Twelve Tims, some still tiny, celebrate 25th ‘A Christmas Carol’

An emotional reunion for veterans of McCarter’s annual stage production

By: Hilary Parker
   There were no lords a-leaping or maids a-milking, and nary a partridge in sight.
   But on the 16th day before Christmas, McCarter Theatre gave to Princeton … 12 Tiny Tims, in honor of the 25th anniversary of the theater’s "A Christmas Carol" production.
   "Can all the Tiny Tims please stand up?" asked Danny Hallowell, this year’s Tiny Tim, at the end of the curtain calls of Friday night’s production. There, in the front rows of the orchestra section, rose 11 other Tiny Tims — some tinier than others.
   It was an emotional reunion for some of the Tims, as they reflected back on their time in the show and their lives since.
   For Truestar Urian, Tiny Tim 1987, it was even more poignant, given his bond with Danny Hallowell.
   "It’s different especially, for me because I know the current Tiny Tim very well," said Mr. Urian. "I was his nanny and taught him how to swim."
   Currently a lieutenant with Mercer Engine Co. No. 3 in Princeton and a nanny, Mr. Urian said his experiences in "A Christmas Carol" helped him develop public-speaking skills and confidence in front of people. While he enjoyed playing Tiny Tim, the experience did not prompt Mr. Urian to pursue a subsequent acting career.
   "It was a one-and-only time thing," Mr. Urian said.
   The experience in "A Christmas Carol" did help to launch the career of Clarke McFarlane, 1980’s Tiny Tim and the first to play the role in McCarter’s staging. Now a professional juggler and circus artist in New York City, Mr. McFarlane remembered back to one of his first forays into the performing arts.
   "At the time, it was very exciting to be involved with a huge professional production," Mr. McFarlane said. "I was always involved in theater. It really gave me a big taste of what it’s like to be in a real, professional theater show."
   Even 25 years later, Mr. McFarlane remembered the script, although he said some changes have been made in McCarter’s newer production. While he was saying the lines in his head, some of the other Tiny Tims just couldn’t quite keep it inside.
   "We’re saying them out loud," said Ben Rose, Tiny Tim in 1997 and 1998. Now a junior at West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South, Ben said his brother, Josh, also portrayed Tiny Tim in 1999 and 2000. Ben was sitting with his friend, Michael Perl, also a student at High School South and Tiny Tim in 1996.
   "It really introduced me to acting," Michael said. "It gave me confidence in speaking in front of groups."
   Michael credits the confidence he gained in the McCarter production with helping him achieve his Eagle Scout ranking with the Boy Scouts. Though he is no longer active on stage, Michael is still involved in theater, working backstage on the tech crew with his high school’s productions.
   Tiny Tim was no athlete, but the confidence from playing the role in 1996 has helped Nykai Rambharan, a 10th-grader at Ewing High School, in his athletic career. An avid soccer, basketball and baseball player, Nykai said he has not acted since he left the McCarter stage, but that the experience helps him to this day on the court and in the field.
   "It did open up a different horizon," he said. "It made me a lot more confident."
   Chances are, in just a few short years, Danny Hallowell will also look back on his starring role as Tiny Tim and reflect on its impact on his life. For now, though, Danny, a second-grader at Princeton Academy of the Sacred Heart, is content to live in the present and enjoy his time in the spotlight, and his third year playing Tiny Tim.
   "It’s very fun," Danny said.
   His favorite part of being in the production isn’t the fame, though. Just as Tiny Tim and Scrooge forge a friendship in the Dickens classic, Danny has made a wonderful new friend. And so, he shared his favorite thing about being Tiny Tim.
   "Being with the actors, especially David," Danny said, pausing long enough to make it clear that this Tiny Tim has mastered the art of comic timing, "who’s Scrooge."