Exclusive Interview
‘A Carol for Two’: Ginna Claire Mason, Jordan Litz Bring Wicked Fun & Original Music to Hallmark Movie
Hallmark Channel is feeling a bit wicked this holiday season. A Carol for Two features two members of the Wicked family, Ginna Claire Mason (a former Glinda in the Broadway musical) and Jordan Litz (the musical’s current Fiyero). In an interview with Swooon, Mason and Litz open up about the new holiday musical movie that’s near and dear to their hearts.
Mason explains that her character, Violette, is a “small-town girl” and a “Broadway dreamer” who moves to New York City hoping to catch her big break. When a job doesn’t pan out, Mason reveals that Violette’s “faced with this decision to right off the bat give up and go back home, or see what it’s like to keep your boots on the ground and try to make something happen.”
That’s when she walks into Fiore’s, a legendary theater district diner famous for its singing wait staff. There, she meets Alex, a fellow Broadway dreamer who writes musicals on the side. Both Mason and Litz admit they see themselves in their characters.
Hallmark Media / Steve Ackerman
After reading the script, Litz says the role “felt like it was just me, so I didn’t have to step on set and put anything on.” A Carol for Two marks Litz’s film debut. Even though he didn’t know Mason before filming the movie, it was “very comforting” to have her around because she’s part of the Wicked family.
Mason admits she noticed “a lot of parallels” between herself and Violette. “I myself am a small-town girl who moved to New York to chase a big dream,” she says. The actress tells Swooon that of the Hallmark movies she’s gotten to do so far, this one “definitely hits the closest to home for me, and it’s definitely because of the Broadway storyline, but also just getting the chance to incorporate music that was so special. We got to sing live on set. I think it felt really collaborative. Jordan did some really incredible arrangements and wrote some harmonies for us and really plays the piano in the film, which is really cool. To incorporate our background into this moment in time, this Christmas movie you never knew you needed if you love Broadway, is really special.”
Yes, there will be original music in A Carol for Two. Mason teases there’s a song that is “very central to the storyline.” During the table read, Mason actually texted one of her best friends to write a song right then and there. Forty minutes later, Hallmark had an original song. For the Wicked lovers out there, Mason says they “work in as many subtle and not so subtle Wicked references as possible.” Litz adds, “There’s a couple that are not subtle at all.”
Mason also reveals that one of the sound designers told her that “the music for this movie set the bar at a whole other level for what music can be within a Hallmark movie, so that was really exciting and reassuring and affirming to feel like that the work we did is loved, and I hope they do lots more music and Broadway crossovers.”
A Carol for Two will have a romance plot line, but Mason stresses that the “because we’re playing artists, there still is this central storyline of chasing our passions and our dreams. I think that’s really special, that it’s not just a love story. It feels more layered than that to me.”
The Hallmark film is coming out just weeks before the Wicked movie, which stars Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, and Jonathan Bailey. The actors have noticed just how much hype the musical is getting with the film’s release around the corner.
“I feel like Wicked hasn’t been this hot and this on fire since it opened 20 years ago,” Litz says. “Granted, Wicked is sold out every single night, but there’s an energy in the theater every night that feels a little different, especially every time the anniversary rolls around.” Mason believes there’s “just going to be a whole new generation of Wicked lovers because of this film.”
A Carol for Two, Movie Premiere, November 1, 8/7c, Hallmark Channel
