Christopher Bloch as Scrooge in LYRIC’S A CHRISTMAS CAROL. Photo by KO Rinearson.
What is it like to play Scrooge on stage? Christopher Bloch has been Lyric’s Scrooge for the past two years and is excited about reprising this role! He has been in numerous productions around the country and was recently seen as Dad in BILLY ELLIOT this summer on the Civic Center stage. Bloch currently lives in Washington, D.C. and can’t wait to start working on LYRIC’S A CHRISTMAS CAROL.
What is your favorite part about being Scrooge?
I’ve always been a fan of the Dicken’s story, particularly the language, and Michael Baron’s adaptation is very faithful to the source. It’s a wonderful story, complex character and the audience journeys with Scrooge throughout the play, and it’s wonderful to take that adventure together.
How different is it for you to play Scrooge vs. Bob Cratchit in previous CAROL experiences?
Bob Cratchit feels closer to my own personality, and the arc of the show is very intermittent with the family, so for me, keeping myself involved with the show was key. With Scrooge, once you are on, you are engaged for the entire evening, and the emotional impact of everything Scrooge is experiencing keeps you focused all the time on stage. It frequently feels like the shows whizzes by.
What is the most challenging part of this experience?
This answer comes directly out of the last one. Since I am onstage all the time, it can be a pretty exhausting evening, mentally and physically, since Scrooge goes through some intense and complex emotional discoveries with the Spirits. But at the end of the show, it’s a good tired, (hopefully) the kind of exhaustion mixed with elation when an actor tackles a role of this nature.
What is your process like when starting a new production versus reprising a performance you have done for several years?
When reprising a role you have the opportunity to dig a little deeper, and to try some new things with a character you know pretty intimately, particularly if you have returning cast mates at the Lyric that you know well! With a new production, I love the investigation and research that happens before you are in the rehearsal room, laying the foundation for what happens on stage.
Christopher Bloch as Scrooge in LYRIC’S A CHRISTMAS CAROL. Photo by KO Rinearson.
What do you enjoy most about Oklahoma in December vs DC?
The CAROL family!! It’s great to see familiar faces, particularly since it might be the only time I see them all year. And also, the horse events at the fairgrounds!
You have had quite an impressive resume, what has been your favorite part to play and why?
That’s always a tough call to make, picking one out of many amazing experiences is always hard. One that always comes to mind is BILLY BISHOP GOES TO WAR, about an actual Canadian World War I flying ace. I had the chance to do this one man show fairly early in my career, with a director, who himself was a wonderful actor, and I learned an enormous amount from him, from the material, from the experience of holding an audience on your own for a couple of hours, and learning how to fight through difficulties on your own, whether onstage or because of illness. It has informed so much of what I have done in the last several decades.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
It’s time to put on the Christmas sweaters! And celebrate at Lyric!
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