Meet the Alliance Theatre’s new Scrooge

Local stage veteran David de Vries on why there’s a bit of Ebenezer in all of us

Taking on the role of the miserly and ill-tempered character of Ebenezer Scrooge from Charles Dickens’ holiday classic A Christmas Carol is not easy. It requires a certain level of maturity and commitment by the actor for the iconic Christmas curmudgeon to properly be brought to life on stage. Enter David de Vries.

The Alliance’s 25th production of A Christmas Carol features de Vries as the bah-humbugging lead man. The role previously had been held by Chris Kayser, who starred as Scrooge for 16 seasons at the Alliance before passing the torch to de Vries.

“This is one of the great roles that any maturing actor would love to grow into,” de Vries, 56, says. “There comes a point when you know you’re not going to be playing Hamlet anymore, so when I heard Chris was officially retiring, all I could do was throw my hat into the ring and let my interest be known.”

De Vries may make his debut as the sharp-tongued Scrooge this year, but the actor is no stranger to Dickens’ story and its characters.

Having appeared in his first show of A Christmas Carol at the Alliance 20 years ago, de Vries has successfully tried his hand at portraying other characters in the story, like the young Bob Cratchit and Scrooge’s former business partner Jacob Marley. It wasn’t until de Vries was given the opportunity to play Scrooge, however, that he realized what comes with the nightcap and scarf.

“It’s a wonderfully character-driven tale, but when you’re really trying to identify with the circumstances of the character and the play and the fantasy, it’s pretty intense,” de Vries says. “As an actor in a role like this, you’re asked to examine your own life and failings and the cruelty you’ve doled out.”

While fulfilling the role of Scrooge is no simple task, de Vries is delighted to be able to play his rendition of the character in Atlanta, where he has performed in more than 35 productions during his career.

“Most of us at Alliance are local actors and see annual projects like this as the best work that we can do right here in our community,” de Vries says. “There’s a lot of hard work and time going into it, but we take our responsibility of entertaining the audience seriously and hope they look at the world with new eyes for the holidays.”

Apart from the muttonchops and crotchety demeanor, de Vries upholds a certain truth about the lasting character that continues to reemerge year after year.

“We all have a little Scrooge in us,” he says, admitting that he too has his share of “bah, humbug” moments. “Enough of mine come out sometimes when I’m behind a steering wheel. I think, though, that he serves as a good reminder that we can all benefit from taking yet another look at our lives and the way in which we live them.”