City Theatre takes on the production of a classic Christmas-themed Charles Dickens tale.

Charles Dickens’ classic tale of a man with a soul more given to cash transactions than warm fuzzies who finds his life transformed by ghostly apparitions gets a fairly traditional adaptation in City Theatre’s production, from a new script by Luther Hanson. Hanson, who also directs, wisely sticks close to the text, relying on theatrical conventions—including a very smart use of a Christmas choir as a sort of Greek chorus to narrate—to give the show its “ummph.” Or perhaps we should say, its “Bah, humbug!”

After getting the necessary fact of Jacob Marley’s death well established, we follow Scrooge (the excellent Lew Rooker) through a Christmas Eve sojourn in the supernatural that creates a heart worthy of a reformed Grinch. Rooker’s Scrooge is a towering presence with such a thundering “Bah, humbug!” that we understand why poor Bob Cratchit cowers before him. Yet he aptly conveys such gentleness later on that we are willing to believe his conversion is a genuine one.

Rooker is supported by some powerfully good Christmas ghosts (James Roberts, Sean Thomas Oliveras and Chad Andre), as well as suitably mournful and enchained Jacob Marley. As Bob Cratchit, Vernon Lewis is less the doormat and more the gentle spirit in Dickens’ original. Throughout, the ensemble takes on multiple roles and provides tuneful interpretations of Christmas hymns and carols.

The set, designed by Shawn Weinsheink, includes a Victorian street scene and a number of sets that roll in and out or drop from above, but never feel weighty or slow down the production. There’s also a great deal of theatrical smoke—well, it is foggy London, and there are boatloads of ghosts—and costumes in the traditional style of capes, vests, petticoats and fine hats.

In short, it’s a holiday spectacle with a serious dose of social responsibility, and a fine bit of tradition to add to any family celebration.