Wall Street and the banking industry could learn a thing or two from Ebenezer Scrooge and George Bailey.
In Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol," Scrooge forecloses on debtors and leads a life of unrelenting greed. But he eventually sees the error of his ways and is transformed by the joy of giving.
In "It's a Wonderful Life," George watches a run on his family's bank during the Great Depression and later contemplates suicide when slumlord Mr. Potter threatens to close Bailey Building & Loan — a move that would jeopardize the homes of the hardworking people of Bedford Falls.
But the townspeople repay George's generosity, and guardian angel Clarence gets his wings — ding-a-ling — just in time for Christmas.
Every holiday season, theatergoers witness the 11th-hour salvation of George Bailey and Ebenezer Scrooge, but this year, the ghosts of financial crises eerily present are making these Christmas staples more relevant than ever.
Who'd a thunk that a 165-year-old Victorian morality tale and a play based on a 1946 film would turn out to be the most resonant social critiques to grace the stages of Atlanta in recent memory?
In David H. Bell's adaptation of "A Christmas Carol," at the Alliance Theatre through Dec. 24, Jacob Marley tells the young Scrooge: "It's the accountant who controls the heartbeat of London these days."
That's a pretty seductive sales pitch. It happens not far from the wassail bowl at the Fezziwigs' Christmas shindig, but it could have been a recruiting event for Lehman Brothers or Bear Stearns — back in the day. Soon, Scrooge has foreclosed on the Fezziwigs, and Mrs. Fezziwig is on the street, scarfing down porridge.
Belle, Scrooge's betrothed, is so troubled by his callousness that she gives back her engagement ring. She tells him she detests "the golden idol of gain on whose altar you now worship." Ouch.
It's impossible not to think of America's financial crisis when watching Theatrical Outfit's "It's A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play."
There's a run on the bank, but George calms the panicking mob by using his $2,000 honeymoon kitty. Down the road, things get worse when George's clumsy Uncle Billy gives old ne'er-do-well Potter a newspaper, forgetting that there's an $8,000 deposit stashed in the folds. All this happens as George's brother is getting a Medal of Honor for his heroism in World War II. (Think about it.)
"I don't think the story has ever impacted me more," said Tom Key, the Outfit's executive artistic director. "It started with the use of the word 'foreclosure,' which used to seem like a word that was only menacing in another time — like 'polio' or 'communism.' Now, in 2008, the word made my blood freeze."
"The show's more sinister themes — greed, poverty, willful despair and selfishness — read like a litany of today's news briefs," said Ruthie Ervin, the theater's director of communications. "I keep thinking how different things might be if more George Baileys daily strolled Wall Street and Main Street."
In "Wonderful Life," Bedford Falls becomes a symbol for Main Street, USA. What happens when the safety net of the mortgage system is threatened by sudden loss? Just ask Americans who have lost their homes or had their savings vanish as the stock market plunged.
And then there's "Christmas at Sweet Apple," Atlanta playwright Phillip DePoy's skillfully woven adaptation of several holiday yarns by Celestine Sibley. The late Atlanta Constitution reporter and AJC columnist was famous for helping the needy, and though the play is set in 1959, it has a scrappy tone that resonates today.
Sibley springs a thief named PeeWee from jail, only to have him skip town and desert his down-and-out wife and children. In search of a "Christmas moment," Sibley loads the family up with food and presents, then invites the woman to her Sweet Apple cabin for Christmas dinner. This is her answer to Dickens' Cratchits.
To Sibley's chagrin, the woman tells her she gave most of the presents away, and that it felt good, too. For it was the only way she could know that feeling of satisfaction that comes with giving. Sibley is devastated, but there's a larger truth here about sharing what you have.
This echoes the moment in "A Christmas Carol" when the homeless Mrs. Fezziwig is handed a spiced orange and remembers how she once served the delicacies by the platterful. But Mrs. Fezziwig isn't selfish with her treasure. She sections it out to the hungry London street folk huddled around her.
It is a heartbreaking act of generosity, and a lesson we'd all do well to consider in these leaner times.
ONSTAGE
• "A Christmas Carol." Grade: A. Through Dec. 24. $15-$60. Alliance Theatre, Woodruff Arts Center, 1280 Peachtree St. N.E., Midtown. 404-733-5000, alliancetheatre.org
• "It's A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play." Grade: B+. Through Dec. 21. $10-$30. Theatrical Outfit, Balzer Theater at Herren's, 84 Luckie St., downtown. 678-528-1500, theatricaloutfit.org
• "Christmas at Sweet Apple." Grade: B. Through Dec. 28. $25-$35. Theatre in the Square, Alley Stage, 11 Whitlock Ave., Marietta. 770-422-8369, theatreinthesquare.com
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