Metropolis artistic director reflects on ‘A Christmas Carol’ and her ‘wonderful new community’
When Johanna McKenzie Miller took over as the Metropolis Performing Arts Centre artistic director nine months ago, the season she inherited included “A Christmas Carol,” an annual tradition at the Arlington Heights theater for more than 20 years.
The Chicago theater veteran, whose acting credits include Marriott, Drury Lane, Northlight, Court, First Folio, Goodman and Chicago Shakespeare theaters, among others, wasn’t overly impressed with previous adaptations. So Miller crafted her own.
“There is such beautiful language in Dickens’ original. I wanted to honor that, so I focused on the text,” said Miller, who took dialogue directly from a first edition of Dicken’s novella for her adaptation, which features Ebenezer Scrooge’s sister Fan as the narrator.
The play-with-music includes traditional carols as well as an original song by music director and fellow Chicago theater mainstay Cory Goodrich. Miller — who helmed productions at Marriott, Drury Lane, Paramount, Music Theatre Works and First Folio theaters — believes Goodrich and associate director/music director Samuel Shankman have created an eclectic soundtrack that will appeal to theatergoers.
“I think audiences will be charmed by it,” she said. “How often do you get to see a bassoon on stage? Or bagpipes, for that matter?”
The production, which includes Metropolis School of the Performing Arts students, features Steve Connell reprising the role of Scrooge, which he has played for 12 years.
“One of the things Metropolis audiences can look forward to is the intimacy of our space,” Miller said. “I hope people will feel very connected to the story and the play because they’re so close.”
David Rice, co-founder of First Folio Theater with late wife Alison C. Vesely, was executive director when Miller made her directorial debut at the Oak Brook theater in 2018. He says interpreting an oft-revived show like “Christmas Carol” poses challenges.
“If you’re going to bring something new and fresh to it, it’s not enough to come in with a new concept and vision,” he said. “You have to be willing to collaborate with people to expand and manifest that vision.”
Miller is a true collaborator, he said, one who makes sure everyone is a part of the creative process. That prompted him to hire her to direct First Folio’s 2018 premiere of “Shrew’d!” a musical adaptation of William Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew” by Rice and Lydia Hiller.
“I knew I needed someone with a strong musical theater background (who) I knew could handle Shakespeare,” he said of Miller, who previously played Titania in First Folio’s 2016 production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”
Seeking a director for an informal reading of the tuner, Rice asked her to suggest someone. Miller jokingly replied that she’d like to give it a try.
“I don’t know why I said this,” she recalled. “I never in a million years thought he would take me seriously.”
When Rice offered her the job. Miller burst into tears.
“I didn’t know this (directing) was something I wanted,” she said. “I’m so thankful to David for that offer. It changed my life.”
She later told her sister: “I think I figured out what I want to be when I grow up.”
Rice praised Miller’s work.
“She came up with some brilliant ideas (for “Shrew’d!) that neatly solved some issues we had, especially with the opening of the show,” he said.
Miller, who also co-founded the Lombard Children’s Theater Workshop, went on to stage Marriott Theatre’s 2021 revival of “Kiss Me, Kate” (Cole Porter’s version of Shakespeare’s comedy), which Rice described as “absolutely stunning.”
While she wants to continue acting, Miller says: “I feel more in my skin when I’m directing.”
However, serving as artistic director for a theater that produces six main-stage productions annually along with children’s productions and a concert series, while also operating a school, doesn’t leave much time for either.
“I’m super busy in ways I hadn’t anticipated,” Miller says.
That said, she looks forward to shaping Metropolis’ upcoming seasons and helping it grow as an institution.
“It's a wonderful new community for me to be a part of,” she said.
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“A Christmas Carol”
When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday; and 2 p.m. Sunday, through Dec. 21. Also, 7:30 p.m. Dec. 23 and 2 p.m. Dec. 24
Where: Metropolis Performing Arts Centre, 111 W. Campbell St., Arlington Heights, (847) 577-2121, metropolisarts.com
Tickets: $29-$55