Video: Andy Karl Is Finding the Heart Behind the Humbug in A CHRISTMAS CAROL

The holiday season is almost here, and Andy Karl is getting ready to embrace his inner Scrooge! The three-time Tony Award nominee and Olivier Award winner will lead the cast of the Old Vic’s acclaimed production of A Christmas Carol, returning to PAC NYC beginning November 20. BroadwayWorld’s Richard Ridge stopped by the rehearsal room to catch up with Karl and the company about bringing the beloved Charles Dickens classic to life.

For Karl, stepping into the shoes of Ebenezer Scrooge is an opportunity to explore the character’s emotional journey through the lens of his own life experiences.

“For anyone playing Scrooge and visiting these ghosts and them telling about his life, you’re living a therapy session on stage every night,” Karl explained. “All the subtext is actually right in front of you.”

Reflecting on the story’s themes of transformation, generosity, and choosing love over fear, Karl revealed how his personal experiences are informing his performance.

“I am old enough and wise enough and been through a lot in my life to be able to connect with a lot of those. I myself lost my father last January. I have a new baby. There’s things that are deaths and births and things that you need to look at your life and have some perspective on, and I think I’m gonna be bringing my own personal journey to it.”

Adapted by Jack Thorne and originally directed by Matthew Warchus, this reimagining of the holiday favorite digs deeper into the experiences that shaped one of literature’s most famous misers.

“There are all the things that you know and love about the Christmas Carol experience,” Karl explained. “However, he’s able to investigate things of like what truly affected Scrooge in order to be who he is, and that’s the connection with his father. That’s the connection with the people that tried to show him love in his life and why he refused it and what’s his damage.”

Karl is also looking to the present day for inspiration as he develops his interpretation of the iconic character.

“When I first was talking about the role with Matthew, I was thinking in my head like, who are the Scrooges out there in the world right now?” he said, describing the kinds of powerful, uncompromising figures who helped shape his vision of the character.