Solo performance of ‘A Christmas Carol’ returning to Central Alabama Theater
One man, a three-piece suit and 36 characters, all in two hours.
It sounds like the start of a joke, but it isn’t, and theater fans can see for themselves this December when Mark Cabus, who recently appeared in the movie “Selma,” returns to the Central Alabama Theater and Steeple Arts Academy to perform his one-man showing of “A Christmas Carol.”
Cabus began his acting career at age 12 after overhearing his music teacher telling a fellow choir member that he should audition for the opera “Amahl and the Night Visitors.”
“I got a little jealous about that, and I went home and announced to my parents that I was auditioning for an opera,” he said. He got the part and never looked back.
Years later, after moving to Nashville, Cabus wanted to create a theater company. A friend suggested he create a one-man “Christmas Carol,” and after seeing a lackluster one-man version of the show, he said he decided to give it a try.
“I thought, ‘Yeah, maybe I should try to fix it, or do it how I think it should be done,’” he said.
To create this play, Cabus wrote and edited an adaptation from Charles Dickens’ original novella, which now contains 36 characters.
“I learned a long time ago not only as a writer but as an actor to get out of the way of the characters,” he said, saying that once the characters had an identity, he didn’t get confused.
The resulting play took about six months to edit and six weeks to commit to memory for his two hours on stage. His rendition plays more to the ghost-story side of Dickens’ book, which Cabus said many performances gloss over.
“In taking this approach, and working from the original text, there’s far more of an empathetic experience for the audience,” Cabus said.
His rendition of “A Christmas Carol” has taken the theater world by storm, and Birmingham is no exception.
After meeting Cabus through a mutual friend, Carl Peoples, founder of CAT, asked him to perform an excerpt during a board meeting.
“When he finished, several of the board members were in tears they were so moved,” Peoples said. “When he walked out the door, they asked, ‘How quickly can we book him and this show?’”
Cabus performed his first show in Birmingham in 2015 to the delight of many.
“[After his performance,] I had theater professors from the area coming up to me and saying, ‘Where did you find him? He’s amazing,’” Peoples said.
Cabus will take to the stage of the Steeple Arts Academy for three showings: Dec. 21, 22 and 23 at 7:30 p.m.
“Like all theater, it’s finite. It’s disposable. It’s there one night and gone the next.” Cabus said.
While the show is family appropriate, it is suggested for ages 12 and older, and guests are encouraged to bring nonperishable food items to donate to the CAT food drive to benefit the Birmingham AIDS Outreach Food Bank. Ticket holders who bring two items will be entered to win two tickets to future CAT Cabaret showings.
To purchase tickets, go to centralalabamatheater.eventbrite.com.