Tommy Steele on Scrooge: The Musical

Leslie Bricusse's musical Scrooge began life as a film, in 1970, starring Albert Finney. It's since been adapted for the stage, however, and has become a favourite for both professional and amateur theatre groups around the world.

In the UK, a highly successful touring production has seen a swathe of actors in the role of Ebenezer Scrooge, including Eastenders star Shane Richie, comedian Michael Barrymore and fifties teen idol Tommy Steele. (This author also recalls the late Anthony Newley, who wrote the lyrics to Leslie Bricusse's tunes for Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, taking on the part in the early nineties.)

Last week, Scrooge came to the Liverpool Empire. Catherine Jones of the Liverpool Echo talked to the star about his love for the city "and why Scrooge is the King Lear of musicals":

Consummate pro that [Steele] is though, even after nearly 10 years playing the cantankerous old miser of Dickens’s evergreen festive tale, the 74-year-old is determined to make sure he gives audiences the best show he can. "I love it," he enthuses.  

"The part is probably one of the best three parts I've ever had, and also it suits me because it's like an actor's King Lear isn't it?" The make-up is more Richard III of course.

Read the full article here.

Diagnosing Tiny Tim: What ailed Scrooge's little friend?

One of the country's favorite holiday stories contains a medical mystery that over the years has tested medical sleuths. 

A Christmas Carol, today best known as Scrooge, has transcended the boundaries of time since it was written in 1843 with its basic messages of good will to all mankind. And, now with the story easily available on video or DVD, it continues to remind us all to be kind to one another. 

But, as we move further into the 21st Century, for some fans of the Charles Dickens classic, it still leaves one question unanswered. What exactly was wrong with Bob Cratchit's youngest son, Tiny Tim? As the World Wide Web has grown, theories of what ailed Tiny Tim have spread.

The Symptoms 

Thanks to the Ghost of Christmas Present, we know that Tiny Tim would soon die. We know that Tiny Tim used a crutch, was very small, and very sick. ...

Read the full article at Newswise: "Diagnosing Tiny Tim: What the Internet's Medical Sleuths Say Ailed Scrooge's Little Friend, and One Doctor's Opinion"

A doff of the hat to @markwinter56 on Twitter!

Illustration: Bob Cratchit holds Tiny Tim in a

19th-century illustration by Fred Barnard

'Tis the season...

Image: The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, from the Northern Ballet's production of A Christmas Carol

Listings: Scrooge on Stage, 2011-12

Got a production of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol or Scrooge to add to the listings? Leave a comment below.

UNITED KINGDOM

December 6 - January 15 Greenwich Playhouse, London
A Christmas Carol - a family-friendly stage version of Dickens's beloved festive morality tale. Ages 3+

December 17 - January 3 The Maddermarket Theatre, Norwich
A Christmas Carol - adapted by John Mortimer from Charles Dickens

UNITED STATES

Connecticut
November 25 - December 30 Hartford Stage, Hartford, CT
A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story of Christmas - adapted by Michael Wilson

North Carolina

November 25 - December 24 Triad Stage, Greensboro, NC
A Christmas Carol - a holiday tale, by Charles Dickens, adapted by Preston Lane

December 9 - 18 Theatre Charlotte, Charlotte, NC
A Christmas Carol - the classic tale, adapted by John Jakes from the novel by Charles Dickens

Texas
November 18 - December 23 Artisan Center Theater, Hurst, TX
Scrooge: The Musical - book, music and lyrics by Leslie Bricusse

Washington
November 18 - December 18 Spokane Civic Theatre, Spokane, WA
A Christmas Carol - a holiday class, adapted by Barbara Field

When did the three ghosts visit Scrooge?

I grew up on movie versions of Scrooge long before I read the original A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens. One element of the story that most film adaptations have in common is Jacob Marley's promise that the spirits would appear to Scrooge one after the other -- the first when the bell tolls one, the second when the bell tolls two, the third when the bell tolls three.

I was quite confused, therefore, when I read the Dickens novella closely, to discover that Marley's ghost said the visitations would occur over three nights (from Stave I):

"Without their visits," said the Ghost, "you cannot hope to shun the path I tread. Expect the first tomorrow, when the bell tolls one." 

"Couldn't I take `em all at once, and have it over, Jacob?" hinted Scrooge. 

"Expect the second on the next night at the same hour. The third upon the next night when the last stroke of twelve has ceased to vibrate. Look to see me no more; and look that, for your own sake, you remember what has passed between us!"

This, of course, makes sense of the miser's later surprise when he wakes up on Christmas morning (from Stave V):

"What's to-day, my fine fellow?" said Scrooge. 

"To-day?" replied the boy. "Why, Christmas Day." 

"It's Christmas Day!" said Scrooge to himself. "I haven't missed it. The Spirits have done it all in one night. They can do anything they like. Of course they can. Of course they can. Hallo, my fine fellow!"

The spirits did everything in one night. Interestingly, this bit of dialogue is almost always retained in the films, even though it makes little sense if Marley promised they'd all turn up on the same night anyway. (At least one movie version is faithful to Dickens on this point: Disney's A Christmas Carol (2009).)

I like this aspect of the story. It tells us that even mixed in with Scrooge's horrible experience was grace and mercy. He requested that the spirits come "all at once," and -- although, God knows, Scrooge didn't deserve such mercy -- his plea was heard.

Did a solicitor's office in Yorkshire inspire Dickens's A Christmas Carol?

This fascinating video shows the office in the town of Malton, North Yorkshire, believed to have inspired Charles Dickens in his description of Ebenezer Scrooge's office. (See also yesterday's post, where we locate Scrooge's counting house near Cornhill, in the City of London.)

