Mukilteo’s Keagan Estes has arguably the most important role in A Contemporary Theatre’s “A Christmas Carol.”
The 8-year-old plays Tiny Tim, the sickly boy who walks with a crutch, in the Charles Dickens tale that was adapted 41 years ago by Gregory A. Falls for the circular stage and has been a Christmas mainstay for the Seattle theater company ever since.
It’s no wonder the show sells out every year: After four decades, “A Christmas Carol” is near perfect. I’ve never been so captivated by a story I already knew.
“A Christmas Carol” tells the tale of a bitter old man named Ebenezer Scrooge and his transformation into a gentler, kinder soul after he is visited by the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come.
Although Tiny Tim has a small role in the story, it is a significant one: The youngest son of Bob Cratchit serves as a symbol of the consequences of Scrooge’s choices.
I was excited to see Keagan in “A Christmas Carol” because, though he has been in several musicals, his family was beyond honored he was selected to join the ACT cast.
I’ve also seen the Northshore Christian Academy third grader in Edge Performing Arts’ “Annie Jr.,” where he played Oliver Warbucks’ butler, and Seattle Musical Theatre’s “South Pacific,” where he played the half Polynesian son of one of the main characters, Emile de Becque.
“I really wanted to do it,” Keagan said of the role. “I like the story because it tells how a person can change over time. Scrooge becomes nicer, and he says he would be like a second father to me.”
He said it’s a lot of fun because he gets to limp around on stage and speak in a cockney accent.
Director Kurt Beattie, who has staged “A Christmas Carol” four times for ACT, said Keagan landed the role because he embodies the boy’s Christmas dinner prayer.
“We auditioned a number of folks for Tiny Tim, and Keagan seemed to us the most real and the most connected to Tiny Tim’s famous line,” Beattie said. “He just seemed to understand that those words are for each, individual person.”
I have to agree with Beattie, because Keagan’s Tiny Tim evoked tears from many of us in the audience more than once while watching the 90-minute show.
Along with Keagan, notable performances include Frank Corrado’s cold-hearted Ebenezer Scrooge, Connor Toms’ kindhearted Bob Cratchit, Rob Burgess’ hilarious Mr. Fezziwig, G. Valmont Thomas’ ghostly Jacob Marley and Maya Sugarman’s angelic Spirit One. (Corrando alternates the role of Scrooge with R. Hamilton Wright.)
ACT’s “A Christmas Carol” became a fast favorite of mine for two reasons: The theater in the round offers an intimate experience where every seat is a good one, and the special effects are a welcome surprise that make the story as dark and spooky as Dickens intended it to be.
It may sound cliché, but the show really did put me into a Christmas mood.
Keagan admitted that he gets the jitters before he goes on stage. He said it isn’t all bad, because the added excitement goes into his performance.
“I act it up and get it over with when I’m scared,” he said. “I just do it.”
It seems to work to his benefit because Keagan has Tiny Tim’s line from the play’s Christmas dinner scene down: “God bless us, everyone!”
If you go
Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol”
Through Dec. 28 at the Allen Theatre, 700 Union St., Seattle.
For tickets, which start at $70, go to www.acttheatre.org or call 206-292-7676. With the promo code “SPIRIT,” tickets are 25 percent off the regular price for all performances after Christmas.
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