2007 marks the 32nd year the Milwaukee Repertory Theater has performed Charles Dickens' classic tale "A Christmas Carol." Rep actor James Pickering, who plays Scrooge, and Jonathan Gillard Daly, who plays Bob Cratchit, talked with Marquee about the significance of the play and why it has become such a beloved holiday standard.
Q: How many years have you both been involved in "A Christmas Carol"? How has it evolved over time?
JP: In 1976 I played Bob Cratchit opposite my wife, Rose, in the inaugural production of Nagle Jackson's adaptation of the story. It has evolved significantly over time. The current adaptation is the fourth in which I have appeared, and the third in which I have played Uncle Ebenezer. There have been nine Scrooges. This production is my tenth in the role."
JGD: "I first appeared in a production of 'A Christmas Carol' at the Repertory Theatre of Saint Louis in 1978. I did that production for two seasons. Then, in 1990, I played Scrooge in a production at [Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts] Theaterfest in California. Since I moved to Milwaukee, I've been in the Rep production for 10 years. It's changed quite a bit over time. When I did the play in 1995, Romulus Linney was commissioned to do his own adaptation. Then, in 1998, Joe Hanreddy and Ed Morgan wrote their version. Most theatres do their own adaptation, so every production is a bit different.
Q: The Christmas season used to begin after Thanksgiving. Now, trees have been lit and radio stations have been playing Christmas music for weeks. Considering the Christmas theme of the play, do you ever get holiday fatigue?
JP: Yeah. I did. That's one of the reasons why I have been away from the production for seven years. And, I just realized, that Scrooge's partner, Jacob Marley, has been dead for exactly seven years when the story opens.
JGD: The only fatigue happens when those of who do 'A Christmas Carol' rush around buying presents, decorating trees, visiting friends and relatives, all while doing eight shows a week. There are only enough hours in the week, and so many days in the holiday. It's hard to have a life when doing so many performances in so short a time. We are working the hardest during the times that other people have free to celebrate the season.
Q: What is it like to perform at production at The Pabst? How is it different than the Rep stages?
JP: It is wonderful to perform a production at the Pabst. It is different from Rep stages in a number of ways. First, it is a true proscenium theatre. Thus, the focus of the audience can be directed in very specific ways, and stage "pictures" can be constructed to emphasize meaning in a way not available in the Quadracci Powerhouse. For a production like our 'A Christmas Carol,' which has been written, rewritten, adapted and choreographed for that particular space, that is very helpful. Second, the ambience of the old classical auditorium lends a sense of occasion to what we do there. Third (and, as an actor, I feel this to be most important) an actor's work is truly offered up to the audience by the very construction of the space.
JGD: Whenever I pause to look out at the Pabst from the stage, I am overwhelmed with its beauty, its tradition. I never ever take it for granted. I can remember the first time I stood on that stage, in 1995; and I remember walking into the Pabst in 1976, to see the first production of 'A Christmas Carol.' It's also different from the Rep because you can't see most of the audience while you're working. The way the lights are angled, and the distance to the audience make it hard to see them. And laughs come in 'rolls,' so you have to take more time after lines get laughs.
Q: What do you think it is about "A Christmas Carol" that has resonated with people for so long?
JP: I believe Dickens's story to be the great secular fable of redemption written in the English language. I am no scholar of literature, but I wonder whether, before the arrival of the novelette in 1843, there was ever a story in which the main character is made to observe himself in earlier times. In that sense, it is innovative- – avant garde, in fact. Also, it was written at a time when the horrors of life among the urban poor during the second generation of the industrial revolution were, at last, being addressed. Celebrating the holiday itself had fallen out of custom, and I believe Dickens jumped on the opportunity provided by Queen Victoria's consort, Prince Albert – a great fan of Christmas – to make a societal point.
JGD: Outside of the fact that it's about the greatest story of redemption that I know, it's become a performing tradition of its own. The event of seeing 'A Christmas Carol' has been woven into the fabric of the way people celebrate Christmas. Many people just feel that Christmas isn't Christmas without seeing the play.