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| The story told by Charles Dickens needs
no long-winded explanation - it's probably
one of the best known Christmas stories
in existence.
This musical version is true to the Dickensian
original - it sets out the miserly nature
of Ebenzer Scrooge, recounts the reluctant
journeys of revelation he takes with the
three Spirit's, and shows him at the end
as a rehabilitated character, ready to take
his place at the Christmas dinner table.
Surrounding Ebenezer is the large cast
of the Cratchit family, the Scrooge family
and friends, the Fezziwig family and employees,
and various local residents and people from
his past and future.
Musically, it has six songs with some lovely
solos for Scrooge and Tiny Tim (a real tear-jerker)
and it has a lot of chorus work. The most
complex musical item is the number 'The
Minister's Cat'.
This song is a ‘fun’ song,
usually called, in musical theatre tradition,
a list song. The skill lies in getting it
right and singing it as fast as possible.
The song is written in such a way that each
character at Fred Scrooge’s party
(or perhaps each pair or threesome) sings
a line each, and each line is illustrated
by a printed card revealed for the audience
to see at the very moment that a particular
word is sung. Twenty-six cards have A, B,
C, etc on them, with the ‘A’
card being revealed on the word ‘Able’.
Once the song has been sung once, Topper
(one of the guests) invites everyone to
try again and sing it faster still. They
do so, and with careful choreography they
gradually form a line along the front of
the stage (rather than sitting or standing
in party mode). The players pretend to get
mixed up; changing places continually (although
always revealing the correct card at the
right moment).
By the time they get to the end of the
song the audience believe they are hopelessly
confused. But on the final word of the final
line they all show their alphabet cards
to the audience, but they show the reverse
of them on which are yet another set of
letters revealing the title of the song
- THE MINISTER’S CAT! (Thus proving
that the cast knew what they were doing
all along!) It usually results in an explosion
of applause.
Ideal for groups that produce a Christmas
fund-raiser in between their main shows,
or perhaps in the absence of, or maybe taking
the place of a panto as an alternative piece
of traditional Christmas theatre. |
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| Principals
(6m, 3f, 1m/f; 1 child male) All
either sing solo and/or have 15+ lines |
| Ebenezer Scrooge |
| Bob Cratchit :
his clerk |
| Fred Scrooge
: his nephew |
| The Ghost of Jacob Marley
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| The Spirit of Christmas
Past : (male or female) |
| The Spirit of Christmas
Present : (usually male) |
| Tiny Tim Cratchit
: Bob Cratchit’s young disabled
son |
| Mr Fezziwig :
the employer of Scrooge, Wilkins and other
apprentices |
| Mrs Cratchit |
| Mrs Fred Scrooge |
| Woman 3 |
| Old Joe :
what used to be called a rag-and-bone dealer |
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| Support |
| Adult Speaking Parts
(11m, 7f, 8m/f; 1 youth male) |
| Caroller : (male or female) |
| Gruel Seller : (male or female) |
| Woman 1 |
| Woman 2 : in debt to Scrooge, with children |
| Grocer (male or female) |
| Charity Gentlemen 1 & 2 |
| Apprentice Scrooge : teenager/youth, full
of fun (could double with Young Scrooge) |
| Dick Wilkins : a friend of Apprentice Scrooge |
| Mrs Fezziwig |
| Young Scrooge : as a young man, engaged,
about 20 years old. |
| Belle : to whom Scrooge is engaged |
| Belle’s Husband : whom Belle eventually
marries |
| Old Miner |
| Miner's Wife |
| Sea Captain |
| Lighthouse Keepers 1 & 2 : (male or
female) |
| Victoria : a guest at Fred Scrooges’s
party |
| Topper : another guest at Fred Scrooges’s
party (male) |
| Businessmen 1, 2 & 3 : (male) |
| Laundress : a working woman circa 1840 |
| Undertakers’ Man (or Wife) : (male
or female) |
| Poulterer : (male or female) |
| Stallholder : (male or female) |
| Child/Youth Speaking
Parts (3m, 2f, 3m/f) |
| Child : (male or female) |
| Boy Scrooge : a schoolboy |
| Ellen Scrooge : his sister |
| Martha Cratchit : the oldest Cratchit child |
| Peter Cratchit : a young teenager |
| Young Cratchit 1 & 2 : (male or female) |
| Boy in the street : small boy to carry a
large turkey |
| Non-Speaking Parts |
| The Spirit of Christmas Yet-to-Come : (male
or female, face unseen) |
| Maid : tidies up at the Scrooge’s
party (could be a member of the stage crew) |
| Belle’s Children |
| The Child Ignorance : very stylised, evil
(male or female) |
| The Child Want : very stylised, evil (male
