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Scroogissimo, by Ryan Sero and Charly Chiarelli
$18.00
Scroogissimo! is a new take on the Dickens classic A Christmas Carol, inspired in equal parts by English pantomime and the Marx Brothers. It’s set in the North End of Hamilton, Ontario, where 10,000 Sicilians settled after World War II – almost all of them from the town of Racalmuto.
Scrooge is “Ebenezo Scrugi”, a character created by Calogero (Charly) Chiarelli, known across Canada and internationally for his one-man plays about growing up Sicilian in the North End. Scrugi is haunted by his old partner Marley, who sends three ghosts (women in this version) to teach him compassion. Tiny Tim is a ventriloquist dummy, operated by Bob Cratchit, and Scrugi’s housekeeper is a classic panto Dame.
The zany script is by Ryan Sero and Charly Chiarelli. Charly “translated” all Scrooge’s speeches into North-End Sicilian English. Ryan took the speeches and the original Dickens story, and cranked them through his own inventive comedic mind. Ryan is well known in Hamilton for his over-the-top comedy productions, including Romeo and Juliet: An Escapist Comedy.
Artword Theatre is the creation of Judith Sandiford (Managing Director) and Ronald Weihs (Artistic Director). They operated a highly successful theatre in downtown Toronto for twelve years. In 2008, they moved to Hamilton, where they opened Artword Artbar, a popular live-music and performance venue in the James Street North arts district.
Ronald –
A Sicilian Scrooge from Hamilton, Ontario
Charly Chiarelli and Ryan Sero have teamed up to devise Scroogissimo, a send-up of A Christmas Carol in a uniquely Hamilton way, at Artword Artbar. Chiarelli is a Sicilian, from Racalmuto. He is not alone. Hamilton is full of Racalmutese, their numbers and contributions seeming overwhelming considering the small town from which they originate. Artword Artbar itself sits almost literally in the shadow of the great three-legged Trinacria symbol on the side of a neighbouring building, the social club called Fratellanza Racalmutese.
Chiarelli is well-known for mining the comic possibilities in the culture and the accent of Sicilians, and Hamiltonians. With Sero, he has overlaid that pattern onto the great Dickens tale. You can imagine the results; we get words like “umbaggo” (humbug), and lines like “is there-a no prison onna Barton-a Street?”. Because the story and even the lines of the original are so familiar, the send-up works. Even the tender parts of Scrooge’s journey are Sicilianized. When “Scroogi” is transported by the Ghost of Christmas Past to the triangular island and the town of Racalmuto of his youth, it is a very sentimental moment. I saw at least one hankie furtively raised to dab the corner of an audience member’s eye.
I’m very fond of the space in Artword Artbar. It seems so low-tech and home-made that its productions have a remarkable intimacy. Everything is carried by the performers, with lighting and sets that are minimal and non-distracting. The cast of Scroogissimo held my interest with strong comic acting and as a powerful musical ensemble. Accompanied by only a keyboard, they performed several Christmas musical numbers including a couple of classic Italian songs. Great fun at a very nice bar with craft beer and wine at reasonable prices.
Tony Kilgannon, Ontario Arts Review