MILWAUKEE — For more than five decades, actor James Pickering has been a cornerstone of Milwaukee’s theater community. This year marks a special milestone as A Christmas Carol celebrates 50 years at the Pabst Theater — and Pickering has been there from the very beginning.
Watch: Milwaukee theater legend James Pickering reflects on 50 years of 'A Christmas Carol'
Pickering was in the original performance 50 years ago, played Scrooge through the 1990s and 2000s, and continues to be part of the production today. I sat down with him to discuss what this story means to him and why it has become such a beloved Milwaukee holiday tradition.
“It’s either a tribute to my perseverance or my singular lack of imagination, but I love the story,” Pickering said. “I think A Christmas Carol is the great secular story of human redemption to me.”
Pickering believes the story has a transformative power that extends beyond the theater walls.
“A father, a mother and three kids come in to see A Christmas Carol. Five kids leave,” Pickering said. “I believe it does that. I believe the story does that. It hits the kid in us.”
The production has become deeply woven into Milwaukee families’ holiday traditions. Pickering fondly remembers what a theater supporter once told him years ago when he was still playing Scrooge.
“It was a rep supporter named Rob Manigold back in the day, and he once said, ‘It ain’t Christmas till Jim Pickering says it’s Christmas,’” Pickering said. “I’ve always been very grateful for that, very fond of that saying.”
In 1993, I was part of the cast and shared this memory on TMJ4 News Today of me and Jim.
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