Anyone in the theatre world knows that sometimes, we need someone to step into a role. Sometimes understudies are cast just in case an actor gets sick, or hurt. In some cases, an actor may not be able to perform in every performance, or there’s an extension to a show that an actor wasn’t able to continue with. That’s the situation that happened this year with A Christmas Carol Comedy at Hedgerow Theatre. A Christmas Carol Comedy didn’t just see one or two Scrooges…it saw three.
I was fortunate enough to get a chance to ask the three Scrooges some questions. Benjamin Brown, Mike Thurstlic, and Sarah Stryker all took on this role with their own personal flair. As an end to the holiday season, here’s some thoughts from our Scrooge actors about Scrooge and their experience with him and playing him!
What is your earliest memory of Ebenezer Scrooge?
Benjamin Brown: Albert Finney’s wonderful turn at the role in the 1970 musical movie version.
Mike Thurstlic: I’m not sure the year or what grade I was in, but I do remember our family getting our first VCR player one Christmas and the first VHS cassette being “Mickey’s Christmas Carol”. It was the only one we had for a minute, so it obviously got a lot of play. Scrooge Mc Duck was the original Ebenezer to me.
Sarah Stryker: When I was little, maybe five or six, I saw the 1951 movie of A Christmas Carol with Alastair Sim playing Scrooge. I watched until Jacob Marley rattled up the stairs into Scrooge’s bedroom, and then I got so scared that my mom turned the movie off. After that, I never revisited A Christmas Carol. As far as I knew, it was a scary story about a mean man who had a bad night. So the first time I actually saw how the story ends was in Hedgerow’s production, and all the delightful comic hijinks did not lessen the impact of the lesson: gratitude and generosity will set us free. So my first memory of Scrooge is two-fold; a child’s fearful memory of ghostly visions, and a grown-ups joyous memory of celebration and renewal.
What does it feel like performing such an iconic character in a style that is very unlike other versions of A Christmas Carol?
BB: […] a challenge, but the exploration and discovery of the versatility/meaning of Mr. Dickens’ words was the reward.
MT: “Scrooged” (Murray Classic) and “Muppet’s Christmas Carol” round out the Christmas Carol experience for me. With such wonderful comic takes, I have always associated Dickens’s tale with comedy. So the adaptation Hedgerow chose aligned with my experience of the story.
SS: It was, in two words, a blast. Playing the twin tracks of Ebenezer Scrooge and the actor playingEbenezer Scrooge, who finds her self-aggrandized performance incessantly thwarted by the actor playing Everybody Else, offers endless fun. […] I felt truly blessed to be the third Hedgerow Scrooge to step into the role. It was a dream come true.
What made your Scrooge different than the others?
BB: I attempted in my performances to embrace the humor as well as the pathos of “reviewing” my life as Scrooge. I wanted the audience to leave the theatre appreciating the laughter and joy of living as opposed to just dwelling on the challenging aspects of their lives.
MT: I never in a million years would have thought of myself to play Scrooge […] but when my sister Marcie pitched the idea of being part of a two-hander, the idea made much more sense. Presenting the whole story with just a pair of actors inherently brings a very different heightened energy that I found appealing and reason enough to get in on it.
SS: Well, I’m a girl. So that’s a bit different. But there is a history of women playing Scrooge […] Mostly the female Scrooges are women-playing-women, but I think A Christmas Carol Comedy perfectly adapts a non-traditional Scrooge.
What is your favorite personal spin on how you played Scrooge?
BB: My attempt to be this playboy actor type at the start of the show!
MT: Some of the most enjoyment I had was at the student shows with Sarah and me sometimes turning the audience participation elements into straight-up pep rallies. Getting a room full of 7th graders jacked up over nonsense was hopefully as much fun for them as it was for me. If I managed to bring something to the table, that was probably it.
SS: This role offers every opportunity for creative exploration […] But as the actor playing Scrooge becomes less able to control the actor playing Everybody Else, the performance breaks from its rote exactitude and tumbles into the benevolent trap laid by the Ghosts: the actor as Scrooge surrenders to the story. […] So, in short, you get to portray everything from Scrooge McDuck to George C. Scott if you want! It’s an embarrassment of riches. Goodness knows I only scratched the surface on what can be explored in this character!
What about Scrooge will you keep with you forever?
BB: I will forever be grateful to Mr. Dickens for his “little book” because it renewed my appreciation for charity and gratefulness in a way that I had lost over the last few years.
MT: I couldn’t be more excited or proud of what my sister [Marcie Bramucci, artistic director of Hedgerow Theatre] has been doing at Hedgerow. […] Signing up was the least I could do and I’m grateful I did.
SS: Scrooge’s fatal misstep is isolating himself from his fellow humans. […] And without this vital connection he can feel neither generosity nor gratitude. It is what we do for one another that gives life meaning. In preparing for this role, I was utterly amazed by the generosity of those around me. […] It was their [cast and crew’s] generosity that allowed me to perform this part, and I hoped to pass this bounty onto those who saw the show. […] I will always remember these kindnesses and will plant new ones wherever I can.
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I truly love the magic of theatre, where three people can play one role, but so differently. It’s wonderful how perspectives and thoughts differ from person to person, yet the same idea pervades through it all. We’re all tied together this way, no matter what part we play in a show…even down to the audience!
As you can see, all three Scrooge’s found their own way to work their wonders, and lucky us getting in their heads a bit! There’s no “bah humbug”ing at that!
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