NOTES FROM THE PLAYWRIGHT
I have produced or directed 19 versions of this script over the years and for the last version, produced in 2014, I went back through all my previous scripts and put together the strongest version of each scene to produce what I feel is the most powerful version. (After 19 tries, you should get it right I suppose.) A Christmas Carol is always a crowd pleaser, but our 2014 version was very special and quite moving. I’m hopeful other theatres will consider this version at some point.
So what can be different about this version of the well-worn classic? Well, first of all, Marley is alive at the beginning of this version and we get to see that his stinginess leads to his demise—and when Marley’s ghost returns we see he has a special reason to try to save his friend Ebenezer from his own fate of wandering about for all eternity. By having the actor playing Marley also play Fezziwig and the poulterer at the end it was as if the Ghost of Marley was keeping an eye on Scrooge’s progress. I also wanted to make Scrooge’s estrangement from his nephew Fred and his wife Caroline (She’s Caroline in my version, though Dickens doesn’t give her a name) a bigger part of the story. Without the grace and goodwill of Fred and Caroline, the story often seems to only be about a stingy old man who changes his ways. Adding a poignant and heartfelt reconciliation with Fred and Caroline creates a new and always touching dimension. This is a lovely scene and is made more powerful by using the tune from an obscure Polish Carol with new lyrics I wrote for the scene:
A New Day Dawns
In the darkness,
In the silence,
Can you hear the angels sing?
In the softness,
Of a whisper
Hear the tidings that they bring,
Far away a babe is waking,
In its eyes the day is breaking.
A new day dawns today for you.
A new day dawns today for you.
Though the ages,
Comes the story,
Of the promise of that night.
When the heavens
Filled with glory
And a bright star burning bright.
Star of wonder, softly shining,
Hear the message of its divining,
A new day dawns today for you.
A new day dawns today for you.
Adapted from the traditional Polish Carol, W Slobie Lezy (He Lies in the Cradle). New lyrics by Julian Wiles.
In the play the boy Scrooge learned this song in his grammar school. Later, after his Christmas Day transformation, Scrooge shows up at Fred’s house to make amends. As he enters, he hears Fred’s wife singing this song for their Christmas Day guests. Scrooge joins in and he and Caroline conclude the song as a beautiful duet. Their poignant meeting at this moment for the first time always brings tears to many eyes in the audience. (Scrooge, as Dickens, notes refused to meet her earlier)
This version features, a full score (for 8 musicians) of traditional carols. The production also features a number of magical special effects, as well, —including flying. Marley, Scrooge and the third spirit all fly at one point, and the Ghost of Christmas Past, in an audience pleasing moment, emerges from an overstuffed chair!
Julian Wiles,
Playwright