‘Star Trek’ actor returns to stage in ‘A Christmas Carol’ at UNLV

Talk about being out of your orbit.

For many audiences, Armin Shimerman is — and always will be — Quark, the Ferengi bar owner of "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine."

Not this season.

Instead of future Ferenginar, Shimerman has switched his orbit to Victorian-era London.

But Shimerman's still playing a money-grubbing miser: Ebenezer Scrooge, the protagonist of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol," which Nevada Conservatory Theatre brings to UNLV's Judy Bayley Theatre starting Thursday.

In Dickens' classic tale, Scrooge proclaims his anti-Christmas sentiment with "Bah, humbug!" bluster, asserting that, "if I could work my will ... every idiot who goes about with 'Merry Christmas' on his lips, should be boiled with his own pudding, and buried with a stake of holly through his heart."

That is, until the spirits of Christmas past, present and future show Scrooge the error of his ways, prompting him to rediscover the heart — and humanity — at the center of the holiday.

That's exactly what's happening during a recent rehearsal, as Shimerman joins his castmates for a jolly Christmas party scene hosted by Scrooge's nephew Fred (played by Brandon Burk, former artistic director of Las Vegas' Onyx Theatre).

Director Brian Vaughn (better known to area theatergoers as co-artistic director of the Utah Shakespeare Festival) guides the merry movements as the on-stage guests sing carols, play games and bubble with seasonal spirit.

Shimerman's Scrooge, meanwhile, hovers at the edge of the fun, recounting his reactions to the Ghost of Christmas Present (Stephon Pettway).

"I want to stay!" Scrooge tells the spirit as a guessing game commences, never suspecting that he's the focus of the clues. And, after one guest solves the puzzle, Scrooge ruefully reflects on the words used to describe him: "Quite clever and quite true — a savage beast."

Shimerman has played Scrooge once before — in a touring company that played Sun Valley, Idaho, when he was 23.

The role represents "a wonderful, emotional journey," Shimerman says, describing a character who goes from "bah, humbug" misanthropy to one who vows to, as Dickens wrote, "honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year."

As the actor notes, "there are very few parts like that." Little wonder, then, that "I wanted to do it again."

After all, "I'm a long way from 23," says Shimerman, who's now 66. "The idea that (Scrooge is) facing death ... has a huge hold on me."

The play also addresses the fact that "we all want to be redeemed," Shimerman comments. "In our heart of hearts, we're looking to be better people." And "A Christmas Carol" argues that "even this irredeemable character can be redeemed."

As for the miserly connections between Scrooge and Quark, "there is a great difference" between the two, Shimerman maintains.

After all, "the Ferengi are acquisitive because that's their religion," he says. "They're actually very moral." By contrast, as a Christian, Scrooge should display "kindness and benevolence."

Eventually, he does — but only after learning the lessons taught by the ghosts of Christmases past, present and future.

"A Christmas Carol's" ghost-story aspects are "in many ways, Shakespearean," says Vaughn, who makes his third return to NCT, UNLV's professional theater training program, following roles in 2010's "Count Dracula" and 2012's "The Seagull."

But never fear — this "Christmas Carol" is "still Dickens," Vaughn says, noting that NCT's production remains "true to the novel."

In keeping with its title, this version incorporates several venerable Christmas carols — from "God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen" to "The Holly and the Ivy" — that serve as musical interludes, taking audiences "from scene to scene," the director explains.

In the process, he explains, members of the company "sort of act as narrators," at times directly addressing the audience in the style of another Dickens stage adaptation, the Tony-winning "The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby."

And while "A Christmas Carol" has become a holiday perennial thanks to countless stage and screen adaptations, familiarity breeds not contempt but compassion, Vaughn suggests.

"I think it's good for us as human beings to take a step back and look at ourselves," he comments, "and what the holiday really means," notably "doing good for your fellow man."

Besides, "every person has been in a similar place" along with Scrooge, Vaughn continues. And, like Scrooge, "having a second chance" makes all the difference. "That's why people keep doing 'A Christmas Carol.' "

That's also why Shimerman's pleased to be doing "A Christmas Carol" again — after all these years.

Not only is it "wonderful to be regalvanized, and reenergized" working with younger NCT cast members, Shimerman says, it's a chance to ponder "the woulda, coulda, shouldas" of life.

"You think, what has my life been? Are you happy?" Shimerman says. "You still have a chance to change it. To make a difference."

— Read more from Carol Cling at reviewjournal.com. Contact her at ccling@reviewjournal.com and follow @CarolSCling on Twitter.