts the show they produced in Baltimore ten years ago as a British Panto-style production with cross-gender casting. Does the triumphant arrival of the Farndale Avenue’s leading ladies, Thelma Greenwood and Phoebe Reece, starring in Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, explain why the sparring actresses of National Theatre’s Legends! high-tailed it out of town to avoid the unfavorable comparison?  Run, Linda Evans and Joan Collins, run:  Thelma and Phoebe have arrived!  Phoebe and Thelma, in the tradition of Mary Dale (Red Scare At Sunset) and Sylvia St. Croix (Ruthless!), are divas-with-a-difference in a gender-bending cast of four guys and a gal in this up-ended holiday classic.  Fans of the subversive “Fractured Fairy Tales” on Rocky & Bullwinkle or the zaniness of Monty Python’s housewife sketches will find much to like in The Farndale Avenue Housing Estate Townswomen’s Guild Dramatic Society’s production of A Christmas Carol. Be forewarned that more than the fourth wall comes tumbling down as the cast entangles the audience in the proceedings even before the curtain rises. More walls collapse as this cast of Equity members/candidates aims to convince the audience that not only are they opposite-sex characters playing multiple opposite- and same-sex parts, but that their primary characters are graduates of the Inspector Clouseau Drama Academy – inept, befuddled, hammy actors. It’s a difficult type of comedy to pull off (which is why actors often receive award recognition for playing lousy actors – it’s not easy). This cast is darn good at being bad. A Christmas Carol is a classic story, so I needn’t recap this postmodern story of a person with co-morbid obsessive-compulsive and personality disorders who experiences a night of paranormal encounters that lead to self-realization and character transformation.  It’s your basic How Scrooge Got His Groove On.  But you really don’t need to know the plot line to enjoy the lunacy.Thelma Greenwood (R. Scott Williams) as Ebenezer Scrooge is an over-reaching, star-wannabe actress with West End aspirations. Greenwood builds on the favorable buzz for her Lady MacBeth to parlay this performance into stardom. Her rival, Phoebe Reece (Gerald B. Browning), is the hostess-with-the-mostest, serving as mistress of ceremonies and covering multiple roles, most notably Tiny Tim. Phoebe is the audience’s confidant. Trust her. Go with her and she’ll take you on a fun-filled ride. Felicity Swinge (Garth McCardle) is the punching bag for the dueling divas. I never realized there could be so many different shadings of the “deer caught in the headlights” expression. At one point, she fills an interlude with an interpretive dance intended to be so bad that it’s funny, but after suffering through Twyla Tharp’s Dylan fiasco which had a deservedly short run on Broadway last Fall, Felicity’s choreography looked pretty accomplished by comparison. Rounding out the distaff side of the cast, dear elderly, dotty Mercedes Oire-Hippleworth (Chaney Tulios) is on the losing end of the assault and battery school of community theatre. Is there a doctor in the house?Certainly not last or least, is Gordon Pugh (Sue Judin) whose walrus mustache lends a certain earthy charm and realism to his performance as Mrs. Cratchit. Gordon suffers the ladies blandly – which is to say, grandly. His portrayal of Jacob Marley is quite touched … er, touching.The jaded will NOT enjoy The Farndale Avenue Housing Estate Townswomen’s Guild Dramatic Society’s production of A Christmas Carol. It revels in broad and physical humor (down-right slap-stick at times) along with the elements of sophisticated wit and sarcasm. But the show is a sure bet for friends or co-workers looking for a holiday-related outing.  Kudos to William Toscano (director) and Claude Stark (producer) for bring the show to DC after its successful run in Baltimore ten years ago.  Ten years ago!  What took you so long?   Farndale Avenue…..Christmas Carol runs until December 31^st at the Church Street Theater1742 Church Street, NW, Washington, DC .  Tickets are $35 (The New Year’s Eve Extravaganza is $50).  Order online or call 800 494-8497