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.”