ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Cicaly Tyton it Ms. Scroogs in tha USA Pictures original.
Cicely Tyson
brings new
life to classic
Dickens story
Cicely Tyson will join the ranks
of actors cast as the indomitable
Scrooge ? albeit with a decidedly
female and contemporary slant ?
in USA Network's adaptation of
the classic Charles Dickens holiday
story. Ms. Scrooge premieres
Wednesday, Dec. 10, at 9 p.m. with
Tyson in the title role (of Ebenita
Scrooge), sharing the character
with the likes of Alastair Sim
(1951), Reginald Owen (1938),
Albert Finney (1970) and Bill
Murray (1988).
Directed by John Korty and
also starring Katherine Helmond
as Maude Marley and Michael
Beach as Rev. Luke, Scrooge's
nephew, Ms. Scrooge reunites
Tyson, Helmond and Korty ? all
of whom worked on The
Autobiography of Miss Jane
Pittman ? and Tyson and Beach,
who worked together in Sweet
Justice.
The story and characters are
familiar: Scrooge, Marley, Ghosts
of Christmas Past, Present and
Future, Bob Cratchit, Tiny Tim.
So why tell the story again? "As
many writers agree, there are only
so many stories in the world," says
John Korty. "One is the basic tale
bf someone with all the riches in
the world, but who is missing
something and has to go through
some process or adventure to find
out the truth. This version of "A
Christmas Carol" for USA uses
Cicely Tyson, a black woman, for
the lead. It's not so much a social
statement as a message, that this
phenomenon can happen any
where, to anyone."
"I remember from being a
child, that the story, 'A Christmas
Carol,' was read to me every year,"
notes Tyson. "When I got older I
performed it in school, and we did
readings for kids when I was in
repertory theater. I always thought
it was an eternally appealing piece
of material."
"it s an important taic to
relate," Tyson adds. "It's how one
comes to realize, through the inter
vention of spirit, that the material
things are not what gives one's life
purpose. Ebenita is faced with her
own death, her own mortality, and
the fact that she would possibly
leave this life having made no
viable contribution to humankind.
That is what prompts her to
change, and that is a story that
should be told and retold forever."
Helmond agrees, "This story is
one that can go on and on. I
remember as a child being fasci
nated with it. Today, there are still
actors reading it at Christmas time.
And with one black woman and
one white woman playing the roles,
I think we're covering all the bases!
Every time some actor takes on the
role, I always make it a point to see
it; I feel like a kid watching it all
over again. It brings back many
memories back to me each time."
Maude Marley, portrayed by
{Catherine Helmond (both in
scenes of Christmas Past and as
the first ghost to visit Ebenita), is,
according to Helmond, "a charac
ter totally wrapped up in business,
getting wealth, with no time for
anyone else, anything else in life ?
very lopsided." "When she passes
away, Maude is left with the chains
of all the things she loved in life,"
Helmond said. "And I cannot rest
or have peace because I have also
lured another into behaving that
way (Scrooge). My assignment
from the other world is to come
back and guide her through her
experiences to show what she has
lost in life."
The designers had a great time
creating the Maude Marley cos
tume, a gauzy fabric weighed down
by gold chains and elements of her
excesses: cell phones, jewels, credit
cards, airplanes, adding machines.
Depicted while alive, throughout
the Spirit of Christmas Past's visit
to Scrooge, Maude is a tough busi
nesswoman in the 1960s, somewhat
like "Helena Rubinstein rolled into
Helen Gurley Brown," describes
the costume designer. "Bejeweled,
stately and sparse but ostentatious
at the same time."
For Michael Beach, the role of
Rev. Luke was "quite an achieve
ment." "I normally don't play
characters on the right side of the
wall," he said. "Here, I deliver a
sermon." But most important to
Beach, who stars in the hit televi
sion series ER, was playing "a real
guy who actually believes in
good." "Luke is genuine," he said,
"and is the only person who
believes that a transformation can
happen to his Aunt Ebenita. That's
why I play such a large part in her
changing; she comes to my church,
a place she hasn't been to since her
father's death, and she hears me
talking about sharing. That
process is part of what changes
her."
Beach is looking forward to sit
ting down with his children at
Christmas time to watch this pro
ject. "I have four children, and
they don't normally get to see the
things that I do. Ms. Scrooge is
about the human spirit, and the
importance of how we treat each
other. I think it will be a family
favorite."
Who is Ebenita Scrooge? For
Cicely Tyson, it was a wonderful
experience to play this character.
She said, "As a child, I think I
never could understand how some
body could be as mean as
Ebenezer Scrooge, never dreaming
someday I'd be playing the charac
ter myself!
"Going through Ebenita's life,
from beginning to end, and watch
ing the changes that take place and
why, attracted me to the idea. But I
didn't want her to be an ugly, mean
old woman. I wanted her to have,
underneath that exterior, some
kind of humor. I wanted to play
the two sides of this person.
