"Spectacle is the operative word here: Everything is very big, very colorful and very loud. But it’s also extremely difficult to follow (despite being quite faithful to Charles Dickens) and almost totally devoid of warmth. For much of its 90-minute duration, it may as well be a football game going on up there...Well, a football game staged by director Mike Ockrent and choreographed by Susan Stroman..."
"It would be ill-advised to head off to this 'Christmas Carol' expecting great performances, unless you're expecting them from the stagehands... Although Walter Charles, who portrays Scrooge, is onstage constantly, you can forget for long patches that 'A Christmas Carol' is about his conversion to goodness...After the spectacle, the score by Mr. Menken (with lyrics by Ms. Ahrens) is the production's major drawing card... Musically speaking, Mr. Menken is an optimist, which sometimes puts him at odds with Dickens but probably makes him the right man when it comes to spreading good cheer. Ms. Ahrens keeps her lyrics simple. To the extent that I could hear them, they are not unintelligent."