Scrooge by Radio Light, Bryan Cranston Leads A Christmas Carol in Burbank
Bryan Cranston, Jean Smart and Noah Wyle read A Christmas Carol at Burbank’s Garry Marshall Theatre on December 17.
Bryan Cranston will play Ebenezer Scrooge in a one-night staged reading of A Christmas Carol at Burbank’s Garry Marshall Theatre on Thursday, December 17, at 7 p.m., a benefit for the Ed Asner Family Center.
Time Out reported the cast. Jean Smart plays the Ghost of Christmas Past, Noah Wyle plays Scrooge’s nephew Fred, and Connor Tomlinson plays Bob Cratchit. Clancy Brown, Dorian Harewood, Samantha Sloyan, Tal Anderson, Chelsea Darnell and Spencer Harte fill out the ensemble. Tom Bergeron hosts and narrates, and Victor Nelli directs.
How the Reading Is Staged
The evening is staged as a radio play, with live music and a Foley artist making the sound effects in real time, according to Time Out. The center’s event page bills it as “a star-studded holiday tradition” that returns this year. The evening also honors Vicki Dummer, head of current programming at Warner Bros. Discovery.
The Ed Asner Family Center is a nonprofit founded by Matthew Asner and Navah Paskowitz-Asner in honor of Ed Asner, the star of The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Lou Grant. Time Out reported that it supports neurodivergent people and their families with mental health services, arts programs and employment pathways. Cranston last turned up in these pages pouring for Dos Hombres at SoFi Stadium, and the reading joins a busy season of stage nights across the city.
What a Seat Costs, by the Numbers
The center’s page lists four sponsorship levels, each named for a character in the story. Velvet Hollywood divided each level by the premium tickets it includes to compare it with a single seat. Sponsorships also carry gift bags, reception passes and program recognition, so this is a rough comparison.
| Level | Price | Premium tickets | Price per ticket |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ebenezer Scrooge | $10,000 | 6 | About $1,667 |
| Ghost of Christmas Present | $7,500 | 4 | $1,875 |
| Ghost of Christmas Past | $5,000 | 3 | About $1,667 |
| Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come | $2,500 | 2 | $1,250 |
| Single in-person seat | $500 | 1 | $500 |
Practical Details
Time Out lists 75 in-person seats at $500, which include holiday food and drinks before and after the show and a gift bag. The livestream runs on Broadway Unlocked for $25, after a 24-hour $20 presale that began at noon on October 24. Tickets are sold through the Ed Asner Family Center.
