For a 25th year, David A. McElroy will “Bah, humbug!” his way through “A Christmas Carol” as he takes on the role of Ebenezer Scrooge — oh, and three dozen other characters — in what has become a holiday tradition for his family and the community.
McElroy’s one-man “A Christmas Carol” returns this season, and like the holiday it celebrates, it remains a family affair. After 20 years, director Marylin McGinnis — his wife — stepped aside, and the production is now directed by Chloe McElroy — his daughter.
Can dad take direction from daughter?
“He’s actually really good about it,” says Chloe, as David chimes in with “I enjoy her directing.” They both laugh.
It helps, of course, that they share the same mission.
“The whole goal is to make sure the audience is enjoying what they see,” Chloe says.
“A Christmas Carol” certainly has proven that audiences enjoy the story; it was first published by Charles Dickens in 1843, and its narrative of how a series of ghostly visits teach miserly Scrooge the true meaning of Christmas — and life — still strikes a chord today.
David McElroy was looking for a holiday show back in the 1990s, when he recalled that in 1991 Patrick Stewart had debuted a one-man version of the Dickens tale — a hit show that the British actor would revive multiple times.
“I’m not Patrick Stewart,” he remembers thinking, “but I could do something like that.”
He got to work.
“It took about three months to adapt it, and we had a reading for friends,” he recalls.
The show took off from there.
David was in his late 40s then, now he’s in his early 70s. With age comes new depths to the characters and the story’s message of redemption.
“I always feel his pain, his anguish, and then I also feel his delight,” David says of playing Scrooge. “At the time I started, I felt it but I more acted it. Now, it’s an internal thing. I really feel it.”
In the show he plays 37 characters with barely a breath. A few have only a couple of lines; the show runs about 75 minutes. But he embodies everyone from the Ghost of Christmas Past to beleaguered Bob Cratchit to “God bless us, everyone” Tiny Tim.
“I understand each one and what they’re going through,” says David, admitting he has a special fondness for the poor Cratchits: “They suffer most but they get the greatest reward at the end.”
The show relies on David’s transformations — done without costume changes — and sound and lighting cues. The set is simple, a chair and coat rack generally. The costuming is simple too.
“I put a hat on once or twice,” David says. “The rest of the time it’s just me.”
Chloe has been watching performances since she was 6 and remembers singing preshow Christmas carols as a child with her sister Caitlin. But since taking over as director she has made her own tweaks — adding a bit of music here, trimming a little something there.
Keeping a family tradition going added a bit of pressure — especially with the previous director, mom, nearby.
“It was very daunting to follow in her footsteps,” Chloe says. “The first year I directed, I had the rehearsals at my house” — away from mom’s eyes — “because I was afraid she would see things she didn’t like.”
But mom Marylin has let Chloe have her way with the work, even holding a phone during one rehearsal this year so Caitlin could hear how things are going.
The McElroys say they have audience members who come year after year, as part of their own holiday tradition. They can’t imagine ending the performances because of the happiness they see on theatergoers’ faces, especially when they present the show at churches and retirement communities, as they do each year.
“There’s so much joy,” Chloe says of senior audiences in particular. “They get so much joy out of it, you can see their spirits rise.”
“I really enjoy the holiday because of this show,” says David. “I’ve never gotten tired of doing it, I always feel the camaraderie of the audience.”
And Chloe hints the family tradition may someday continue with a gender swap.
“Whenever my dad decides to retire from this,” she says, “I’m interested in making the legacy go on.”
‘A Christmas Carol’
What: David A. McElroy’s one-man version of Charles Dickens’ seasonal story
In DeBary: 7 p.m. Dec. 10 at the Gateway Center for the Arts, 880 U.S. 17 in DeBary
In Oviedo: 7:30 p.m. Dec. 16-17 and 2:30 p.m. Dec. 18 at Penguin Point Productions in Oviedo Mall
Cost: $25
Info: gatewaycenterforthearts.org or penguinpointproductions.com
Find me on Twitter @matt_on_arts, facebook.com/matthew.j.palm or email me at mpalm@orlandosentinel.com. Want more theater and arts news and reviews? Go to orlandosentinel.com/arts. For more fun things, follow @fun.things.orlando on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
