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WELCOME, EVERYONE, TO ANOTHER EDITION OF THE LOCAL SHOW.
I'M NICK HAINES. AND I'M RANDY MASON. RANDY, NOW MARLEY WAS DEAD.
AS DEAD AS A DOOR NAIL. NOW, THIS MUST BE DISTINCTLY UNDERSTOOD OR NOTHING WONDERFUL
CAN COME OF THE STORY I'M GOING TO RELATE. NICK RECITING CHARLES
DICKENS? IT MUST BE CHRISTMAS CAROL TIME AGAIN AT THE KANSAS CITY REP.
WHAT'S CHRISTMAS TO YOU BUT A TIME TO PAY BILLS
WITH NO MONEY? BEFORE YOU MUTTER HUMBUG,
WE'RE JOINED BY THE SHOW'S MOST VETERAN STAR. HE'S BEEN APPEARING IN THE
ANNUAL HOLIDAY PRODUCTION FOR CLOSE TO 30 YEARS. YOU KNOW HIM AS MR. EBENEZER
SCROOGE. SO HIS FRIENDS AND FAMILY CALL HIM GARY NEAL JOHNSON.
LET'S TALK ABOUT IN A SENSE WHAT BRINGS YOU HERE, WHICH IS, OF COURSE A GREAT HISTORY OF
DOING SHOWS AT THE REP, BUT THERE IS THIS ONE CHARACTER THAT GARY NEAL JOHNSON PRETTY MUCH
OWNS, AND YOU'VE COME TO IT PRETTY HONESTLY,
BECAUSE WHEN WE TALK ABOUT A CHRISTMAS CAROL AND
YOU DOING IT NOW FOR 12 SEASONS, THERE'S EVEN CHRISTMAS CAROL BEFORE THAT THAT YOU PLAYED A
PRETTY PROMINENT ROLE IN. HOW DID YOU GET INTO THAT FIRST WAVE OF CHRISTMAS CAROL?
I SAW THE SHOW AS AN AUDIENCE MEMBER THE FIRST
YEAR, 1981, BEFORE THE NEXT YEAR THEY CALLED
AND ASKED ME IF I WOULD DO IT. I SPLAID -- PLAYED SMALL ROLES, YOUNG GENTLEMAN AND OLD JOE.
PROBABLY THE ONLY ONE DOUBLE CAST. THE FOLLOWING YEAR, I WAS
MARLEY, AND THEN BECAME CHARLES DICKENS, WHO WAS THE NARRATER, PLAYED THAT FOR 14 YEARS, AND
THEN JUST GRADUATED. EXCEPT FOR ONE YEAR WHEN THEY DID NOT DO A CHRISTMAS CAROL.
RIGHT, RIGHT. A CHRISTMAS STORY WAS DONE. RIGHT.
THEY SAID AT THE TIME THAT THE INTENTION WAS TO JUST DO IT FOR ONE YEAR.
THEY WERE NOT HOPEFUL THAT IT WOULD REPLACE CHRISTMAS CAROL. THEY ALWAYS SAID, WE'LL COME
BACK TO IT, BUT WE'RE GOING TO TAKE A YEAR OFF. AND I'VE GOT TO TELL YOU.
THAT WAS -- FOR ME, IT WAS GREAT, BECAUSE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HOWEVER MANY YEARS IT
HAD BEEN UP TO THAT TIME, ABOUT 25 YEARS PERHAPS, I HAD CHRISTMAS BACK.
MY CHRISTMAS, MY FAMILY'S CHRISTMAS IS BUILT AROUND CHRISTMAS CAROL SCHEDULE, WHICH
MEANS EVERY NIGHT I'M LEAVING AT DINNERTIME TO GO
TO THE THEATER. SO THE YEAR THEY DID CHRISTMAS
STORY, WHICH WAS VERY GOOD FOR THEM FINANCIALLY
AND PRETTY WELL RECEIVED, WAS ALSO GOOD FOR ME,
NOT FINANCIALLY, BUT IT WAS JUST GREAT TO BE ABLE TO GO SEE NUTCRACKER AGAIN.
I HADN'T SEEN NUTCRACKER FOR YEARS, AND ALL KINDS OF CHRISTMAS ACTIVITIES THAT I
COULD DO. YOU'RE ACTUALLY ALMOST STILL TOO YOUNG TO PLAY EBENEZER
SCROOGE. AS AN ACTOR, ISN'T THAT A NICE THING TO SAY AND HEAR?
YES, IT IS, VERY MUCH SO. ALTHOUGH STARTING LAST YEAR, THEY DID SAY GARY, WOULD YOU
MIND NOT WEARING THE WIG? AND I SAID, HOW CAN I DO SCROOGE WITHOUT WEARING THE WIG?
