For Immediate Release
Contact: David Henderson, 860-520-7250
603-921-2935
dhenderson@hartfordstage.org
Hartford Stage Announces
Bill Raymond’s Final Season
As Ebenezer Scrooge
HARTFORD, CT — OCTOBER 25, 2016 — Bill Raymond, the actor loved by scores of New Englanders, will return to Hartford Stage next month for his 17th and final season as Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol – A Ghost Story of Christmas, adapted and originally directed by Michael Wilson.
“A Christmas Carol has been incredible to me. I have mixed emotions because I’ve been doing this nearly 20 years, and I truly love it. It’s such a wonderful show, and Michael Wilson has been so great to me,” said Raymond. “I can’t imagine being without the incredible surroundings that Hartford Stage affords me.”
Artistic Director Darko Tresnjak said, “We want to thank Bill Raymond for two extraordinary decades of devotion to Hartford Stage and Michael Wilson’s production of A Christmas Carol. Thank you, dear Bill.”
Raymond has only missed two seasons of the holiday classic, which will begin its 19th season on November 25 and play through December 30. He will perform as Scrooge in all public performances except for the 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. shows on Monday, December 26. Rachel Alderman directs.
Former Hartford Stage Artistic Director Wilson said, “Bill Raymond and I created Hartford Stage's A Christmas Carol together 19 years ago. He has, for 17 of the last 19 years, put his inimitable, distinctive mark on one of the greatest characters of English literature. He joins actors such as Lionel Barrymore, Alistair Sims, Albert Finney and George C. Scott in an elite club of extraordinary actors who have left their indelible mark on Dickens' classic story of redemption and grace.
“Bill's last season as Ebenezer Scrooge is something to treasure, and certainly not to be missed,” he said.
In the 60s, Raymond was a featured member of the renowned San Francisco Mime Troupe. Stage credits include the 2008 revival of Gypsy on Broadway and nearly 20 years with the experimental theatre troupe Mabou Mines. His many film credits include Lincoln, Michael Clayton, Twelve Monkeys and Dogville. A veteran of more than 100 TV appearances, he is best known for his recurring roles on “Damages” and HBO’s “The Wire.” He currently appears as Dr. Carroll on the new PBS/CPTV series “The Cobblestone Corridor.”
In 2014 the Hartford Courant said, “More than a quarter of a million people have laughed, cried and been moved by Bill Raymond’s dastardly, delightful and heart-filled Scrooge.”
United Technologies serves as the Exclusive Presenting Sponsor for A Christmas Carol.
Tickets & Performances
Tue–Sun at 7:30 p.m. — Sat, Sun at 2 p.m.
Special 2 p.m. performances on Dec 23, 24, 26, 28
Weekly schedules vary. For details, visit www.hartfordstage.org.
Tickets for all shows start at $25. Student rates available. For group discounts (10 or more), contact Theresa MacNaughton at 860-520-7114. Group rates limited to select performances and based on availability.
For all other tickets, please call the Hartford Stage box office at 860-527-5151 or visit www.hartfordstage.org.
Bill Raymond
(L-R) Ghost, Bill Raymond and Noble Shropshire
Bill Raymond
All photos by T. Charles Erickson
HARTFORD STAGE
Now in our 53rd year, Hartford Stage is under the leadership of Artistic Director Darko Tresnjak and Managing Director Michael Stotts. One of the nation’s leading resident theatres, Hartford Stage is known for producing innovative revivals of classics and provocative new plays and musicals, including 73 world and American premieres, as well as offering a distinguished education program, which reaches close to 20,000 students annually.
Since Tresnjak’s appointment in 2011 the theatre has presented the world premieres of A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder on Broadway, winner of four 2014 Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Direction of a Musical by Tresnjak; Rear Window with Kevin Bacon; the new musical Anastasia by Terrence McNally, Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens; Quiara Alegría Hudes’ Water by the Spoonful, winner of the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Drama; Breath & Imagination by Daniel Beaty; Big Dance Theatre’s Man in a Case with Mikhail Baryshnikov; and Reverberation by Matthew Lopez.
Hartford Stage has earned many of the nation’s most prestigious awards, including the 1989 Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre. Other national honors include Outer Critics Circle, Drama Desk, OBIE, and New York Critics Circle awards. Hartford Stage has produced nationally renowned titles, including the New York transfers of Enchanted April; The Orphans' Home Cycle; Resurrection (later retitled Through the Night); The Carpetbagger's Children; and Tea at Five.
The
leading provider of theatre education programs in Connecticut, Hartford Stage’s
offerings include student matinees, in-school theatre residencies, teen
performance opportunities, theatre classes for students (ages 3-18) and adults,
afterschool programs and professional development courses.
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