We may all feel like poor Cratchits at this bleak economic moment, but most of us also possess at least a modicum of inner Scrooge. Director Allison Narver’s take on the character transformation of London’s meanest miser depicts ghoulish ghosts and heavenly hearths with a wry balance of sweet and sour that even a curmudgeon can enjoy. The circular set blazes with spidery red lighting that cleverly resembles the blood vessels of the retina on which Scrooge’s scary visions are projected. Marley’s crazy-haired, chain-dragging revenant looks like Nick Nolte’s mug shot after arrest; the ghost of Christmas Present bares his pasty chest like a dissolute Bacchus. Seán G. Griffin and Mark Chamberlin alternate as Scrooge, each with his own distinctive shades of humbug. MARGARET FRIEDMAN Runs Tues.-Sun.; see website for exact schedule and Scrooge du jour.

Nov. 26-Dec. 26, 2010