Prolific Washington actor Edward Gero no sooner returns from his highly praised role as contemporary painter Mark Rothko in Chicago’s Goodman Theatre production of John Logan’s “Red” than he inhabits the miserly Ebeneezer Scrooge in Ford’s Theatre’s beloved holiday fare, “A Christmas Carol,” for the third consecutive year. “There are so many wonderful versions of Dickens’ story on screen and stage,” Gero said. “Mine is more robust, combining the darkness of a Dickensian tale with comedy. There’s a similarity between Scrooge and Rothko because of their internal struggles. In both cases, the character works it out so the audience doesn’t have to.”
Gero, one of the most recognizable performers in the area, has been firmly established in the area’s theater community since his surprise meeting at Abingdon’s Barter Theatre with John Neville-Andrews, then the artistic director at the Folger Shakespeare Theatre. The invitation to become a member of the company during the 1984 season included the lead in “Henry V.”
| Onstage |
| ‘A Christmas Carol |
| Where: Ford’s Theatre |
| When: Friday through Dec. 31 |
| Info: $20 to $85; 800-982-2787, 202-347-4833; fords.org |
Gero’s more than 60 roles at the Shakespeare Theatre Company have covered all of Shakespeare’s major works and earned four Helen Hayes Awards and eight nominations.
When he is not performing, he is on the faculty of George Mason University and coaches the University of Maryland Opera Studio.
“I love teaching,” he said. “The most important advice I give my students is to follow your blessings. If you’re not motivated to act, or if anything stops you, take another path. You have to be driven to act, to love it and to need to do it.”
With a host of Shakespearean characters behind him, he next sets his sights on Falstaff and Prospero. Down the road, he sees himself as Toby Belch in “Twelfth Night” and is ready for a shot at Macbeth and Iago.
His back-to-back assignments at STC occupied him until he began racking up regional credits at Studio Theatre, Arena Stage, Round House and other area theaters. They allowed him to breathe new life into such large characters as Richard Nixon at Round House, Horace Vandergelder at Baltimore’s Centerstage and Sweeney Todd at Signature Theatre.
“[Signature Artistic Director] Eric Shaeffer never bothered to ask me if I could sing,” he said, laughing. “It’s been a busy couple of years. I’ve been going nonstop. Rothko was a surprise. In fact, right after ‘A Christmas Carol’ closes, we’re bringing the Chicago production of ‘Red’ to Arena Stage. Both plays are great stories with great characters.”
