Scrooge (musical)

Scrooge: The Musical is a 1992 stage musical with book, music and lyrics by Leslie Bricusse.^[1] Its score and book are closely adapted from the music and screenplay of the 1970 musical film Scrooge starring Albert Finney. Bricusse was nominated for an Academy Award for the song score he wrote for the film, and most of those songs were carried over to the musical.

Synopsis

Like the film, the musical closely follows the plot of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, in which the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge undergoes a profound experience of redemption over the course of a Christmas Eve night, after being visited by the ghost of his former partner Jacob Marley and the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future.

Productions

Leslie Bricusse spent several months with the director Bob Tomson adapting the screenplay for the stage. Tomson recommended appointing designer, Paul Farnsworth, to the team and established a Victorian theatre style for all the locations, illusions and characters. Initially the ghost illusions were entrusted to Paul Daniels, but he was replaced after the first production with Paul Kieve.

The original production starred Anthony Newley as Scrooge and opened on 9 November 1992 at the Alexandra Theatre in Birmingham.^[2] The cast also included Stratford Johns, Tom Watt, Jon Pertwee and Jerome Wallington. The 2005 West End production at the London Palladium starred Tommy Steele in the title role. The musical was revived at London Palladium on 24 October 2012 with Steele reprising the role. It ran till 5 January 2013.^[3]

An Australian production featuring Keith Michell, Max Gillies, Tony Taylor and William Zappa, ran from November 1993 to January 1994 at the Princess Theatre in Melbourne.^[4]

The American premiere opened on 26 October 2004 at the Ford Center for the Performing Arts Oriental Theatre in Chicago. This production starred Richard Chamberlain in the title role.

It has also been performed by the Spring Lake Theater Company in Spring Lake, New Jersey, every Christmas season since 1982. Mark E. Fleming originated the production at Spring Lake and has staged the production at the Premier Theatre Co since its founding in 1987.

Another production of the show has been performed since 1982 by The Players Of Utica, located in Utica, New York. Director Peter Loftus has been the only director for the show during the entire run, which celebrated its 30th year in 2012. The production has become an annual community event during the holidays, in terms of both audiences and casts. The 2012 cast was one of the largest of its 30-year run, with over 250 members. The show regularly does a community performance for local schools and senior programs. Turnout for this annual performance has exceeded 1,500 students from area schools.

Characters

Musical numbers

References