Intriguing!

This sort of thing always intrigues me:

More info at Neil Gaiman's website: 

FOR TWO NIGHTS ONLY: A CHRISTMAS CAROL

And a link to the audio of an earlier reading by Mr. Gaiman here: 

Neil Gaiman Bringing Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" to NYC Town Hall

I'd like to see a recreation of a Dickens public reading someday!

Casting Call!

Did we see this before?

I think it's a list of characters from "A Christmas Carol" for purposes of putting on a stage production.

Interesting looks!

I see that the usually unnamed Cratchit kids are named Betty and Bob here, but who is Wait?

I guess we'll have to "wait" to find out!

One More Stop!

One more stop in the time machine for another Federal Theatre production!

It's back to Ohio for this 1937 show in Cleveland:

The artwork is striking, but I don't get it!

Next Stop!

 From Cincinnati in 1938, I'd go back to San Antonio in 1936:

I wonder what San Antonio was like in 1936 - that was the 100th anniversary of the Battle of the Alamo!

Where's That Time Machine?

When I get my time machine and can visit the 1930s for real, I'll check this out in Cincinnati in 1938:

I'll even spring for the 55¢ seats!    

"The Sketch" - Volume XXXVI (October 23, 1901 - January 15, 1902)

Here's a fun little find from a 1901/1902 issue of the British periodical "The Sketch":

A rare chance to see what a stage version of "Scrooge" starring Seymour Hicks!

We see both Bob Cratchit and Fred offering a toast to Scrooge.

A couple of takeaways from the Fred picture: Fred's last name is Wayland and it looks like he has four kids!

And I find it it interesting that the Cratchit family has a sign reading, "God Bless Us, Everyone." It's reminiscent of the scene from the 1901 silent movie:

I had though the movie had that sign because we couldn't hear Tiny Tim say his line, but apparently it was all the rage to have such a sign in 1901!

Do I need to hang one up for my next Christmas dinner?

In any event, this seems to indicate that Seymour Hicks was calling his adaptations "Scrooge" from way back when, not using the title "A Christmas Carol."

This issue of "The Sketch" also includes this little profile of the woman who composed the music for the "Scrooge" show:

Not sure if it's gossip, but interesting!

"A Christmas Carol" - Charles Dickens's Dramatic Reading as Read in America (1876)

"A Christmas Carol" (1876)

Charles Dickens's Dramatic Reading as Read in America

Lee & Shepard (Boston)

We go back to the nineteenth century for this cool item: the text of "A Christmas Carol" as used by Charles Dickens in his public readings.

With so many adaptations over the years, it's always interesting to see how Charles Dickens himself condensed the story for maximum dramatic effect.

Maybe actually endorsed by Mr. Dickens, maybe not, but in a neat paper cover for 15 cents!

"A Christmas Carol" - North Shore Music Theater

In my neck of the woods, a great holiday tradition is the North Shore Music Theater's annual presentation of "A Christmas Carol" starring David Coffee as Scrooge.

I've seen the show a number of times over the years and it's a lot of fun. David Coffee does a great job!

But, unfortunately, for obvious reasons they were unable to do the show this past holiday season.

Here a couple of articles about this issue which also give you an idea of the production in general:

Spotlight on David Coffee: NSMT's Ebenezer Scrooge - Northshore Magazine (nshoremag.com)

Feeling A Bit 'Bah Humbug' This Pandemic Christmas? One Actor Says Communing With Scrooge Can Help | The ARTery (wbur.org)

I can't wait to see the show in person again!

"Old Scrooge: A Christmas Carol in Five Staves" (1877) - Part 3

Now that we've seen the characters from ""Old Scrooge: A Christmas Carol in Five Staves," stage adaptation by Charles A. Scott from 1877, and what they'll be wearing and sitting on, we're ready to take a look at the changes to the story, big and small.

A promised, there's one huge one!

The script follows the book pretty closely and hits most of the plot points, largely keeping a lot of the original dialogue, with the usual expository dialogue added.

Here are a few excerpts of parts I thought were interesting. The first is this exchange between Scrooge and Bob Cratchit.

This is a side of Bob Cratchit that some adaptations add. I don't think it's implied in the original text. The "real" Bob just isn't like that!

Next is this sequence with the Ghost of Christmas Present:

Odd, isn't it?

This next scene is all-new:

I like that addition, as it shows the reformed Scrooge in action, immediately changing something he had seen in the future.

