A CHRISTMAS CAROL Opens 12/6 at Theatre Memphis

A Christmas Carol at Theatre Memphis will open December 6, 2013, with a tribute gala event honoring Barry Fuller. Fuller, who was the first actor to portray Ebenezer Scrooge in the original Theatre Memphis, will be reprising the role this year for his 13th and last time at Theatre Memphis. A Christmas Carol returns to Theatre Memphis this year for the 36th consecutive year and runs through December 23 on the Lohrey Stage with weekend evening shows and matinees and some weeknight performances. Weekday school matinee performances (a truncated version without Fuller) are on the Lohrey Stage December 4 - December 20, 2012 (2 performances per day at 9:30am and 11am. Contact 901.682.5261 for prices and details).

"Barry set the bar 36 years ago when he won the hearts of our patrons as old Scrooge, even at a relatively young age" says Debbie Litch, Executive Producer of Theatre Memphis. "With him stepping away from this role after playing it so many times (and directing it once), we wanted to honor him in the most appropriate fashion." The gala evening will consist of cocktails and hors d'oeuvres prior to the opening performance with libations and desserts following along with a chance to meet and greet Fuller. There will be a silent auction to benefit the artistic programs at Theatre Memphis held throughout the evening along with special displays and acknowledgements for Fuller.

As far as Fuller is concerned, the ghosts of the Past, Present and Future are not haunting him at all. "It has been a marvelous run and I am passing the baton. I have been so fortunate to have been touched by the individuals and families that formed the Christmas Carol company each year. I've made some amazing friends. And I am so touched that Theatre Memphis is making this year so special."

Though claiming to not be a leading man, as the lead character Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol, he brings character work to the forefront. He has played Scrooge over the course of four decades to the delight of the audiences. Known for his cameo and character roles, several have earned him Ostrander Awards which are given in honor of theatrical excellence each year in Memphis. In 1997 he was awarded the Eugart Yerian Lifetime Achievement Award in Memphis Theatre at the Ostranders' ceremony. Lightheartedly he questions, "Isn't it about time for another one?"

In 2006 in Cats at Theatre Memphis he garnered another Ostrander award for Best Cameo Performance. His heart-wrenching portrayal of Gus the Theatre Cat won over the audience night after night. His comedic timing in the Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (also at TM) made the production have real heart according to the then Theatre Memphis Artistic Director, Kell Christie. "Barry's energy is so light and accessible. He brings a consummate professionalism to everything he does." Most recently, Fuller (who recently celebrated his 85th birthday) played a cameo as a medical specimen in the Theatre Memphis production of Young Frankenstein and literally brought the house down with his antics.

The body of work that Fuller has created in Memphis alone began in 1958 when he came to Memphis to participate in the summer season of the newly formed Front Street Theatre. That season was followed by a return to his native Australia for two years before he came back to Front Street for a long run of performing from 1960 to 1966. In those years he worked with budding Broadway stars such as George Hearn, Dixie Carter, Polly Holliday, Robert Foxworth, Karen Grassle, Dana Ivey and Paxton Whitehead. But it was in the 1970's that he started his tenure as the ultimate Ebenezer Scrooge at Theatre Memphis and began playing the role that is now legend to him and to the theater. Over the years he also laid his capable directing hands on Theatre Memphis productions of The Robber Bridegroom, Mame and Company, to name a few.

Litch is insistent that the gala event and announced end to Fuller's Scrooge is not a retirement for Fuller. A still very active participant in the Memphis theater community, Fuller agrees but is humble concerning his roles on stage and his role in the community. Never claiming the limelight, though, he would be hard pressed to contest that this particular year at Theatre Memphis is a spotlight focused on his "holiday" career. "I am truly blessed, " he says. Litch paraphrases Charles Dickens, " Barry has blessed US, every one."

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