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It is a season of departures and arrivals for the Kansas City Repertory Theatre. Preeminent among the former is the final bow of Gary Neal Johnson as Scrooge this holiday season, as he caps 24 years of portraying the beloved curmudgeon through approximately 1,100 performances. The company also just welcomed a new executive director, Jeremy Dewey, who succeeded Angela Gieras after her 11-year tenure. And in September 2024, the Rep announced that it will be searching for a new home, as its decades-old partnership with the University of Missouri-Kansas City comes to an end in 2029. 

For now, though, Gary’s departure from A Christmas Carol is about as momentous an occasion for Kansas City as one can imagine. A generation of theatergoers was raised on his masterful portrayal of dear Ebenezer: For many in our region he simply “is” Scrooge. But Gary is ready to pass the mantle, as he moves toward a much-deserved retirement. “I was 50 when I started playing Scrooge,” he said recently, “and I will be 76 on my next birthday. It was just time.” 

As one of the most recognizable actors in Kansas City—during the holiday season his face is literally everywhere, on billboards and magazines and even on television—Gary feels privileged to have represented the profession in the best possible way. And having gone on many “journeys” in on stages here and around the country (as Lear, Julius Caesar, Shylock, Willy Loman, Tevye, Harry Truman), “this one is unique,” he said of Scrooge. “What a pleasure it is to go on this journey, night after night. … I can’t think of any other character that I would enjoy playing year after year as much as I’ve enjoyed this guy.” 

Gary’s nationally renowned characterization was one of the first things that Stuart Carden celebrated when he first joined the Rep as artistic director in 2019. “I was really moved when I came here and saw it for the first time with audiences,” Stuart said. “I’ve lived in other cities and other communities that have productions of A Christmas Carol, but I’ve never experienced one that so meets its audience, one that has such an extraordinary connection to the community. I was thrilled. … It is such a rich and rewarding part of our season.” 

Gary has managed to find an intimate connection with A Christmas Carol year after year because its themes are universal.

“We see, in Scrooge, how his life has adversely affected other people,” Gary said, adding that when Ebenezer sees his own tombstone, “He doesn’t just say ‘Oh no … take me away from this, I don’t want to die.’ He says, ‘There’s so much good I can do to repair the damage I’ve done, and if I live, I can be a better man and make changes and be a help to people.’ ” 

What Gary brings to the role is “incredible, authentic emotion,” Stuart said, “but also range: Critical for a successful Scrooge, and the reason why so many people have loved Gary’s interpretation over the years, is that he lives the pain and isolation that this character exhibits, in a truly authentic way. And then, too, he genuinely owns the emotion of his redemption and of his joyful release.” 

Only an exceptional actor can embody, in a single evening, a character who is so despicable that “you’d walk across the street to avoid him,” Stuart said, and just as believable in his “giddy, joyful transformation at the end. … Gary never ‘comments’ on the dark humor or the irony of Scrooge. He lives it authentically, lives it with great depth of truth and emotion. And that centers the play in terms of its resonance with contemporary audiences. It makes it universal because we understand where he’s been—and when he finds joy, it gives us insight into how we might be able to transform ourselves.”

Now a sturdy 75, Gary is as healthy as ever but has been thinking about stepping down from this role for a few years now. “Whether you love what you’re doing or not, everybody retires when it’s time.” Plus, he added, “I’m on the verge of starting to feel the aches and pains.” There is a great deal of physicality in this version of A Christmas Carol: Scrooge runs up and down stairs and prostrates himself on the floor throughout. “That gets harder every year,” Gary said. 

As for the hunt for a new Scrooge, Stuart is only able to say that “we’re really focused on celebrating Gary this year, celebrating what he has brought to this production and has invested in it.” Replacing Gary will be challenging, but what Stuart and Associate Artist Director Jason Chanos will be looking for “is not a radical reinterpretation,” Stuart said, “but a new Scrooge who can bring the depth of commitment and honesty and truth and release into joy that Gary does.”

Will the new Ebenezer be a figure familiar to local audiences? “I think that will be highly likely, but I can’t commit to anything,” Stuart said. “We’re thinking about tradition, we’re thinking about history. Ideally we’re building a relationship with a new Scrooge that can then build connections with audiences for the next decade, or two decades. We’re definitely thinking in those terms. We’re just not ready to make any announcements.” 

And while the company does not anticipate a huge shift in the basic framework of the character, a new artist will no doubt “bring their own humanity and make an indelible imprint on the role,” Stuart added. 

Meanwhile Gary feels he has checked off most of the major roles on his bucket list. “Willy Loman and Tevye were right at the top of what I wanted to do,” he said. “Lear was a surprise and a blessing, and golly, Shylock and Mushnik and Herr Schultz in Cabaret, … Harry Truman, for crying out loud—I loved those.” 

Still, he is not entirely averse to taking on some choice smaller roles. “I would love to have been in 1776 somewhere,” he said, adding with a laugh: “and maybe I still can be: here are some ‘ancient’ characters with not too many lines. … I could play Old George, maybe.” 

—By Paul Horsley

For tickets to KC Rep shows, including A Christmas Carol (which runs from November 22nd through December 27th), call 816-235-2700 or go to kcrep.org. To reach Paul Horsley, performing arts editor, send an email to paul@kcindependent.com or find him on Facebook (paul.horsley.501) or X/Instagram (@phorsleycritic).