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“I’m really kind of a nice guy,” said Self of Tacoma. “My friends at least say so.
“To start the show out as a character who is so bitter and so angry and so closed off has been a real challenge. I’ve had to kind of delve into my dark side to find something that works for that.”
He admitted, though, that he looks the part. He visited the playhouse last season to see a friend perform in “Fame” and was introduced to interim artistic director Troy Arnold Fisher after the show.
“My friend told him that I sing and act,” Self said, “and he said, ‘Oh, might you be interested in auditioning for “Scrooge”?’
“I think his first interest was in my appearance,” he said. “I’m very tall and kind of lanky, kind of bony, which I think is his vision of Scrooge, as a thin, sparse old man, bony and cranky.”
Self said he hadn’t seen a production of the musical before accepting the role, although he has seen other versions of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” on which it’s based.
“Scrooge” is a longtime favorite holiday show at the playhouse; this will be the fifth production of it there. The title role had long been played by playhouse founder Jeff Kingsbury, who parted ways with the theater last year.
“The hardest show to choose is the holiday show,” Fisher said in an interview a few months ago. “It’s the time when the entertainment market is the most saturated with options. ... The most success that we have had through the years is when we mount ‘Scrooge.’
“People like traditions,” he added. “I’m one of them. I have to see a production of ‘A Christmas Carol’ every year; it’s a favorite for me.”
But this production has a few new twists. Besides the new Scrooge, there’s a new and improved set.
“Bruce Haasl, our set designer, has added a number of interesting effects,” said Capital Playhouse board member Ned Hayes. “It’s a dramatic set with lots of moving parts. There’s a drawing room that turns into a foggy London street.”
And, of course, there is a new Tiny Tim. The playhouse held open auditions for the role, but as it happened, the right Tim was close at hand: The role went to Nicholas Hayes, Ned Hayes’ son.
It’s the first major role for 9-year-old Nicholas, who is a third-grader at Lincoln Options Elementary School, but it’s unlikely to be the last. He’s already been cast in a small role in “Oklahoma,” opening in February at the 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle. ‘SCROOGE’
What: Capital Playhouse brings back the musical version of Charles Dickens’s classic tale of greed and redemption.
When: 7:30 p.m. Dec. 1-4, 7-11, 14-18 and 21-24, with matinees at 2 p.m. Dec. 5, 12 and 19
Where: Capital Playhouse: 612 Fourth Ave. E., Olympia
Tickets: $33-$39 for adults, $28-$34 for seniors and youths. For the Dec. 14 show, pay what you can.
More information: 360-943-2744 or capitalplayhouse.com
