Ebenezer Scrooge (Bill Raymond) is visited by the ghost of his partner Jacob Marley in "A Christmas Carol" at Hartford Stage.For Hartford Stage theatergoers, Bill Raymond's snide utterance of "Bah, humbug" is as familiar as Santa Claus' hearty "ho, ho, ho."
Raymond returns to Hartford on Friday to star as Ebenezer Scrooge in the holiday production of "A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story of Christmas." The production runs through Dec. 30.
This marks the 12th season as Scrooge for Raymond, who has appeared in such television shows as "Law & Order" and "The Wire" and in films like "Michael Clayton" and "The Crow."
"I do it every year because I love it," Raymond said. "It feels good. It's a great show."
Hartford Stage's version of the Charles Dickens tale of the heartless miser who discovers the true meaning of the holiday season after a Christmas Eve haunting was adapted and originally directed by Michael Wilson. Maxwell D. Williams is the current director.
"It's a beautiful adaptation" of the story, Williams said, noting the show is structurally based on the "The Wizard of Oz" and inspired by the character Dorothy's journey to Oz and her "fantastical journey into real life again."
IF YOU GO
- Event:
- “A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story of Christmas”
- When:
- Friday through Dec. 30
- Where:
Raymond enjoys playing the lead role of Ebenezer Scrooge.
“He’s an old reprobate, not much left in his life, stingy, greedy and cynical,” Raymond said. “Then he has this epiphany.”
"(With) wonderful actors, beautiful music, great costuming and a marvelous set," the show features a Scrooge who is "terrified of dying because he has lived a meaningless life (and) realizes he has a second chance and decides to change his ways," Raymond said. The rest of the cast – "and what seems like all of London" then embraces him.
Since its arrival in 1998, Hartford Stage's "A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story of Christmas" has delighted more than a quarter-million theatergoers of all ages, establishing it as Connecticut's No. 1 holiday show. The Victorian holiday classic continues to provide heartwarming family entertainment and some spooky scenes more than 160 years after Dickens introduced Scrooge, Tiny Tim, Bob Cratchit and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future.
Over the years Raymond's depiction of Scrooge has changed: "Scrooge has gotten older," he said with a laugh. "I've changed too," gotten more mellow and wiser with age.
"There's something vital in this story," Raymond said, commenting on the multitude of theaters that present "A Christmas Carol" each year. "It has to do with people being able to identify things about themselves."
Williams, the director, said the show has a great element of fun and the unexpected. He uses the words fantastical and humorous to describe the show, which he said is an opportunity for audience members to re-engage with the story of Scrooge, "to touch in with our own humanity and generosity."
“The great Bill Raymond (has become) a beloved figure in the Hartford community,” Williams said, noting the actor presents a “wryer, funnier Scrooge that people might not be expecting.”
Intended for a family audience, the Christmas classic at Hartford Stage has lines that “are going to land more with different ages, but everybody enjoys it,” Williams said.
“A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story of Christmas” has a prominent ghost story element to it with a dancing chorus of ghostly apparitions, one with a hatchet in his head, another with a noose around his neck.
“It’s not gory, but somewhat graphic,” said Williams, adding that parents of young children go to www.hartfordstage.org to check out the images of the show and have a conversation about it with their children before attending to ensure they know it is “pretend.”