Richard Poe segues from Charles Dickens into Ebenezer Scrooge at the outset of the Ford’s Theatre’s presentation of “A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story of Christmas,” the original title of this powerful tale of greed and redemption.

“I can only bring who I am to this role,” says Poe, who last performed as Scrooge in the eighth grade. “I’ve watched all the film versions I could find to get a sense of how experienced actors treat the moment. Because Charles Dickens came to Washington during his tour of this country, I enter the stage as him in the prologue and incorporate a little gesture to the Lincoln box before getting into the character of Scrooge.