Two northwest suburban guys who love to entertain will once again be doing a juggling act this holiday season. Tom Ventriss of Des Plaines and Larry Andres of Buffalo Grove are the cast and crew of “Scrooge, the Comedy,” a humorous take on Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” that is celebrating its 10th anniversary at White Pines Inn in Oregon, Ill.
That means the duo will be spending many days through Dec. 23 at White Pines Forest State Park, presenting 25 performances of the show.
In the past, Andres has traveled throughout the northwest suburbs in order to act with Ventriss, who has directed him in numerous plays since he began performing in community theater more than 20 years ago. Nevertheless, Andres was more than a little reluctant to accept when Ventriss offered him the part of the narrator in “Scrooge, the Comedy” three years ago. A nearly two-hour drive to and from Oregon for a series of performances between Thanksgiving and Christmas just didn’t seem to fit into the 47-year-old Buffalo Grove fire lieutenant paramedic’s schedule.
“I work a 24-hour-on and 48-hour-off shift,” he explained.
But Ventriss kept calling and finally wore down his friend’s resistance. Now, by trading shifts with other firefighters, using vacation days and taking compensatory time, Andres is able to keep weekends free during the run of the show. And since White Pines Inn has begun providing housing for them, the two have to drive to and from Oregon only once a week.
Fortunately, Andres receives support on the home front. His wife, Debbie, and 10-year-old son, Dylan, come to at least one performance. This year, the visit will coincide with the couple’s 25th wedding anniversary.
Ventriss will be playing the lead character in “Scrooge, the Comedy” for the sixth time. Although he is semiretired, he also must work the play into a busy schedule. The actor and director still works part time for Cahner’s Publishing in Des Plaines, doing a variety of jobs. And he’s always involved in other theatrical productions.
The pair happily makes sacrifices to be in the show — and not just because they are paid.
“I’ve been in theater for a long time — since I was 17 years old and I’m 74 now,” Ventriss said. “And I have never, ever had so much fun as I do in this show. The audience is having the time of their life. And the more they enjoy it, the more I enjoy it.”
“We’re the `Chicago actors’ who have come out to heartland America to bring them entertainment,” Andres said, joking.
Beth Henderson, concessionaire of White Pines Inn, lauds Ventriss and Andres for adding to the ever-increasing popularity of the play. The 100-seat dinner/theater almost always sells out for “Scrooge, the Comedy.”
“These are our first Chicago-area actors,” Henderson said. “Half the show is ad-libbing, They’re both excellent at that.”
She added, “Tommy is a real special character. He’s sort of become a part of the family at the Pines. He’s a great director, as well as an actor.”
Previous highlights of Ventriss’ 57 years of theater involvement have included appearances in New York and at summer stock in Connecticut. He has shared stages with a roster of celebrities, including Nancy Reagan, Katharine Hepburn, Cliff Robertson, Miriam Hopkins, Conrad Nagel, Richard Arlen and ZaSu Pitts. Ventriss has also acted and directed at theaters throughout the northwest suburbs, including Village Theatre in Palatine, Elgin Community Theatre in Elgin, Encore Theatre in Schaumburg, and Des Plaines Theater Guild in Des Plaines. He studied acting at the Chicago School of Expression and Dramatic Arts, Milton Steifel School in New York City and Columbia University in New York.
Andres is also a regular at area community theaters, including Village Theatre, Elgin Community Theatre, Encore Theatre and Des Plaines Theater Guild. In addition, he and Debbie co-founded the Arlington Repertory Theatre Society (ARTS), a theater company in Arlington Heights that he ran for about three years.
In addition to appearing in “Scrooge, the Comedy,” Ventriss directs one or two other plays at White Pines Inn every year, several of which he has written.
“The show is very free-form,” said Andres, who studied improvisation at the Players Workshop at Second City and belonged to Wit’s End Up, an improv group that regularly performed in a Palatine club and did a cable TV show. “No two shows are alike. We never know what’s going to happen.”
That’s due in large part to the fact that Ventriss and Andres recruit the cast from the audience. “The key is picking the right people to bring up on stage,” Andres said.
Henderson helps Andres scan the audience before each show to choose people for the three spirits, carolers and other characters. Then, before the play starts, Andres tells jokes and leads the group in a sing-along to identify good picks.
Andres tells the audience: “I’ve always loved the do-it-yourself `Messiah,’ but we couldn’t get the pipe organ in, so we’re going to do the do-it-yourself `Twelve Days of Christmas.’ ” Then he assigns one day to each table. “I get to see who’s going to be playful,” he said.
After he has zeroed in on likely actors, Andres slips into a Victorian coat and affects a British accent to transform himself into the narrator. Ventriss begins the play wearing formal clothing and a top hat, but slips off his coat and pants to reveal a nightgown for the bedroom scenes. This offers an opportunity to single out an audience member for some good-natured ribbing.
Although the two stars spend a few afternoons and evenings in early November at Ventriss’ home polishing the 21-page script and running lines, much of the performance is ad-libbed. That accounts for the fact that the show runs anywhere from an hour to an hour and a half.
The basic script is updated every year. “We try to keep current with things that are happening in the news,” Andres said. The good news, that is. “Scrooge, the Comedy” is designed as family entertainment, so President Clinton probably won’t get a mention this year, although Beanie Babies will.
Ad-libbed bits that work particularly well are kept in from year to year. One bit of shtick that always works is choosing the largest man in the house to play the part of Tiny Tim. The smallest child in the audience is selected for the honor of being the Spirit of Christmas Yet to Come. The role of Ebenezer’s fiance often falls to a pregnant woman.
Many fans see the show year after year. “It’s really homey and Christmasy,” said Steve Aurella of Bradley, Ill. He and his wife, Kendra, will return for the fourth time this year. Aurella said he enjoys the play “because they get the audience involved with the show.”
“Every year it’s something different,” added Kendra, who played a spirit one year. “It seems like they’ve improved it every year. I think that they’ve learned who to pick out of the audience.”
“It’s a very, very nice little theater they have in a rustic log cabin lodge,” said Chicagoan Leis Sandberg, who has seen “Scrooge, the Comedy” five or six times. His family comes to White Pines with several other families. Although the main purpose of the excursion is for the families to camp out together, Sandberg said, “The show is a highlight.” While admitting, “I’m the kind of guy who just wants to sit and doesn’t want to get picked,” he noted that “a lot of people in our group do like to participate. It’s very entertaining for the children.”
“Scrooge, the Comedy” was developed 10 years ago because of a misunderstanding. Two college students, who had been performing for school groups in the Mt. Morris area, went to one assignment planning to do a puppet show. When they arrived, they learned that the school was expecting a live performance of “A Christmas Carol.” In an hour, they devised a plan for an abbreviated version of the play, using kids from the audience to fill in the cast.
Henderson, who had just begun leasing space at the state park for her White Pines Inn, learned of their accomplishment and hired the pair to do the show during the holiday season as part of a dinner-theater concept she was developing. The college students who originated the concept of “Scrooge, the Comedy” went on to other things. But the show was so popular that Henderson hired other actors and has been running it every year.
“It works for all groups, all ages,” Henderson said. “I’ve seen 3-year-olds sitting mesmerized throughout the whole thing. Seniors love it.”
Andres declared that being part of “Scrooge, the Comedy” is unlike any other theatrical experience he has had.
“You do a show that’s only three weekends long — you do nine performances — and you can’t wait till it ends,” he said. “This one, we can’t wait till the next one.”