Next, Scrooge runs into Bob and Tiny Tim on Christmas morning:

This omits the need for the scene at the office on December 26 and also adds a little extra for Tiny Tim.

This next one is the big one. It takes a minute to let it sink in!

Wow, so Fred is married to Belle's daughter?! Shut up! I don't think I've seen that twist before! I love a good twist!

It also adds the backstory of how Scrooge and Belle met through Fan (Fanny)!

Belle also conveniently mentions that her husband died five years ago. Hmmm...

Then Scrooge comes in:

And the play ends as Scrooge puts the moves on Belle:

So, some fun stuff from 140+ years ago!

"Old Scrooge: A Christmas Carol in Five Staves" (1877) - Part 2

The book containing the 1877 stage play "Old Scrooge: A Christmas Carol in Five Stave," as adapted by Charles A. Scott, also includes lists of costumes, scenery, furniture and props for the staging of the show.

I think they're interesting...

Here's a look at the first page of the script to give the general idea.

Next, we'll take a look at a couple of wacky changes!

"Old Scrooge: A Christmas Carol in Five Staves" (1877) - Part 1

"Old Scrooge: A Christmas Carol in Five Staves" (1877) 

Newark, N.J. Soldiers' Home Print

Adaptor: Charles A. Scott

We head back to the boards for this 1877 dramatization by Charles A. Scott entitled "Old Scrooge: A Christmas Carol in Five Staves."

When coming across such things, I always wonder if the adaptor throws a curveball and this one has a doozie! More about that later!

First: Let's take a look at the cast of characters:

Most of them are self-explanatory. With a couple of the men that seem mysterious, you can figure out who they are if you also see the women.

Mr. Kemper would be tough to figure out, but when you see Mrs. Belle Kemper, you can figure out that he's Belle's husband.

Simmrly, Mr. James Badger would be tough to guess, until we see Mrs. Caroline Badger, as we know Caroline is the wife who's releived Scrooge died in the future.

Chaelres A. Scott alos gives a first anme og Thomas to Topper, which is intetsing because there's also "Thomas, a servant" who works for Fred. So, there are two Thomases in Fred's party scene, which violates the unwritten rule having havng twocharcters with the same frst name.

Other chrcters who are unnamed in the book are given names, with Mr. Henry Snapper the toughest to guess. He comes afeter Topper, though, beacsue he's another guest at Fred's party.

Fred's wife ("Mrs. Merry"), Mrs. Cratchit and Mrs. Fezzwig were apparenlt not in the line when they were giving out names!

"A Christmas Carol! or Past, Present & Future" (1844)

"A Christmas Carol! or Past, Present & Future" (1844)

Adaptor: Edward Stirling

We now take a look at the playbill for another early stage adaptation of "A Christmas Carol," this one with "Past, Present & Future" tagged on.

Edward Stirling must have started adapting the book right away, as the date of the first show was February 5, 1844, not much more than a month after it was published!

I don't have the text of this stage version available, but the playbill does give quite a bit of information about the show amongst the hyperbole, with a few things that make you wonder.

The first thing that seems a bit different is "Dr. Dilworth (a Pedagogue)" listed in the cast for "Stave the First." This would likely be the schoolmaster from Scrooge's boyhood. As with several characters in the original book, he's not named.

We also have the Belle stand-in, named "Bella Morton" here. Belle's named gets changed more than any other character's, it seems. I think the description of her as "Scrooge's first, his only love, save gold" is awesome!

We also seem to get a full complement of Cratchit children in "Stave Second," with Tiny Tim, Martha, Peter nd Belinda, along with Tom and Sally, the traditionally unnamed younger kids with a penchant for putting spoons in their mouths!

While names are being handed out to characters, we have Mr. Topper and Mr. Floss, described as "Worldly Friends of Old Scrooge," who most likely would be the gentlemen talking about him in the future. This is obviously not the same Topper who steals the show at Fred's party.

Along with Old Joe, there's Mrs. Dibler (misspelled again!), properly identified as the laundress, and Mr. Blink, the newly-christened undertaker's man. No mention of the charwoman, however.

The mystery to me is the character listed as "Sally, (a Nurse)" toward the end. Who could that be?

In any case it looks like a fun show.

As for the claim that this is "The only one by permission pf Charles Dickens, Esq." - nope, I don't buy it!