It seems that we all know the story of Scrooge, but I wonder how many of us have read the original book?
Celebrating our 16th year of A Christmas Carol – I realized that it has been 15 years since I read the original book by Dickens. I was curious to see how we adapted it for a musical and if there were any nuggets from the story that would help me deepen my understanding of the show and my characters – Agy and Ghost of Christmas Present.
I wasn’t sure I wanted to take this journey alone, so I decided to join a discussion group hosted by the Rosenbach Museum (https://rosenbach.org/events/biblioventures-monsters-and-ghosts/) – Biblioventures Monsters & Ghost – which streams on Youtube every Monday night and is available to view anytime here: https://www.youtube.com/@RosenbachMuseum
I still have one more episode to go – but here are a few thoughts from my reading adventure:
- Dickens had a wicked sense of humor, and his writing effortlessly transports the reader back to 1840s London.
- In our adaptation all the ghosts are women. And while the original Ghost of Christmas Present is portrayed as a large jolly man – I think our portrayal of Present being more like a holiday sprite conveys the same message and we didn’t have to cast a 10 ft actor. Ho ho ho.
- The reason Marley is often portrayed with cloth tied around his head is to keep his chin from dropping open in the casket. I didn’t know this was a common routine before embalming came into use. The Rosenbach shared a great drawing of Dicken’s in his casket with such a cloth.
- I was extremely chilled by Want and Ignorance. Because of Dickens description and because nearly 200 years later we still need to be reminded that want and ignorance is the undoing of our society
- This is an amazing story that sweeps us away on a journey, holds a mirror to our face, allows us to see our own reflection clearly and then realize that we can redeem ourselves each year and open our hearts. God bless us everyone!
If you haven’t read the book lately, you still have time – not much – but time … (Marley)
Brenda Bell ([email protected])