"I read every version of "A
Christmas Carol" I could find, and
was amazed that there were so I
many different versions. I looked at
Albert Finney's 'Christmas Carol,'
and was amazed that he looked
like a young man. I realized later
they had done a mask of his face, a
youthful mask, so that he could
play the young Ebenezer. Then, for
the aged one, they just took the
mask off." ?
Filmed in the spring, Ms.
Scrooge had to create snow and
Christmas for the movie, and the
cast and crew had fun decorating
Christmas trees and sets to match
the spirit they felt. "There seems to
be a deluge of other kinds of sto
ries, the violent ones, the cops and
robber stories," said Tyson, "It's
important for a network to be able
to find a place for pieces like Ms.
Scrooge as well. And like Road to
Galveston. There's no doubt in my
mind that there's an audience for
this kind of movie."
Will she be watching? "No, I
don't watch my work," she said,
"although my family and all my
friends always do, and then they'll
tell me about it."
Ms. Scrooge will also have
encore presentations, Saturday,
Dec. 13, at 10 p.m. and Saturday,
Dec. 20, at 4 p.m.
USA Network is cable televi
sion's leading provider of original
series and feature movies, sports
events, off-net television shows and
blockbuster theatrical films. USA
Network is seen in more than 72
million U.S. homes as well as over
seas. The USA Network web site is
at htto://www.usanetwork.com.
1
V
BridgeBuilders honors successful
Non-Celebrity African Americans
GREENSBORO ? Bridge Builders will give
viewers across the country an up-close and
personal look^at some of the nation's most
successful African Americans.
Created and produced by North Carolina native
David A. Black, Bridge Builders is a Black History
television special featuring historical and present-day
African-American success stories. The show is sched
uled to air from January 1998 through early March,
in conjunction with Martin Luther King Jr. and
Black History Month celebrations.
Featured "bridge builders" are real people in real
life situations (no athletes or entertainers) who have
overcorke cultural, social, educational, economic and
other Harriers to accomplish outstanding achieve
ments. They've also "built bridges" to inspire other
African Americans, particularly youth, to achieve
their goals.
A noted "bridge builder" himself, Les Brown is
the program host. Brown is a renowned author and
award-winning motivational speaker. His unique
style and approach to personal development and self
improvement has placed him among the leaders in
the speakers' arena. Concerning his role as host of
Bridge Builders, Brown said, "I am committed to a
show of this caliber whose time has come."
The first segment of Bridge Builders features three
outstanding individuals from very different career
paths:
Dr. Johnnetta Cole is the first African-American
woman to become president of
Spelman College in Atlanta, Ga.
Under Cole's leadership. Spelman
successfully completed a major
capital campaign, raising $113.8
million.
Thomas Burrell built a multi
million dollar advertising and marketing business,
Burrell Communications Group Inc. Some of
Burrell's clients are McDonald's, Coca-Cola, Quaker
Oats Company and Sears.
Maceo Sloan is chairman and CEO of NCM
Capital Management Group Inc., the largest black
owned investment firm in the country. Sloan oversees
the management of more than $4 billion in assets.
A special feature in this segment of*
Bridge Builders highlights Howard University in
Washington, DC. Howard University was estab
lished in 1867 and is one of the nation's oldest his
torically black colleges and universities.
David A. Black of Pathway Marketing and
Communications Inc. in Greensboro, is the executive
producer of Bridge Builders Black has been involved
in television production since 1985 and developed
BridgeBuilders as a means to.inspire African
Americans to pursue personal achievement.
A distinct aspect of BridgeBuilders is the absence
of featured athletes or entertainers. "It is my goal to
show that African Americans are successful in fields
other than sports and entertainment," Black said.
According to Black, future show segments will pro
file "up and coming" individuals who are undergoing
common struggles, but establishing themselves as
respectable role models and future BridgeBuilders.
BridgeBuilders is already scheduled to air on many of
the largest stations across the country and on all the
major net'works.
l^lis^iirfctinas^Dane^i
y Is Onlll T
Bringing Friends Back Together
December 25,1997
Benton Convention Center
9:00 PM- 2:00 AM
The Best of Friends in conjunction with the E.W.C.D.C. have
finalized plans for this event
Tickets will go on sale starting
Dec?12,1997
at
Max's Place
505 North Cherry Street
5:30 PM - 9:00 PM
(Join os for your first Christmas cheer)
Tickets may be purchased from any member of the
| Best of Friends |
or at the
E.W.CJXC. Office -
1225 East 5th Street
723-1783 or FAX 761-8014
North Carolina's Child Nutrition Programs
BARGAIN
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Renew Your Spirit!
HIGH POINT THEATRE ? December 5-13
CAROLINA THEATRE ? Greensboro ? December 15-17
STEVENS CENTER ? Winston-Salem ? December 19-21
Call (910) 887-3001 for Tickets or
(910) 841-2273 for Group Sales (10 or more)
BB&T
I ^ ' M
|p sponsored by IS
m Best Choice Center, Inc. |?-Jl
r~~ Proceeds will benefit the Center's ongoing
programs designed to promote drug-free life styles for youth and
their families through strong prevention and intervention strategies.