Posted:
08:59:27 on December 24 2001
By: Steve Krutzler
Dept: People
Patrick Stewart visited the NBC morning show, TODAY, this morning to promote the reprisal of his one-man performance of Charles Dickens' A CHRISTMAS CAROL. The show will be reprised for eight shows, all benefiting various charities, including the Actor's Fund of America.
Stewart said that he drew his inspiration for the show seven years ago when he read a copy of the story in a hotel, surprised to discover that he hadn't actually read the text line for line before. The thesp explained that the story of 'Scrooge' and how he comes to appreciate Christmas moved him with its intense emotion, and inspired him to attempt to transplant that same emotion into a one-man performance.
While it can sometimes be lonely on stage by yourself, he said, one advantage is that you never have to worry about other actors stepping on your lines. Next, Stewart performed a scene from his show, portrarying both Narrator (the voice of Dickens), Scrooge, and Scrooge's nephew Fred, who visits his Uncle near the beginning of the classic story to invite him to Christmas dinner. Playing all three characters with extreme vigor, the accomplished actor provided audiences with a rare glimpse of what they see on stage at one of his shows.
Stewart also mentioned that he has a speaking role in the new family picture JIMMY NEUTRON, a sci-fi family film wonderful for Christmas. Patrick was tight-lipped on the tenth STAR TREK film, telling Katie Couric when she asked if he could tell her anything about it: "Not a thing." He added jovially, however, "there is a possibility, Katie, that I may just save the universe one more time."
