Ginna Claire Mason and Jordan Litz Talk A Carol For Two and Their Wicked Movie Reactions!
It’s a very Wicked holiday as Broadway stars Ginna Claire Mason and Jordan Litz lead Hallmark Channel’s A Carol For Two. With a Cyrano de Bergerac twist, it follows a talented newbie to New York who gets a job as a singing waitress. Things got complex when her Christmas duet partner begins to develop feelings for her after setting her up with his cousin. Pop Culture Planet’s Kristen Maldonado spoke with the duo about their new holiday film and their reactions to the Wicked movie.
Litz called himself a “very regimented, militant actor” when it comes to preparation. “I love to drill scenes into the ground so that I'm not even thinking about the lines when I get out onto stage or onto set. It's just so in me that I can have fun and be free to make choices and and do whatever I want,” he told me, which worked well as they only had 15 days to film this movie. Mason added: “It's important to have someone who is invested in the words and the scene work. I think some of what Jordan's talking about that regimented process is our theater training. When you're doing scenes eight times a week, it does feel so good to just have that material in your bones.”
While both of their character work as singing waiters, Litz’s character is also an aspiring composer, which he really connected with. Not only did he really play the piano, but he also wrote arrangements and harmonies for them when it came to their Christmas songs in the film. “I’ve always had harmonies running through my mind, especially with the Wicked music because GC and I have been a part of this show for years and years and years,” Litz said. “I'm just a harmony-centric kind of person so to be able to to add my own spin on things and have GC ride along on the bandwagon with me every step of the way was just […] a cool, freeing experience.”
While they cover a ton of our favorite Christmas songs in A Carol For Two, they even get to sing an original song. “A new favorite Christmas song is going to be the song that was written for this movie. It's called ‘Who Knew It’d Be You This Christmas’ and one of my best friends actually wrote it, which is really sweet for me,” shared Mason. “I think it's mad catchy. I hope it makes it into the to the Christmas music canon.”
Both Litz and Mason got their starts in Wicked on Broadway. Mason was a past Glinda, while Litz currently stars as Fiyero in the show. They were thrilled about seeing the new film starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo with their Wicked family. “We recently got to go to a screening of the film and it was really special. The original Broadway cast was invited and the current cast and then everyone who's played a witch on Broadway, which is really sweet. It’s sort of this select few people. It was so cool to have the creative team and Cynthia and Ariana get up and talk about how this was their love letter to Broadway and how it was really important to them that they were continuing this Legacy that we'd helped create,” gushed Mason. “I just felt like they went above and beyond trying to make us feel a part of it and honored. The movie definitely exceeded my wildest expectations. This is a movie that almost since [the show] came out 21 years ago they've talked about making. I feel like they waited for the right leads and for the right director. They really did it right.”
“Being in the show as long as we have, we'd go in with the most critical ear and the most critical eye, but, from the moment the downbeat of the overture started, I was just like a mess and so emotional,” said Litz. “We were all wanting it to succeed and were all so excited for every little moment that we know so well in the show. I love every second of it.”
Mason continued: “I cried the most during the Ozdust Ballroom. They captured it so well and I was sitting next to Mary Kate [Morrissey] who was my Elphaba tour and his current Elphaba. We just held each other because that's such a special moment on stage where you get to connect with your person. It's this huge turning point in the plot so it was really sweet to see that amplified but in a really cinematic way.”
For Wicked fans, the duo made sure to include tons of Easter eggs to the show in A Carol For Two. “Jordan and I saw to it that we could incorporate as many subtle and not so subtle Wicked references in the movie and just be the kind of theater kids that spout out nerdy theater facts because that's what us nerdy theater kids do,” shared Mason. “One of the reasons I come to New York is because my aunt was a Broadway performer and I'm talking about how she was in the original cast of Skybird. Originally it just said she was in a show and I was like, no, nerdy theater kids would be like it was this year and it was the original cast and it was this show.”
Watch A Carol For Two on Hallmark Channel and don’t miss Wicked out November 22 in theaters.