In 1843, the building housed the offices of solicitor Charles Smithson. Dickens visited his friend that year and later told him he had the rooms in mind as he wrote A Christmas Carol. He also said the church of St Leonard's inspired his description of the church bells ringing on Christmas morning, in Stave V of his story.

Watch the video below, or click here to watch it on YouTube.

Where was Scrooge's office?

While Charles Dickens never tells us precisely where Ebenezer Scrooge's counting house was located, the clues in A Christmas Carol suggest it was in the City of London. The "City" refers to a particular area of London, the core of roughly one square mile (it is even called The Square Mile, colloquially) from which the capital historically grew. It was and continues to be the centre of finance and commerce in London.

We can guess this location partly because Scrooge is a trader, merchant or businessman of some sort, but also because Dickens mentions several parts of the City by name. St Paul's Cathedral, with its famous dome, is mentioned in Stave I, and on his way home to Camden Town, Bob Cratchit (we only know him as Scrooge's anonymous clerk at this stage) slides down Cornhill (a City street) on the ice. As Camden Town is several miles northwest of the City, Scrooge's offices would certainly be somewhere east or south of Cornhill.

Describing the immediate vicinity of the office (or warehouse), Dickens mentions a courtyard and "the ancient tower of a church, whose gruff old bell was always peeping slyly down at Scrooge out of a Gothic window in the wall." The church may well be St Michael's, Cornhill, on which basis the City of London's Dickens Walk identifies the exact site of Scrooge & Marley's as Newman's Court.

To see just how far Bob Cratchit would have run home from work (ran, and after 20 slides down Cornhill, no less), see this map of London from 1844. Cornhill is at roughly J5, where Camden Town is just to the right of the large green area (Regents Park) at E2, approximately.

Photo: John Salmon (licensed for reuse under Creative Commons)

The Anonymous Bob Cratchit

Here's an interesting thing I noticed when rereading A Christmas Carol: Bob Cratchit isn't even mentioned by name until well into the third chapter. He first appears, unnamed, a few pages into Stave I:

The door of Scrooge's counting-house was open that he might keep his eye upon his clerk, who in a dismal little cell beyond, a sort of tank, was copying letters.

For the rest of that chapter, he is referred to simply as the clerk. We only learn his name in Stave III: The Second of the Three Spirits:

And perhaps it was the pleasure the good Spirit had in showing off this power of his, or else it was his own kind, generous, hearty nature, and his sympathy with all poor men, that led him straight to Scrooge's clerk's; for there he went, and took Scrooge with him, holding to his robe; and on the threshold of the door the Spirit smiled, and stopped to bless Bob Cratchit's dwelling with the sprinkling of his torch.

I'm sure there are many aspects of the story we take for granted until we revisit Dickens's words for ourselves.

Read A Christmas Carol Online

A Christmas Carol: Poster Art (Prague Playhouse)

This production of A Christmas Carol was performed at the Prague Playhouse, an English-speaking theatre in the capital city of the Czech Republic, in its 2007-2008 season. This poster art for the production is beautiful:

Scrooge: Which Actor Played Him Best?

Who was the best Scrooge on film?

Come December, this author will be eagerly dusting off his Christmas DVDs and settling down with a carton of eggnog to enjoy a handful of movie adaptations of A Christmas Carol.

The British character actor Alastair Sim has traditionally claimed the title of best Scrooge, for his sterling performance in the 1951 film. But does he deserve the accolade, or are there other actors who have excelled in the role? The competition is surprisingly fierce.

One of the earliest screen Scrooges was Seymour Hicks (pictured), in the 1935 film Scrooge. He played the old skinflint as a truly miserable, unlikeable character, unattractively scruffy and unkempt. Some screen Scrooges have been bumbling in a way that is almost endearing, but Hicks is a genuine wretch, never a loveable rogue. The tone of the film is exceptionally bleak, opening in dreary fashion with the sound of a Christmas carol being badly played through a thick London fog. Hicks, despite being forgotten in the wake of later portrayals of the miser, turned in a performance that rivals Sim and may well be closer in spirit to the dark, menacing Scrooge of Charles Dickens's original novel.

Another overlooked depiction of Ebenezer Scrooge is in the 1977 BBC version. The entire production, despite running just over one hour, is one of the most faithful adaptations of the book to date, capturing exquisitely the haunting, ghost-story elements of the tale. Michael Hordern plays the title role in this version; coincidentally, he was a marvellously memorable Marley's Ghost in the 1951 film.

George C Scott's performance in the 1984 TV movie, directed by Clive Donner, has also received high praise. Here again is a version that reflects much of the bleak, gritty reality of the story's Dickensian origins, and Scott plays Scrooge as a severe taskmaster, yet a man of apparent principle. And of course Dickens's Scrooge was, albeit in a strange way, a man of principle, opposed to the "humbug" of Christmas precisely because he perceived it as a hypocrisy.

Dozens of other actors have taken on the part over the decades, including Patrick Stewart, Albert Finney, Basil Rathbone and Jim Carrey. Hicks, Hordern and Scott give Sim a run for his jealously guarded money, but perhaps there is good reason why Sim remains the silver screen's best-loved Scrooge. No one presented quite such a mirthful and inspiring transformation as Sim. It is hard not to bubble over with gladness along with Sim as he tosses his quill aside and collapses with glee at the end of A Christmas Carol (1951). He gives us the mean-spirited miser, but later provides us with a redeemed Scrooge who warms the heart, brought merrily and unforgettably alive by the spirit of the festive season.

Buy Scrooge/A Christmas Carol on DVD and Blu-ray