Under Michael Arden’s meticulous direction, Jefferson Mays navigates through his adaptation (with Susan Lyons and Michael Arden) of the five staves of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” with the full arsenal of his impressive craft. In addition to the protagonist Ebenezer Scrooge, Mr. Mays portrays and reimagines fifty of Charles Dickens’ iconic characters with the full range of emotion from exuberant joy and empathic pathos to unexpected awe and sheer terror. Currently running at The Nederlander Theatre, this is “A Christmas Carol” with grit, grime, and gusto.

In Stave One, the narrator provides the necessary exposition regarding Ebenezer Scrooge and describes in detail the visit of the ghost of Jacob Marley who warns Scrooge three ghosts will visit him. Jefferson Mays and the show’s creative team bring the narrative to the highest level of authenticity and believability. There is no doubt about Scrooge’s character: “Oh! But he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge! a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner! Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster.”

“A Christmas Carol” continues with the visits of the three ghosts stating as each enters: “I am the Ghost of Christmas Past” (Stave Two) “I am the Ghost of Christmas Present” (Stave Three) “I am the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come” (Stave Four) To this third ghost, Scrooge responds, “I fear you more than any spectre I have seen” and “Why show me this, if I am past all hope!”   Performing in the third person, Jefferson Mays successfully and engagingly embodies all the characters in these three staves with the assistance of Danny Gardner who brings the Spectre to haunting reality. Dickens’ important themes (the importance of kindness and the impact of choices on outcomes) are explored with the full range of logos ethos, and pathos.

In the final stave, Scrooge, after being confronted with the coarse truth of his past, present, and future, comes to understand the possibility of redemption, and need for prior confession and acceptance of forgiveness. Mr. Mays echoes Scrooge’s words throughout the theater, ““I am as light as a feather, I am as happy as an angel, I am as merry as a schoolboy. I am as giddy as a drunken man. A merry Christmas to everybody! A happy New Year to all the world! Hallo here! Whoop! Hallo!”

In addition to exploring these themes, “A Christmas Carol” raises important and enduring rich questions: “How does the audience relate to Scrooge’s acrimony.” “How are the audience members like or unlike the protagonist?” “Who are today’s Bob Cratchits and Tiny Tims?” “How do we address the disparity between rich and poor, between haves and have-nots?” “What is our responsibility to understand that this unconscionable disparity is our responsibility and our mandate?”

The craft of the creative team is up to par with that of Mr. Mays. Dane Laffrey’s scenic and costume design create stunning period settings with spaces that seem to appear and disappear without human intervention, including one that drops onto the stage and disappears equally seamlessly. Ben Stanton’s lighting design with Lucy Mackinnon’s projection design populate eerie, shadowy scenes with a score of “people” that are so realistic one searches the Playbill to find the missing cast members. Joshua D. Reid’s sound design, Cookie Jordan’s hair and makeup design, and John Kristiansen’s puppet design challenge the senses with layer upon layer of unimaginable “realities.”

This is one “A Christmas Carol” not to be missed. Please consider carefully bringing the young to the theater. Dickens’ story is “family friendly;” however, this exquisite iteration can be frightening at times. Its brilliant realism makes even the seasoned senior wonder what might come next as Jefferson Mays unfolds Scrooge’s saga of redemption.