Come in Scrooge!

Scrooge In Love

Jason Graae as the scantily clad Scrooge and Will Springhorn Jr. as the Ghost of Christmas Present.

So excited to be working on the world premiere musical Scrooge in Love!  Written by Duane Poole, Larry Grossman, and Kellen Blair, directed by Dyan McBride, and starring Jason Graae, this world  looks to be one that will be playing for a good long while.  I had the good fortune to play the Ghost of Christmas Present, a brother to the original ghost who prefers his pants tighter and his laugh larger than the previous year.  We perform through the middle of December at the spacious and glamorous Eureka theatre in the loving confines of the San Francisco Financial District, conveniently adjacent to Togo’s and the Old Ship Saloon.

One of the constants during performances of Scrooge in Love was the intermission rehearsal of “You Can’t Put a Price on Love”, the number in the second act when all of the ghosts gang up on Scrooge to teach him about the meaning of life not having to do with money.  It was an incredibly fun number to do, and the one that eventually did not need the intermission review, but we kept doing it since it was fun and it was good juju.  As we got more comfortable, however, there was an iteration during the third week where we did it in the style of the Beastie Boys.

And no Blog post about this show could be complete without fawning all over the wonderful Jason Graae.  No matter how you slice it, he is a guy that exemplifies the idea of good things happening to good people.  He was unfailingly kind to everyone, always prepared, never missed the opportunity to compliment someone, and gave the most wonderful performance.  But more than that, he is so silly and irreverent.  At the top of every second act, he would come back into the dressing room, and say “Guys, half the audience left!” in such a convincing manner that we fell for it every time.  He would also do a thing where he would non-plement you:  “In that scene, when you were standing there, I really believed your costume,”  I am totally stealing that.  Working with him reminded me thing that there is indeed is a place for silliness and fun.  So many people at so many levels tend to complain and take themselves so seriously, when all it might take to get everyone on the right track is a little fun.  We are indeed supposed to entertain the audience, and that’s hard to do if the only that you’re concerned with is your own drama.  Also, he has a store section to his website.  I gotta get me one of those. Merch anyone?

Ghost of Christmas Present and the Ghost of Christmas Past.

Whose Hand is that? -------->

One major component of my show was the glitter.  I started the rehearsal process with a full beard from Moll Flanders and I assumed the Ghost of Christmas Present would require the use of same.  But since I was covering for some chorus parts, I had to shave down to a mustache (not attractive, not pictured) and then apply a full beard that was covered in glitter.  I was totally on board with this, since I was already upstaged by the Ghost of Cleavage Past and her twin bubble guns, (two separate things).    I also volunteered and field tested a glitter nipple, which was shot down by cooler heads, realizing that it might cause medical issues in the audience, (make a dragon want to retire, man).  Due to the quick change nature of putting the beard on, it was almost never really fully on and secured, and due to the sweaty nature of me, it always seemed like it was about to fall off.  Many a night Jason and I would make meaningful eye contact during a song as my beard attempted to do choreography without the benefit of my chin.

From really talented children to the undressing of Bob Cratchit on stage to the complete inability of my cast mates to not break while in a freeze with me, this was a truly fun experience with extremely talented people.  I can’t wait to do it again next year!  Here’s hoping!