The role of Bob Cratchit in Virginia Repertory Theatre’s A Christmas Carol touched David Janosik when he first saw the script.
“I really wanted the opportunity to read for it,” he says. “As a father myself, paternal roles like that speak to me more now that I have two daughters.”
A Christmas tradition for many, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, playing at Virginia Rep from November 28 through December 28 takes you along with Ebenezer Scrooge on his journey through Christmas Past, Present and Future. It is a story that celebrates the human spirit and our capacity for joy — a reminder that even the coldest heart can be thawed by warmth and kindness.
Janosik was interested in exploring the arc that Cratchit experiences — the happiness and tenderness of the holiday season during Christmas Present juxtaposed against Christmas Future where Tiny Tim succumbs to his illness.
“It’s a challenge because it’s so dynamic,” he says.
He has enjoyed investigating the sadness that Cratchit encounters during Christmas Future and how he deals with it. “You have to put on a brave face and be comforting to other grieving family members while you are experiencing that same grief,” he says. “You try to work through those feelings yourself. It’s emotional, but it’s a rewarding process to work through.”
He sees a parallel between the play and today’s society. “Then and now the idea of charity has become synonymous with the holidays. That’s one of the most important and lasting legacies of this book,” he says. “This work helps mainstream those ideas of equating Christmas with charity and helping the less fortunate. We need to have those feelings all year long and not just at Christmas.”
Pairing Up Again
A Chesterfield native, Janosik has previously worked with Katrinah Carol Lewis who plays Mrs. Cratchit.
“We worked in Colonial Williamsburg together for a while,” he says, adding that when he was paired up with Carol Lewis in auditions for A Christmas Carol, he was glad to see a familiar face. “Having a scene partner as wonderful as Katrinah makes the job easy.”
This marks the second time that Carol Lewis has appeared in A Christmas Carol on the same stage. Her first appearance was in 2004.
She sees the play as a cautionary tale but also a tale of hope.
“I think Scrooge’s path to a level of redemption reminds us that we have that opportunity too,” she says. “On some level, we recognize something in ourselves that is not the kindest. It reminds us that we have a choice to be generous, kind and joyful. We see him go through the past, present, and future and that causes him to be a better man. That gives us hope for humanity.”
She sees her character of Mrs. Cratchit as being brave, loving, resilient, and resourceful. She cares for her family with limited resources.
“She recognizes how dire it is for Tiny Tim. She is strong for her family. She is trying to hold her family together,” Carol Lewis says. “I want to ground her in my body in a truthful way.”
Carol Lewis sees qualities of Mrs. Cratchit in all of us. “She wants to care of her family to the best of her ability,” she said.
Carol Lewis is enjoying working with Janosik again. “It’s really fun to come back together. He’s a hard worker,” she says.
Janosik sees the play as timeless in the same way as Christmas carols.
“Many families have the Christmas tradition to watch A Christmas Carol,” he says. “People have grown up with this story. If I can tell the story in the way it should be told and impart the lessons and morals to the audience, that is what I am concerned with. If I have done that, I know that I have been successful.”
Virginia Rep’s A Christmas Carol, adapted and directed by Rick Hammerly, runs November 28th through December 28th at November Theatre. Tickets are available on the Virginia Rep website.
