Many talented actors, artsits and technicians were involved in bringing the original three productions of "A Southern Christmas Carol" to life, and since then many of them have gone to do some extraordinary work on Broadway, on the national theatrical scene, in independent films and on TV. And so we'd like to pay tribute to them here.
PETER LEWIS
Peter Lewis was Old Man Scrooge! He originated the role in 2003 and repeated it in 2004 before leaving New York City for California. As gifted in classical drama and tragedy as he was in physical comedy, Peter avoided the cliches that are so often employed by actors when portraying Scrooge in traditional versions of "A Christmas Carol." One moment the audience would literally gasp at Scrooge's emotional coldness; in the next instant they would be chuckling at his naivete and utter-cluelesness; a few moments later, they would be laughing out loud at some bit of physical comedy. All of this was due to Peter's amazing range as an actor--and if that wasn't enough, sniffles were heard in most peformancs when Peter's Old Man Scrooge was brought face to face with his own emoitonal and ethical short-comings as a human being. The critics called Peter's performance "Fabulous! Hilarious! Believable!" That last adjective is one not often used when describing characterizations of Scrooge. That Peter could take a character that is so often reduced to a mere cartoon and transform him into a flawed human being whom an audience could, at turns, despise, laugh at and feel honst sympathy towards is a testament to his remarkable talent!
Karen is a gifted actress, director and choreographer. She not only choreographed all three original productions of the show, but orginated the role of the Missionary Lady and Old Lady Wiggins in the 2003 and 2004 productions. Prior to her work on "Southern Christmas Carol," she choreographed the Reese Witherspoon hit "Sweet Home Alabama." Most recently Karen has been seen as a semi-regular on the Life Time Channel's series "Army Wives," and in the recent Hallmark Hall of Fame CBS feature, "Front of the Class."
RUBIN SINGLETON
Recording artist, actor and fitness model Rubin Singleton originated the role of Tiny in the 2003 and 2004 productions. A sweet natured, beautiful young actor with an amazing vocal range, Rubin brought audiences to their feet night after night with his soaring performance of "God Bless Us Everyone." Since originating the role of Tiny, Rubin has recorded his first single, toured with and sung backup for Beyonce, sang backup for Josh Grogen, appeared in numerous national add campaignes and fitness magazines--and has even released his own calendar.
Watch the video of Rubin's single "More."
MARISSA McGOWAN
Marissa created the roles of Fan and Fred's Wife in the original 2003 production. A talented and beautiful young actresss then new to the New York scene, Marissa went on to tour naitonally in "Les Misreables," and when the show was revived on Broadway in 2006, she appeared in the role of Eponine.
(Here is a video of her peforming "On My Own.")
Andrew appeared in the 2004 production as the Ghost of Christmas Past. He went on to do national tours and TV commercials. Currently Andrew is appearing in the national tour of Disney's "The Lion King" in the role of Ed the Hyena.
No comments:
Post a Comment