Washington Post - Highly Recommended
"...With actor Paul Reisman as Scrooge, Faction of Fools has a comedic savant who can ad-lib his way, Groucho-style, out of any situation. On opening night, one couldn’t be sure whether the chime announcing the Ghost of Christmas Past came late (it did) or whether Reisman’s witty grousing about a missed cue was just part of the show. Behind his whiskery mask with its permanent scowl and bushy brows, Reisman achieves a fine cantankerousness.
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Washington City Paper - Recommended
"... Tyler Herman has an appealing joie de vivre as Scrooge’s cheerful nephew, Fred, and Julie Garner executes some deft quick changes flitting among the roles of the bawdy Mrs. Cratchit (oh, right: Mrs. Cratchit is bawdy here) and Fred’s younger, more decorous companion. Finally, when the Ghost of Christmas Future makes a silent appearance, it’s a frightening, red-eyed spectre, fearsome enough to scare the grinchiness out of anyone still clinging to their folded-arms pessimism."
Washingtonian - Recommended
"...Though the general tone of this A Christmas Carol is pretty jubilant, things do go appropriately dark when the chilling Ghost of Christmas Future (Mulford) appears. Floating along with piercing red eyes, he provides the most disquieting scenes of the production's vignettes. Wilson employs shaky, black-and-white multimedia effects to show shadowy video of Scrooge's funeral to the miser (Scrooge realizes it's his own funeral from the start, which does take some dramatic weight away from the later revelation of his grave). The eerie scene is a good springboard into Scrooge's transition into a more lighthearted, generous man. In a season where audiences will likely be choosing among adaptations of the beloved story, Faction of Fools has delivered a take with some surprises, and with an aesthetic that feels all its own."
DC Theater Arts - Highly Recommended
"... Faction of Fools Theatre Company combines Charles Dickens and Commedia Dell’Arte this Christmas for an inspired production of A Commedia Christmas Carol. The larger than life fable with its comi-tragic story and over-the-top ghosts is the perfect story for a group of ancient clowns with their masks and stylized body comedy."
MD Theatre Guide - Highly Recommended
"... ‘Tis the season to be Scrooge! As the Catholic Church discovered when at the end of the Dark Ages it used theatre to teach the Gospels, people prefer villains. Being good and loving Jesus might be one’s ticket to heaven, but for a solid night of entertainment give us Mr. Bad! And the villain of December is none other than that loveable Scrooge, that Job Creator and Wealth Generator, who has forgotten the meaning of charity and who now has bad dreams."
DCTheatreScene - Highly Recommended
This fast, funny and honest playing of the time-honored story somehow de-ossifies it, and makes it possible to believe the wisdom behind Dickens’ conceit: that even though we violate the spirit of Christmas the rest of the year, it is still possible to have a redemptive moment in which discover the power of open-hearted love.
