Best known for his roles as Shane Donovan on “Days of Our Lives” and as Maxwell Sheffield on the sitcom “The Nanny,” Charles Shaughnessy is stepping back onto the stage at Tempe Center for the Arts to star in Scottsdale Musical Theater Company’s production of “A Christmas Carol: The Musical” Dec. 6-23.
Shaughnessy is returning to SMTC after playing Julian Marsh in “42nd Street” in July. His role as Ebenezer Scrooge coincides with his new holiday movie on the big screen. “Buttons: A New Musical Film,” with Angela Lansbury and Dick Van Dyke, is coming to select theaters Dec. 8.
What made him decide to come back to Arizona so soon?
“Glutton for punishment … ?” he jokes. He first did “Christmas Carol” last year in New Hampshire and says he enjoyed playing Scrooge. “This is a different and more detailed version, which I thought would be fun.”
Adapted from the classic Charles Dickens novel, “A Christmas Carol: the Musical” tells the story of the infamous miser’s eye-opening journey through his past, present and future. With the help of a ghost — or three — he undergoes a transformation.
Shaughnessy isn’t daunted by playing a character so widely known. “Almost every role on stage has been played by hundreds of different actors,” he says, “so each time is a chance to bring your own unique style, physicality [and] personality to a role. Scrooge is really no different.”
Being part of SMTC’s current production fit in well with his other holiday plans. He enjoyed the people he worked with in “42nd Street” and has a good friend who lives in Phoenix, so he was looking forward to renewing some old acquaintances.
And he has other reasons for coming. “David Hock and I have the makings of a pretty cool team,” he says. Hock, SMTC’s executive producer, is directing the show. Not only that, but “I get to play in that amazing ‘sandbox,’ the Tempe Center for the Arts, again,” Shaughnessy says.
And there’s one other thing: “I might even get to see a Cardinals game!”
Music for “Christmas Carol” is by Alan Menken, and the show includes a 20-plus-piece live orchestra.
Patrick Lose returns to SMTC as Marley, Scrooge’s partner, a role he’s always wanted to play. Third-generation Arizona native Matt Newhard will be making his 15th appearance with SMTC, playing Bob Cratchit, Scrooge’s clerk and father of Tiny Tim.
The Ghost of Christmas Past is played by Melissa Kamel, an Arizona native who has worked with SMTC since 2016. Originally from New York, Hector Coris, the Ghost of Christmas Present, has appeared in numerous SMTC productions. Kendall Luther, a performer in youth theaters across the Valley, is the Ghost of Christmas Future.
The show features many other local young actors, including:
- Evan Vance, 10, plays Tiny Tim, who though frail and weak, is eternally hopeful. Evan is a fifth grader at Arizona School for the Arts in Phoenix.
- Michael Hook, 14, plays a 12-year-old Scrooge. Michael is a freshman at Desert Mountain High School in Scottsdale.
- Kate Maniuszko is Emily, who falls in love with a young Ebenezer. A senior at Horizon High School in Scottsdale, Emily is one of the presidents of Step On Stage, Horizon’s top show choir.
- Oli Whited, also a senior at Horizon High School, plays Sally Anderson, wife of Scrooge’s nephew. She also appeared in “42nd Street.”
- Anna Parker plays Grace Smythe, who asks Scrooge for leniency after her mother’s death. Anna is 11 and in fifth grade at Wildfire Elementary School in Phoenix.
- Cara Richman plays Martha Cratchit. The 17-year-old is a junior at Desert Mountain High School in Scottsdale.
- Ryan Parker, 13, back for her fourth SMTC production, plays Jo. She recently appeared as Annie in “Annie,” which starred Bronson Pinchot and Kaitlin Hopkins. Ryan is in seventh grade at Explorer Middle School in Phoenix.
- Arielle Kutz, 10, a fifth-grader at Sonoran Sky in Scottsdale, returns to SMTC as Fan, Scrooge’s sister.
- Kameron Cochrane, 15, makes his SMTC debut as Young Marley. Kameron is a freshman at Pinnacle High School in Phoenix.
Filled with song and dance, “A Christmas Carol” is a holiday classic that promises to leave audiences filled with the joy of the season.
If you go: Dec. 6-23; 7:30 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays; 2 and 7 p.m. Saturdays; 2 p.m. Sundays. Tempe Center for the Arts, 700 W. Rio Salado Parkway. $42–$58; $25 ages 10 and younger. 602-909-4215 or scottsdalemusicaltheater.com
Find all performances of “A Christmas Carol: The Musical” on our “Family Time” calendar of events.
RELATED: Ebenezer Scrooge is visited by the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future in this Charles Dickens classic, which comes in time to remind us what the future holds when we have no empathy. Here are three places to see “A Christmas Carol.”
• Hale Centre Theatre Center (Nov. 29-Dec. 24). Fox 10’s Cory McCloskey and Actor Rob Stuart star as Scrooge in Gilbert.
• Tempe Center for the Arts (Dec. 6-23). Scottsdale Musical Theater casts Charles Shaughnessy as Scrooge.
• Peoria Center for the Performing Arts (Dec. 7-23). Scrooge, Bob Cratchit and Tiny Tim come to life at TheaterWorks.
RELATED: Charles Shaughnessy stars in the new holiday movie “Buttons: A New Musical Film,” with Angela Lansbury and Dick Van Dyke, coming to select theaters Dec. 8.
