Production Notes
Cast
( 2—5 women / 3—9 men / 1—10 neutral )
( 2—5 women / 3—9 men / 1—10 neutral )
MR. SCROOGE
EBENEEZER BELLE MARLEY SPIRIT 1 SPIRIT 2 FRED NIECE BOB CRATCHIT MRS. CRATCHIT PETER MARTHA TINY TIM VISITOR 1 VISITOR 2 BUSINESSMAN 1 BUSINESSMAN 2 JOE LAUNDRESS BOY/GIRL FEZZIWIG MAID/BUTLER NARRATOR(S) |
A miser.
Scrooge as a young man. Ebeneezer’s bride to be. Scrooge’s dead partner. The Ghost of Christmas Past. The Ghost of Christmas Present. Scrooge’s nephew. Fred’s wife. Scrooge’s clerk. Bob’s wife. The eldest Cratchit son. The eldest Cratchit daughter. The youngest Cratchit son. A collector of charity. Another. One of Scrooge’s business associates. Another. A petty criminal. Another. An enterprising child. Scrooge’s former employer. Fred’s servant. The keepers of the story. |
Time
The Middle of the Nineteenth Century. |
Place
London, England. |
Production Options
- The musical segues are mere suggestions. In their absence, proper nouns may be replaced with pronouns.
- Passages of narration may be divided among several narrators to suggest dramatic transitions.
- In a fully-staged production, the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come may appear in the flesh (as it were). Also, redundant narration may be cut.
- Genders of several roles are flexible; pronouns, nouns, and/or phrases may be changed.
- Roles may be doubled, tripled, quadrupled, etc. A cast of six may be achieved as follows:
Mature Man
SCROOGE Middle-Aged Man MARLEY BOB JOE FEZZIWIG NARRATOR 2 Young Man EBENEEZER SPIRIT 2 FRED PETER BUSINESSMAN 1 NARRATOR 4 |
Child
SPIRIT 1 TINY TIM BOY NARRATOR 1 Middle-Aged Woman MRS. CRATCHIT VISITOR 2 BUSINESSMAN 2 LAUNDRESS NARRATOR 3 Young Woman BELLE NIECE MARTHA VISITOR 1 MAID NARRATOR 5 |
Suggestions for Instrumental Musical Segues
Cue
AT RISE "Good after . . . Bah!" "Scrooge went home as well." "Scrooge . . . fell asleep upon the instant." "Clear away . . . lots of room for dancing here!" "Scrooge . . . sank into a heavy sleep." "He . . . shuffled his slippers to the door." "Still . . . whether he likes it or not." "The bed curtains . . . rings and all." "Scrooge . . . towards his nephew's house." "God bless us, every one!" |
Title
"Patapan" "Fum, Fum, Fum" "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" "Carol of the Bells" "Bring a Torch, Jeanette Isabella" "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" "Good King Wenceslas" "Coventry Carol" "I Saw Three Ships" "The Holly & the Ivy" "Ding Dong Merrily on High" |
A well-rounded evening of entertainment, much like Christmas itself, consists of both introspection and escapism. For this reason, an abridged version of A Christmas Carol pairs well with a light-hearted second act--perhaps a collection of songs and skits.