Last November, Tony Award-winning actor Jefferson Mays starred in a stunning one-man production of A Christmas Carol. This year another actor is taking on the role in a completely different production. David Mynne will take on all the roles in the Dickens story in a one-man production opening on Wednesday at The Wallis in Beverly Hills. The show will only run through December 8th.
Normally I would be skeptical that anyone could top what Mays accomplished last year. But I saw Mynne do a one-man version of Great Expectations at The Wallis in 2018. This will certainly not be the same kind of production as the Geffen’s, but I can assure you Mynne will be every bit as compelling as Mays was.
Mynne does not rely on a lot of staging, sound effects and more for his productions. His versions of these Dickens stories are ripe with the bare essentials of what you need to tell a story well: a great actor and a great story.
This is storytelling at its most intimate. For Great Expectations everything came from one suitcase, if my memory serves me right. I imagine he will rely on limited props for this production as well. When I interviewed him for Great Expectations he called his performance style “storytelling with extras.”
The book was adapted by Andrew McPherson with additional script by Simon Harvey and David Mynne. Harvey directs.
This production of A Christmas Carol will take place in the Lovelace Studio Theatre – the smaller of the two theatres at The Wallis. In other words, the perfect space for such an intimate show.
The press release indicates Mynne has a one-man version of Dracula! Perhaps next October will find him back performing that show. Let’s start some Halloween traditions!
For tickets go here.
Photo of David Mynne courtesy of the production