AND THEY SAID, WELL, YOUR HAIR IS OKAY. AND SO I ATE MY HUMBLE PIE AND
WENT OUT THERE WITH MY OWN HAIR. I'LL TELL YOU
THIS, OVER THE YEARS, I NOW THROW MYSELF ON THE
FLOOR WITH MUCH GREATER CARE, AND I'M MUCH SLOWER GETTING UP OFF THE FLOOR WHEN I HAVE TO.
I TAKE EVERYTHING A LITTLE BIT EASIER. AND SO I'M STILL ALIVE AT THE
END OF THE SHOW TO FIGHT ANOTHER DAY. AND YOU'RE GOING TOE BE ALIVE
AT THE END OF THE SHOW ONLY TO TURN RIGHT AROUND AND PLAY YET ANOTHER ICONIC ROLE ON THE
STAGE, WHICH IS PROBABLY THE FIRST TIME IT'S HAPPENED THIS DRAMATICALLY, AND THAT'S DEATH
OF THE SALESMAN. THAT'S GOING TO TAKE ITS SHARE OF ENERGY AS WELL, AND IT
TRADITIONALLY, TOO, IS ALSO PLAYED BY ACTORS YOUNGER THAN WILLIE LOWMAN IS.
PHILLIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN JUST PLAYED IT ON BROADWAY. JUST SO HAPPENS, I HAPPEN TO BE
ABOUT WILLIE'S AGE. I'LL GET THROUGH IT. I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO IT SO
VERY, VERY MUCH. FROM SCROOGE TO WILLIE, I GUESS YOU CAN THROW IN
SHAKESPEARE IF YOU WANT TO MAKE THE JOB EVEN TOUGHER WITH ALL THE THINGS, AND THEN YOU SPENT
SOME TIME ON SHAKESPEAREAN STAGES AS WELL. I HAVE.
THE HEART OF AMERICA SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL, I'VE DONE QUITE A BIT OVER THE YEARS.
I'VE HAD A CONNECTION WITH THE GOOD MAN THEATER'S PRODUCTION OVER THE YEAR.
I UNDERSTUDY WHO PLAYS KING LEER. THERE IS NOTHING LIKE THE
FEELING OF STANDING IN THE WINGS BEFORE GOING ON
AND LISTENING TO THE ANNOUNCEMENT THAT LADIES AND
GENTLEMEN, PLAYING THE ROLE OF KING LEER TONIGHT WILL BE GARY NEAL JOHNSON.
IT'S DISHEARTENING, BUT YOU'VE GOT TO UNDERSTAND,
EVERYBODY IN THE HOUSE IS OH, NO, YOU KNOW.
BUT BY THE END OF THE SHOW, THEY'VE HAD A GOOD TIME. WELL, I THINK IT SAYS, THE
RIGORS OF BEING A PROFESSIONAL ACTOR, THESE ARE THE THINGS. YOU FIND ROLES HERE, TAKE
OPPORTUNITES THERE, TAKE WHAT YOU CAN FIND AND THEN YOU GO FIND OTHER THINGS, WHICH
OBVIOUSLY YOU'VE BEEN ABLE TO DO IN KANSAS CITY AND BEYOND. RIGHT.
PRIMARILY IN KANSAS CITY, YOU KNOW, YOU WAIT FOR THE PHONE TO RING, AND IF YOU'RE LUCKY, IT
DOES. I'VE BEEN FAIRLY LUCKY. I STILL CAN GO STRETCHES, YOU
KNOW, WITHOUT WORK, BECAUSE THERE'S ONLY SO MANY THEATERS IN TOWN.
BUT YEAH, I'VE BEEN -- LIFE'S BEEN GOOD. WELL, I KNOW YOU NEED TO GET
OUT AND PUT UP THE CHRISTMAS LIGHTS ON THE JOHNSON FAMILY HOME, WHICH YOU ONLY GET SO MANY
CHANCES TO DO DURING A BUSY SEASON, RIGHT? RIGHT, RIGHT.
AND THIS HAS BEEN AN ESPECIALLY BUSY TIME FOR ME RIGHT NOW. IN FACT, WE DON'T HAVE A TREE
UP. TWO WEEKS TILL CHRISTMAS, WE DON'T HAVE A TREE OR CHRISTMAS
LIGHTS UP. THAT'S JUST THE LIFE REALLY -- THAT'S MY LIFE AT CHRISTMASTIME
EVERY YEAR. YOU KNOW, TRYING TO WORK LIFE IN AROUND A CHRISTMAS CAROL.
WELL, BUNDLE UP AND BE CAREFUL ON THAT LADDER IF YOU'RE UP THERE DOING THE LIGHTS.
THANKS SO MUCH AND COMING AND TALKING TO US ON THE LOCAL SHOW. YOU BET.
THANKS, RANDY. MY PLEASURE.