Pickering shines as Scrooge in The Rep’s “A Christmas Carol”

If you don’t have a smile on your face by the end of the Milwaukee Rep’s A Christmas Carol, you too might be dead as Jacob Marley.

The production, which opened Friday and runs through December 26, marks the 35th year that the Rep has put on Dickens’ classic tale of generosity and good cheer.

Since 1998, the Rep’s adaptation has been a version crafted by director Joseph Hanreddy, who preceded Mark Clements as artistic director. Most of the cast has extensive experience with the play as well — a fact made evident by the quality of their performances. Nowhere is this truer than with the role of Scrooge himself, played for the 13th time by Milwaukee favorite James Pickering. It would be easy for Pickering to make Scrooge simply cold and heartless, changed spontaneously by his magical journey, but his performance offers a sort of subtlety and depth to the famous Christmas curmudgeon.

Pickering’s Scrooge is the gaunt, craggy figure we’ve come to expect , spitting out his trademark “bah humbugs” like bullets at anyone who dares express an ounce of cheer. But as the show continues, glimpses of his humanity break through. The mention of his late sister, Fan, emotionally rattles him and later the appearance of Marley’s ghost further shakes him — totally unexpected from a man who minutes before had thrown a paperweight at his own nephew and driven a small boy from his office for begging.

We all know how the story ends, but Pickering makes the journey to redemption a pleasure to watch; Scrooge slowly moves from elation at the chance to wander through his younger days, to horror at the choices he’s made — and continues to make.

And while A Christmas Carol is a story about Ebenezer Scrooge, the tale –much like Scrooge himself — is nothing without the rich cast of supporting characters. There are, of course, those members whose merits stand out — Grant Goodman as Scrooge’s nephew, Fred; Jonathan Smoots, playing both Jacob Marley and the Ghost of Christmas Present; Drew Brhel, serving up laughs as the dry, lighthearted Fezziwig and the lusty, rowdy Mr. Topper alike — but it remains the ensemble who collectively steal the show at times.

Ironically, the ensemble is also the source of the show’s largest flaw — its occasionally subpar caroling — but it doesn’t take long before their collective enthusiasm has charmed away any dismay the occasional disharmony may bring, replacing it with an infectious glee that builds as the play goes on.

By the end of A Christmas Carol, Scrooge is a changed man. It’s a sentiment the audience can relate with after such a dynamic, heartwarming and captivating performance as this. Perhaps it can’t melt the heart of every modern-day Scrooge out there, but it’ll certainly melt yours.

The Rep’s A Christmas Carol runs through Dec. 26 at the Pabst Theater, 144 E. Wells St. For tickets, contact the box office at 414-224-9490, or order online.