SCROOGE IS BACK: Veteran stage and screen actor Joel McKinnon Miller returns to the lead role in McCarter Theatre’s production of “A Christmas Carol,” running December 10-29. (Photo courtesy of McCarter Theatre)

By Anne Levin

When Joel McKinnon Miller signed on in June 2023 to play the notorious miser Ebenezer Scrooge in McCarter Theatre’s production of A Christmas Carol last December, he wasn’t entirely familiar with the Charles Dickens classic. But he immersed himself in the play, reading the script numerous times before rehearsals began.

Miller’s characterization was a success; so much so that McCarter has brought him back for this year’s run of the show. A Christmas Carol, adapted by director Lauren Keating, opens December 10 and runs through December 29 in McCarter’s Matthews Theatre.

Miller is best known for his role as Detective Norm Scully on the NBC television series Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and as Don Embry in HBO’s Big Love. He and Keating have known each other since working together on The 24 Hour Plays at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, where she was formerly the associate producer, in 2017.

The cast for this year’s production also includes several adult actors as well as members of The Youth Ensemble, a group of nine performers from the local area.

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens was an instant bestseller when it was published in 1843. According to a history on the website time.com, Victorians called the book “a new gospel,” and reading or watching it became a sacred ritual for many. Dickens had first conceived of the project as a pamphlet which he planned on calling “An Appeal to the People of England on Behalf of the Poor Man’s Child.”

“But in less than a week of thinking about it, he decided to embody his arguments in a story, with a main character of pitiable depth,” the article reads. “So what might have been a polemic to harangue, instead became a story for which audiences hungered.”

McCarter has been presenting productions of A Christmas Carol (with a three-year break during the pandemic) since 1980. The current version by Keating was introduced in 2022, replacing the production directed by Adam Immerwahr, which ran from 2016 to 2018.

As with previous versions, the current production is big on colorful costumes and sets reminiscent of Victorian London. Choreography is by Emily Maltby and musical direction by Cris Frisco.

“I’m thrilled to bring this beloved story to life once again with a talented cast and creative team,” said McCarter Artistic Director Sarah Rasmussen in a press release. “A Christmas Carol lifts our spirits every year, and also invites us to reflect on generosity, kindness, and the gift of showing up for others. It’s an honor to share this story with our community and celebrate the holiday season together.”

McCarter Executive Director Martin Miller said that at one performance last year, a patron stopped him in the aisle with tears in her eyes “to say she’d been coming for 20 years and this was her favorite experience yet. What a privilege, then, to welcome Joel McKinnon Miller back for a second year leading this spectacular production, a treasured family tradition that is — like Scrooge on Christmas morning — overflowing with holiday spirit.”

As Miller said in a Town Topics interview last year, “I love the message we’re sending, especially at this time when there is so much angst in this country, and in the world. People can come to see the show and get a respite from that for a moment. To bring some love and light and happiness, and a good story we can all relate to — well, it’s just very special.”

Visit Mccarter.org for tickets.