or female) |
| Chorus of townsfolk, soldier and his
lady, beggar, blind man, stallholders, lamp-lighter,
children, apprentices, young Fezziwigs,
fiddler, guests at the Scrooge party, pallbearers. |
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| Click
on a title to hear a Windows Media clip. |
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| 1) Prologue |
Orchestra |
| 2) Christmas
In London |
Carollers (& Bob Cratchit) |
| 3) Mean
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Scrooge & Chorus |
| 4) Happy
Christmas |
Fezziwig & Party Guests |
| 5) Release
– Melos |
Orchestra |
6) Tiny
Tim’s Song |
Tiny Tim |
| 7) Reprise
- Tiny Tim’s Song |
Company (except Scrooge) |
| ~~ Interval ~~ |
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| 8) The Minister’s
Cat |
Party Guests |
| 9)
Brand New Day |
Scrooge |
| 10) Curtain Calls
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Company |
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| Orchestration
/ Band Parts |
| These are available
for hire as follows :- |
| Piano
Keyboard/Synth
Flute
Guitar
Contrabass |
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| Rented
Rehearsal Material
Rehearsal Material is available to
hire in various sets. Set A contains
a suitable amount of Libretti and
Vocal Scores, but if you need more,
then the 'top-up' sets B and C are
available. By arrangement, the period
of hire will start two weeks prior
to your first rehearsal, and finish
on the date of your last performance.
We expect you to return the material
at your cost within five working days
of your last performance. Sets B and
C are not available on their own.
Before we send the material we will
ask for a deposit cheque to be lodged
with us for £95.00 (made payable
to 'Plays And Musicals') to guard
against damage or loss. This will
be cashed and will then either be
fully refunded to you, or a partial
refund made, after inspection of the
returned material.
Set A includes a Director's Master
Copy of the libretto (printed single
sided) and the vocal score in a ring
binder, together with a Cast Recording
CD. This Master Copy is not required
to be returned and can thus be used
for making planning notes in and for
use during rehearsals. |
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Set A - for Cast,
Director, MD, SM and LX |
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15 x Libretti (Quantity
subject to change)
30 x Vocal Scores (Quantity subject
to change)
1 x Director's Master Copy |
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Order Code : RA-0102 x 1 set |
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Set B - Additional
Libretti |
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1 set of 5 Libretti |
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Order Code : RB-0102 x 'n' sets
(where n = the quantity of sets) |
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Set C - Additional
Vocal Scores (for Chorus etc) |
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1 set of 5 Vocal
Scores |
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Order Code : RC-0102 x 'n' sets
(where n = the quantity of sets) |
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| Rented
Performance Material
A full set of hired parts costs £95.00
for a period of up to three months
prior to the date of your last performance.
Before we send the material we will
ask for a deposit cheque to be lodged
with us for £135.00 made payable
to 'Plays And Musicals' to guard against
damage or loss. This will be cashed,
and will then either be fully refunded
to you, or a partial refund will be
made after inspection of the returned
material. We expect you to return
the material at your cost within five
working days of your last performance. |
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1 set of 5
Band Parts |
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Order Code : RN-0102 x
1 set |
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Royalties
Code P
Royalty fees are payable for each
performance given to an audience.
Obtain a quotation by either completing
the Application at the Credit Card payment
Checkout, or this Online
Application Form or mail-in our printed
Application
Form. |
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| Duration |
: 100 mins |
| Acts |
: 2 |
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| Principals |
: 6m, 3f, 1m/f + 1 child male |
Support |
: Large Cast - adults/youth |
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| ISBN |
: 978-1904458579 |
| Size |
: A4 |
| Pages |
: 34 |
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| Other Drama Musicals |
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