"Marley was dead to begin with," intoned the ghost of Charles Dickens, spooking the hushed crowd seated in the dark theater.

Or rather, the ghost of Charles Dickens as imagined by actor Lenard Petit. Wednesday night Petit launched a three-week run of his one-actor stage adaptation of the author's famous story, A Christmas Carol. He's brought the show to Hoboken, to the Monroe Theatrespace in the Monroe Center for the Arts, in conjunction with the local Mile Square Theatre company.

Petit, a veteran actor, director and theater professor, shines in the performance. Dressed in Victorian England costume as Dickens, he recites the author's original text while also portraying each of the characters in the story. Petit runs the gamut from Ebeneezer Scrooge, Bob Cratchit, Jacob Marley, the three Christmas Ghosts and of course, Tiny Tim.

For one actor to play over a dozen distinct characters is a difficult feat, but Petit does so very successfully. The strength of his performance lies in his ability to bring nuance to each role through the use of different voices, mannerisms and facial expressions. His thorough effort makes the pendulum swing of dialogue between characters easy to follow.

Petit collaborated on the adaptation with director Meg Pantera. The two were looking for a venue to host the show when they happened to speak with their friend, Mile Square Theater Artistic Director Chris O'Connor, who invited them to perform the production in Hoboken.

Pantera said that she and Petit enhanced previous versions of the show performed by other actors.

"We wanted more Marley," she said, alluding to the increased visibility of the character. The director and actor probed the author's original work to incorporate more elements into the production that would suit Petit's skills.

"We also wanted to find ways to use Lenard's talents as a physical actor," Pantera said.

The plan worked, as Petit is indeed a very gifted physical actor, using body language, hand gestures, facial expressions, dancing and different walking styles to create a vibrant spectacle. During the performance, which occurs on a stage  adorned with a rug, a chair and a poinsettia flower and green curtains hanging in the background, Petit is particularly adept at using the chair to represent a variety of other objects, including a desk, table, bed and headstone.

The show also features live music and sound effects from musician Sean Hagerty, who, also dressed in period costume, appears once onstage to play the violin during the Ghost of Christmas Past scene.

Petit, based in New York, said that while many performers there view Hoboken as remote, he was excited to bring the show here.

"This is a warm and intimate space," he said of the Monroe Theatrespace. "Every one involved with the (Mile Square Theatre) has been very accommodating, and I'm very happy to be here."

A Christmas Carol: Told by the Spirit of Charles Dickens will continue its run from December 02-19 with 8pm shows Thursday through Saturday, and a 3pm matinee each Saturday and Sunday. Tickets are $20 for adults and $12 for children and seniors. Contact the Mile Square Theatre for reservations.

Dickens in your home

Originally Petit thought to perform his show in salons, essentially private homes, reminiscent of Charles Dickens, who staged readings of his stories in such places during the 19th century.

In addition to the stage run at the Monroe Theatrespace, Petit will hold special performances in four Hoboken residencies. The hosting homeowners are Tracy and David Gavant, Jeannie and Bruce Lubin, Kathleen and David Tornabene, and Stacy and Tony Vitiello. Each couple has invited a limited number of guests to their homes for the performances, and from those guests they will collect money to donate to the Mile Square Theatre.

The Mile Square Theatre hopes to continue the salon specials concept during future shows, and invites any Hoboken homeowners interested in hosting to contact them.

A charitble gift in a charitable season

As a non-profit, the Mile Square Theatre relies on donations to maintain the arts programs like shows and classes it offers to the community. In a sagging economy, such money can be difficult to find. However, the Provident Bank, which has a branch in Hoboken on River Street, has recently donated $2,500 to the Mile Square Theatre to help them stage A Christmas Carol. 

Said Kendall Warsaw, executive director of the Provident Bank Foundation, "We are proud to make this donation to the Mile Square Theatre to help support its holiday production and its mission to enhance the performing arts in northern New Jersey communities."

Artistic director O'Connor was very pleased with the gift.

"Thanks in part to the generous contribution from The Provident Bank Foundation," he said, "the Mile Square Theatre was able to cover production expenses for our holiday performance. We would like to thank the Foundation, not only for its support of our organization, but for its continued commitment to enhancing the arts in the community."

The gift vaults the Provident Bank Foundation to the top section of the donor list that Mile Square prints on each show program. They are in the "Miracle Mile" group along with Bijou Properties, the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation and the USRA Development Group.

Other prominent Hobokenites who appear throughout the list in different dollar brackets include Applied Development, Councilwoman Beth Mason and Family, developer Frank 'Pupie' Raia, the Hoboken Family Alliance, businessman Greg Dell'Aquila, Hoboken Planning Board member Ann Graham, Hudson County Freeholder Anthony Romano, and Miriam Kolko, a trustee of the Hoboken Historical Museum.

About Town is a quick look at the not-quite-news but still-neat happenings that occur in Hoboken all the time. Seen something wacky, wild, cute, cuddly, funny or fun? Got an incidental observation or a minor celebration? Shoot it to alanskontra@hotmail.com. We want pictures too.

Looks like it's a cake off. It's a cake off!

According to Duff Goldman, the Baltimore based baker who has starred on the recently canceled Food Network program Ace of Cakes, Buddy Valastro and the rest of the Carlo's Bakery crew have ruined "cake television."

In an interview with the Baltimore Sun, Goldman, whose show predates the Cake Boss, charged that the Valastro family has been faking drama between themselves for better television ratings.

Our show was never like that," Goldman says. "We were never negative. We never yelled at each other. We're a group of friends who really love each other. And we were able to keep that for so long. The rest of them, they're so fake, they're so set-up, it's just bad television. Cake television is pretty catty, pretty mean. So we'll let the catty people have it. We'll move on."

Does anyone really think that Buddy and the family are disingenuous around each other just because a television camera is filming them? The Valastros are a blue collar* Italian family from urban New Jersey, of course they're going to yell at each other (nothing wrong with that). But clearly they all love each other very much.

Maybe Goldman is just jealous because the Cake Boss is still on the air, and Ace of Cakes isn't, which suggests the former's success made the latter look worthy of cancellation by comparison. And also because Buddy gets to work in Hoboken, which is totally better city than Goldman's Baltimore.

(*Obviously the Valastros are all millionaires now, but their lineage is blue collar, and even now they are still working with their hands.)

In other Buddy news, About Town ran across this talking bobblehead doll of the loquacious baker.

The figurine stands 7.5 inches tall, and at the push of the button says catch phrases like "Holy Canoli," and "Everything's Better With Cake." The Discovery Channel store sells each for $24.95.

So what are we missing? Openings, closings, winners, losers or just plain strange, drop us a note, alanskontra@hotmail.com. And check back often.