A Carol Christmas: New Holiday Musical Reviews
LA Splash- Highly Recommended
"...A CAROL CHRISTMAS is definitely kid friendly - but also will prove appealing to adults. Young carolers Celine June Bautista, Ellie Birdwell, Andrew Grigorian, Chihiro Kato, and Momoka Kato add that special something that makes the holidays sparkle. If you long for a show that will delve into the meaning of Christmas, while also offering lots of entertainment, amusement, and enjoyment, then A CAROL CHRISTIMAS will fill the bill."
Stage Scene LA- Highly Recommended
"...A bossy, workaholic fashion mogul makes major life changes thanks to a trio of late-night visitors in The Group Rep's World Premiere holiday musical A Carol Christmas, a tuneful Charles Dickens-inspired crowd-pleaser that with some astute revisions could well end up a regional December delight."
The Tolucan Times- Recommended
"...A contemporary American re-imagining of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol with a focus on women, The Group Repertory Theatre's world premiere of A Carol Christmas provides an upbeat examination of the holiday, blending excellent singing and acting."
NoHoArtsDistrict- Highly Recommended
"...The Group Rep has another hit. The holiday season is upon us, and what better way to celebrate but with "A CAROL CHRISTMAS." It will leave you with a smile on your face, and your toes tapping. Bring your Christmas/Holiday spirit and enjoy."
Haines His Way- Recommended
"...As director, Kimmel has set a fast pace and although some of the cast have a tendency to deliver big expressive faces (just short of mugging at times), they are the best singing talent this viewer has heard on The Group Rep stage in well over a decade. The tracks by musical director Richard Allen are well executed but the sound balance was off at the performance I viewed (there were hanging mics, floor mics, head mics, everywhere a microphone in a 92 seat theatre). As a result a majority of the cast felt the need to yell their vocals. Tesshi Nakagawa's simple yet elegant and very functional set design easily morphed into various locations."
Los Angeles Post-Examiner- Highly Recommended
"...Then I got to the theatre and looked at the play bill. Wait a minute, this must be a misprint. It read A Carol Christmas and not A Christmas Carol. Nope, no misprint, just a vastly different show with basically a female Ebenezer by the name of Carol who like Ebenezer was a less than pleasant boss who unlike Ebenezer was not transformed by the spirits of Christmas past, present and future but rather by three more contemporary psychic gurus including one terrifying Tarot card reader who like the Spirit of Christmas future transformed Carol into an extremely pleasant, loving and giving woman."