Photos, video: Philip Pleasants takes final bow as Scrooge

The DCPA Theatre Company closed its 23rd staging of A Christmas Carol on Sunday, marking Philip Pleasants’ 357th and final performance as Scrooge since 2005.

Pleasants, 78, decided several months ago this would be his final run as Scrooge.  More than 235,000 have now seen him perform his signature role in Denver.

The  performance drew a full standing ovation from the crowd of 684. That in itself is not unusual, but the crowd stayed standing, as as if sensing they were witnessing something special. Then Producing Artistic Director Kent Thompson took to the stage and announced the significance of the day, which drew a prolonged and appreciative response from both the crowd and Pleasants’ castmates.

DCPA Theatre Company dresser Alan Richards presented Pleasants with flowers, and actor Kathleen McCall presented him with both a framed rendering of his Scrooge costume, as well as the signature Scrooge hat designed by Kevin Copenhaver.

“After all this, I am going to retire more often,” said Pleasants, who is not retiring from acting. In fact, Pleasants will next appear in the LBJ drama All the Way, opening Jan. 29.

Read more: Philip Pleasants a Scrooge for the ages

The cast then retired to the backstage green room for a quick toast and hugs. That was followed across the street by a DCPA A Christmas Carol tradition: A party hosted by the parents of the children in the cast. Pleasants joined the cast there in the Newman Building for a special goodbye cake designed by the Azucar Bakery.

Then, another A Christmas Carol tradition: Each year, the children in the cast write, perform and produce their own mini-movie. This year’s effort, called Staying Alive, was a 20-minute short that honored and satirized just about every space film from the ’70s and ’80s, including Aliens and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. The story loosely followed the demise of an evil space queen whose Achilles’ Heel is disco dancing.

Beginning next season, Scrooge will be primarily played by company veteran and audience favorite Sam Gregory.

Video and photos by John Moore for the DCPA NewsCenter.

Our full photo gallery from Closing Day of A Christmas Carol:

Final Day: 'A Christmas Carol' 2015

2015 ‘Meet the Cast’ profiles:
Meet Courtney Capek (Belle)
Meet Shannan Steele (Fred’s wife)
Meet Jake Williamson (Ensemble)
Meet Ben Heil (Peter Cratchit)
Meet Ella Galaty (Fan)
Meet Allen Dorsey (Dick Wilkins and Christmas Yet to Come)
Meet Napoleon M Douglas (Ensemble)

Selected previous NewsCenter coverage of A Christmas Carol:
Daddies and nannies: Mother’s little helpers on A Christmas Carol
Photos, video: Your first look at A Christmas Carol 2015
Video: Old Joe’s makeup transformation as time-lapse
Philip Pleasants: A Scrooge for the ages, one last time
First rehearsal: Scrooge, in typical fashion: Let’s get to work!
From Denver Center’s Tiny Tim to TV’s Fuller House
Beginnings and endings for stars of A Christmas Carol, The SantaLand Diaries
Video: Leslie O’Carroll performs A Christmas O’Carroll … in 5 minutes
Actor Scott McLean is now also a published children’s author
Video: The Christmas Carol Coast to Coast Challenge. No. 1: Denver
By the numbers: A Christmas Carol over 22 years at the DCPA
First day of 2014 rehearsal: Interviews, cast list and photos

Philip Pleasants takes his final bow as Scrooge. Photo by John Moore for the DCPA NewsCenter.

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