In 1988, Patrick Stewart's one-man show of Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol started playing on Broadway to critical acclaim. In 1991, after a sold out season, he was awarded the New York Drama Desk Award for 1991.
This same year, his award-winning adaptation was recorded by Camm Lane, Inc. and Simon & Schuster Audio. I picked up this two-set CD in the 1990's and listen to it each Christmas season.
I just finished the CD's today. And as always, Stewart's retelling of the old and hard-hearted codger (whose attitude toward life and his responsibility as a human being changes after the visitation of three ghosts) opened my eyes and warmed my own heart. Stewart does a masterful job with the story, even incorporating a different voice for each character in the book. Some of them are so convincing you forget that it is Stewart actually behind the voice. Most notably is Stewart's voice of Scrooge, Scrooge's nephew Fred, and Tiny Tim.
Stewart's adaptation of the story is masterful, highlighting some of Dicken's most thoughtful, descriptive, and haunting passages. He seems to keep the tone of Dicken's social commentary--that the affluent of London have forgotten their role in the good of all of humankind.
Patrick Stewart is most notable as Captain Jean Luc Picard on Star Trek: Next Generation. He has also appeared in the famous series X-Men. He was trained in acting and was an associate of the famous Royal Shakespeare Company for over twenty years. He has played some of the most famous characters in Shakespeare and literature, including Captain Ahab, Oedipus, Claudius, and Shylock, to name a few.
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