Bob Cratchit is hanging up his scarf and spending Christmas with his family — without the permission of Ebenezer Scrooge.
Pittsburgh actor Jeffrey Howell, a Pittsburgh CLO fixture in its summer season and at holiday time, decided that his 25th year as Scrooge’s clerk, in CLO’s “A Musical Christmas Carol,” will be his last.
“I’m not getting any younger,” said Howell, who turns 64 in March. He has two granddaughters in Philadelphia. “I would like to be able to have a real family Christmas instead of spending it half asleep.”
CLO is not letting him go without a big sendoff. On opening night Friday, CLO executive producer Van Kaplan announced that this year’s shows would be dedicated to Howell, and at curtain call, castmate Tim Hartman called out Tiny Tims of “Musical Christmas Carols” past to surprise their Cratchit dad.
Howell had no idea what was going to happen as he reminisced on Tuesday about how he would miss his other Pittsburgh family, including the current Mrs. Cratchit, Lisa Ann Goldsmith, and fellow long-timers Hartman and Daniel Krell (Mr. McFeely in “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood”).
Where: Pittsburgh CLO at the Byham Theater, Downtown.
When: Through Dec. 22. Opening weekend: 7:30 p.m. Friday (no performance Dec. 13); noon, 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday, and noon and 4 p.m. Sunday.
Tickets: $31-$62, pittsburghclo.org or 412-456-6666.
It was two years ago that Howell told CLO associate artistic director Mark Fleischer that the show was taking a physical toll — seven performances in three days. Onstage, he carries the actor playing Tiny Tim on his shoulders.
His first TIny Tim was Paul Pakler, who played the role from 1992 to ’95. Joe Serafini was another long-running Tim, 2005-09. Howell, who keeps up with graduating Cratchit kids on social media, pointed out that Serafini can be seen on the new “High School Musical” series on Disney+.
Now it’s Howell’s turn to move on, and 25 years seemed like “a nice round number” to say goodbye.
Over the years, he became known for entertaining the Cratcht kids with puppet shows during long breaks between stage appearances. He also kept them in line, “gently,” he said. “They all got it pretty quick if they are asked not to do something again.”
Howell also became known for his antics from the wings, where cast members could see him but he was out of the view of the audience. He once asked to be hooked up to a flight harness and was dancing around in a top hat and holding an umbrella. As his castmates watched, he opened the umbrella and took flight.
“Everyone seemed to get a kick out of that one,” he said.
Then there was that time a couple of years ago that was even scarier than the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. He got clipped in the head by an errant piece of scenery.
“It was a glancing blow, so it wasn’t bad. It sounded worse that it was, but you could hear the gasp in the audience,” Howell recalled. “I almost fell, but I caught myself, and went right to my desk.”
The stage manager and others offstage looked on expectantly, and that year’s Scrooge, Tony-nominee Patrick Page, came over and asked if Howell was OK.
“I gave a thumb’s up,” he said,
A sigh of relief rippled through the Byham Theater, and the show went on.
It will go on again at the Byham on Dec. 6-22, with Jeffrey Howell as the kindly father of seven, a victim of his employer’s ill will until Scrooge gets in the Christmas spirit.
In Christmases future, Jeffrey Howell will be sitting in the audience.
“I’ve loved every minute of it,” he said. “I don’t know what that will feel like, but I really look forward to watching it with my granddaughters.”
First Published: December 8, 2019, 1:00 p.m.
