tion to create an opportunity to snatch your property , so be aware when someone gets into your personal space . Always try to keep your property in your line of sight whenever you are out and about .

• Do not buy more than you can carry . If you know you will be getting more that you can manage on your own , plan to take a family

member with you or ask a store employee to help you carry your packages to the car .

• Have your keys in hand when approaching your vehicle . Check the back seat and around the car before getting in .

• Do not leave anything in your car . If you must leave property in your car , place it in the trunk when

you leave and before you get to your destination .

• Once you get home , do not park your car outside your home with shopping bags left inside .

When Shopping with small children :

• If you are shopping with children , make a plan in case you are separated from each other and select

a central meeting place .

• Teach them to know they can ask mall personnel , security or store employees if they need help .

• Keep a current photo of your child in your phone .

Don ’ t hesitate to call the Newport Beach Police Department if you see anything suspicious ! NBPD ’ s nonemergency line : ( 949 ) 644-3717 .

PAGE 5

not be moved by the joy “ A Christmas Carol ” brings ?

Takakuwa ’ s staging is smoothly natural . Scenes like Scrooge visiting his younger self as an apprentice , a time in Scrooge ’ s life before he has soured on what it means to be part of the greater whole of humanity , carry a sense of enchantment that ’ s almost magical . The Christmas Day party at Fred ’ s home similarly glows with opulence , warmth and good cheer .

The use of music throughout is pervasive and effective , from the various instrumental passages to interludes where characters sing and dance . Credit Dennis Castellano ’ s musical direction , Dennis McCarthy ’ s compositions and arrangements , and Kelly Todd ’ s choreography for making this a seamless key element that ’ s all of a piece .

Takakuwa ’ s entire cast , from the primary players down to those in

supporting roles , is first-rate , their characters fully developed as real people .

Maybank ’ s Cratchit is , in the early scenes , rather colorless , which allows the character to function as a sort of everyday working man . Neither timid nor meek , he ’ s also not an overt cheerleader for the happiness of the season , in later scenes personifying the loving family man , perfectly complemented by Elyse Mirto ’ s fetching Mrs . Cratchit .

The Spirit of Christmas Present can ’ t help his contagious jollity , and as with castmate Manuel , Richard Soto takes care to create more than a mere caricature . The character might be a phantom but , as with Marley ’ s Ghost , he displays presence of mind in all he says and does .

Edwardo Enrikez paints the young adult Marley as stodgy and fairly cold-hearted , unusual for someone in his 20s . Even while frosty around

the eges , Tommy Beck ’ s Scrooge as Young Man is , by contrast , not yet tainted by his obsession with wealth . All the more important is his mutual attraction to Belle ( Alicia Coca ), who will become Scrooge ’ s sweetheart before his pursuit of riches drives her away . ( Note the graveyard scene where the pair split up : Scrooge ’ s attire cannily resembles that of an undertaker .)

At the center of it all is Doyle . His Scrooge is the production ’ s focus , the character that holds it all together . When Scrooge visits his life from some four decades earlier , pay close attention to the way Doyle reacts to his younger self ’ s actions : The actor lets us see the ways in which Scrooge realizes things about kind , generous boss Fezziwig ( McGuire who , as with many of his castmates , is triple- or quadruple-cast ) and , by extension , about himself .

And as with the entirety of

Takakuwa ’ s cast , Doyle ’ s portrayal is grounded in reality . The pitfall of reducing the story ’ s characters to one-dimensional stick figures is masterfully avoided , and that makes all the difference .

Many theatrical stagings of “ A Christmas Carol ” have come and gone , and many more are in our future , but few deliver Dickens ’ wisdom about the human condition so effectively as what SCR has to give . The show ’ s concluding scene is , in word , delightful , packaging the proceedings with joyful wrapping and sending patrons home with a renewed spirit of the meaning of Christmas .

Segerstrom Stage , South Coast Repertory , 655 Town Center Drive , Costa Mesa . Through December 24 . Running time : About two hours ( includes intermission ). Tickets : $ 35 to $ 89 . Purchase / information : 714- 708-5500 , www . scr . org .

By Christopher Trela | NB Indy

Former Newport Beach Mayor and longtime community leader Evelyn Hart passed away on November 23 at age 91 after trying to recover from a stroke .

According to her obituary , Hart was born on January 24 , 1931 in Phoenix Arizona . Hart ’ s family moved to Oklahoma , and then to Oregon and finally to Newport Beach in the 1950s .

Hart had a personal and professional commitment to keep the city of Newport Beach prosperous while respectively keeping intact its beautiful environment . One of her proudest successes is forever preserving the view from development of the Back Bay at the intersection of Coast Highway and Jamboree .

Among her many accomplishments : working at the Newport Beach Police Department , joining her husband ’ s

family business at Hart ’ s Sporting Goods , serving with the city ’ s parks and recreation department , being elected to the Newport Beach City Council , and twice serving as Mayor of Newport Beach .

As an active citizen , she was a member of Oasis Senior Services , Youth Employment Services , Newport Beach Animal Shelter , Stop Polluting Our Newport , The Blind Institute of California , Water Board of California , and Coastline College Board .

The Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce named Hart the Citizen of the Year for 2007 , an honor bestowed annually to those “ who best represents the qualities each of us admire and respect among our friends , neighbors and associates . It ’ s not given so much for achievement , as it is for helping others achieve . It ’ s not given for outstanding single effort , as much as for long-term , continuing commitment

to the community . It ’ s for the one who says , ‘ Newport Beach is my home – and my life – and its future and mine are the same – and whatever I can do to make them better , I will do .’”

“ Evelyn was a good friend and colleague to many , many people ,” said incoming Newport Beach Councilmember Robyn Grant . “ She spent a lifetime supporting great causes in Newport Beach and beyond . She was kind and gentle with the just the right amount of grit and determination . We worked together to support many civic projects , most recently the Newport Beach Animal Shelter . Evelyn will live on in every animal that finds a forever home from our Shelter .”

Hart ’ s obituary notes that her personal contributions to society are endless . She was loyal , encouraging and always had her friends ’ backs . Her infectious smile was beautiful . She was a leader who never stopped challenging to better

Evelyn Hart

herself and her community . A wife , mother , sister , aunt , grandmother , great-grandmother and greatgreat grandmother ; she is survived by many , especially her beloved husband of 65 years , John Lynn Hart .

There are no services planned at this time . In lieu of flowers , please consider donating to the Friends of Newport Beach Animal Shelter : https :// www . fonbas . org .