Scrooge, The Stingiest Man In Town
(Music by Fred Spielman: Book and Lyrics by Janice Torre: Based on Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol)
Originally a TV Musical - NBC Theatre 23 December, 1956
Synopsis
One of Dickens' best loved stories A Christmas Carol is brought to life with this joyous musical score. The ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future join to transform Ebenezer Scrooge from the meanest skinflint that ever lived to a warm and loving human being. We can join with Tiny Tim in the Christian message 'God bless us every one'. A fabulous show for Christmas, a real family entertainment.
No holiday season is complete without a retelling of Dickens’ beloved A Christmas Carol, and what better way to enjoy the classic story of “good will toward men” than with this lavish, enchanting, musical adaptation.
With the goose and holly of a Victorian Christmas surrounding him, miserly old Ebenezer Scrooge rejects the companionship of his fellow men and women for the sterile pleasure of gold. He is saved from this loveless life by the intercession of the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future, who take him on a fantastic trip through the times of his life and show him a glimpse of the tragic future that awaits him should he not mend his ways. In the end, a transformed Scrooge realises that “mankind should be my business” and that one little boy is of greater weight than all the gold in his strongbox.
With a jaunty, melodious score, lots of dancing and a large cast which includes several children and one of the more irresistible lead roles ever, Scrooge, The Stingiest Man In Town is a warm-hearted holiday treat for all!
Musical Numbers:
- Overture - Orchestra
- A Christmas Carol - Narrator, Carolers
- An Old Fashioned Christmas - Fred, Chorus
- Humbug - Fred, Scrooge
- The Stingiest Man In Town - Mrs. Dilber, Four Beggars, Ragpicker Hawkins
- I Wear A Chain - Ghost of Jacob Marley, Scrooge, Chorus of Lost Souls
- Golden Dreams Sequence - Young Scrooge, Belle, Ballet, Chorus
- The Christmas Spirit - Toys
- Yes, There Is A Santa Claus - Martha
- One Little Boy - Spirit of Christmas-Present
- The Birthday Party Of The King - Fred, Chorus
- Concerto Inferno (Devil's Ballet) - Orchestra
- Mankind Should Be My Business - Scrooge, Chorus
Principals:
10 Male, 10 Female
- "Young" Scrooge - A dancer, bright and promising - Tenor or Baritone
- Alice - Betty's pretty sister, slender - Non-singing
- Belinda & Annie Cratchit - Healthy children of Bob and Mrs. Cratchit - Aged 15 and 8, respectively
- Belle - Scrooge's boyhood sweetheart - Soprano
- Fred
- Betty - Fred's young, lovely wife - Soprano
- Bob Cratchit - Scrooge's oppressed clerk, boyish - Baritone or Tenor
- Fezziwig - Stout, jolly, wears breeches, Scrooge's one-time employer, Approx. 50 years old - Non-Singing
- Ghost of Christmas Yet-To-Come - Shrouded, spectral, only one outstretched hand visible - Non-Singing
- Ghost of Christmas-Past - Slender child, Approx. 10-12 years old - Non-Singing
- Ghost of Christmas-Present - Robust, ruddy - Tenor or Baritone
- Ghost of Jacob Marley - Former business partner of Scrooge; dead as a doornail - Baritone or Bass
- Hawkins - A ragpicker, rumpled and poor
- Martha - A Cratchit child, sings a solo
- Mrs. Cratchit - Bob's wife, mid-30s, no wrinkles
- Mrs. Dilber - Scrooge's cleaning woman - Mezzo-Soprano
- Mrs. Fezziwig - Fezziwig's wife - Non-Singing
- Peter & Billy Cratchit - Healthy children of the Cratchits - ( Peter - teenager; Billy - approx. 5 years old)
- Scrooge - Stingy, chilly, cowardly; turns joyful - Medium vocal range
- Susan - Betty's sister, plump, sought by Topper - Non-Singing
- Tiny Tim - Cratchit's happy but crippled child - 9-10 years old
- Topper - A young, fashionable bachelor - Non-Singing
Others Carolers, about 4 who narrate/ sing; young clerks at Fezziwigs (can double as Carolers); Lost Souls (usually 3 m./ 3f.); beggars; two gentlemen; errand boy Throtty; Christmas toys; townspeople; devils - Various vocal ranges