by Emily Edelman
If you’re a fan of the traditional British Christmas panto, Bennington Theater’s current show will be of definite interest to you: With the premise that all but three members of an English music hall cast of “A Christmas Carol” fell ill just before showtime, “Scrooge in Rouge” is a bawdy, comical, musical journey through the Dickensian tale that includes clever jokes, saucy songs, audience participation, and more costume changes than you thought possible.
With Mary Jo Greco as Vesta Virile taking on the play-within-a-play’s main role of Ebenezer Scrooge, it falls to David Sutton and Dylan Angell to portray rest of the characters in “A Christmas Carol,” which they do brilliantly. Sutton’s comic timing is spot-on and pairs nicely with Angell’s hilarious yet charming performances of almost all of the show’s female characters.
Director John Lugar keeps his players in near constant motion and is also responsible for the show’s projections, which are eye-catching enough to enhance the performance without taking focus away from the actors. Elizabeth Rodio’s many (many!) costumes were beautiful, appropriate and, at times, inspired.
“Scrooge in Rouge” runs through Sunday, Dec. 22.
Dylan Angell in “Scrooge in Rouge” at the Bennington Theater. Photo: Alexey Tarasov. 
David Sutton, Dylan Angell, and Mary Jo Greco in “Scrooge in Rouge” at the Bennington Theater. Photo: Alexey Tarasov. 
David Sutton, Dylan Angell, and Mary Jo Greco in “Scrooge in Rouge” at the Bennington Theater. Photo: Alexey Tarasov. 
David Sutton, Dylan Angell, and Mary Jo Greco in “Scrooge in Rouge” at the Bennington Theater. Photo: Alexey Tarasov. 
David Sutton, Dylan Angell, and Mary Jo Greco in “Scrooge in Rouge” at the Bennington Theater. Photo: Alexey Tarasov. 
Dylan Angell in “Scrooge in Rouge” at the Bennington Theater. Photo: Alexey Tarasov. 
David Sutton, Dylan Angell, and Mary Jo Greco in “Scrooge in Rouge” at the Bennington Theater. Photo: Alexey Tarasov. 
David Sutton and Mary Jo Greco in “Scrooge in Rouge” at the Bennington Theater. Photo: Alexey Tarasov. 
Mary Jo Greco in “Scrooge in Rouge” at the Bennington Theater. Photo: Alexey Tarasov. 
David Sutton in “Scrooge in Rouge” at the Bennington Theater. Photo: Alexey Tarasov. 
David Sutton, Dylan Angell, and Mary Jo Greco in “Scrooge in Rouge” at the Bennington Theater. Photo: Alexey Tarasov. 
David Sutton, Dylan Angell, and Mary Jo Greco in “Scrooge in Rouge” at the Bennington Theater. Photo: Alexey Tarasov. 
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Book & lyrics: Ricky Graham. Additional material: Jeffery Roberson. Original music: Jefferson Turner. Other interesting bit: Yvette Hargis. Director & set/video/prop designer: John Lugar. Music director: Richard Cherry. Cast: David Sutton, Dylan Angell, Mary Jo Greco, Richard Cherry, Ross Jacobs, Ethan Hacker, Atlas Lescarbeau. Christmas carolers: Deborah Burns, David Flinn, gripp, Gabriella Landgraf-Neuhaus, April Patrick, Tony Malikowski, Kathleen Thunberg. Choreographer: K. Morgan Prikazsky. Costume designer: Elizabeth Rodio. Mix engineer: Ethan Hacker. Sound/backstage crew: Ken Kramer. Production stage manager: Alexandra Zeiselman.