Many people know Patrick Stewart as Captain Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation. He also played Professor X in the X-Men movies. But in his stage show of A Christmas Carol, he played about 40 different parts in one night. He created the show in 1988 from Charles Dickens’ book.
Stewart first became interested in the story in 1985. He was waiting to work on the movie Lady Jane and picked up an old copy. He enjoyed the book. He then made a shorter version to read at a church.
Star Trek took more of his time than he expected. Stewart wanted to keep acting on stage, too. A show with just one actor meant he did not need to wait for other actors. It also helped him practice different kinds of acting.
He returned to the play many times, including a 2019 show to raise money for charity. He also played Ebenezer Scrooge in a 1999 television movie of A Christmas Carol. Other actors joined him in that movie. It received mostly good reviews.
