Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" Script &Score
by
Tony Palermo
Every Christmas, many people across the world license my radio "Carol" script
and score for productions ranging from broadcast down to elementary schools.
Here is detailed information about the play, the various versions, the cast,
sound effects, and music. The performance royalty I charge is based upon the
venue (school, stage, recording, or broadcast). There are three versions of this show--a
full-story 60-minute version, a simpler 40-minute version and a 30-minute version, trimmed for
tight time slot limits.
Contact me at
and tell me about your intended production. I deliver the
script via e-mail as a file, and the pre-recorded music cues can either be downloaded as MP3
files, or shipped via regular mail in the form of audio CDs. The manual sound effects
are up to you to assemble, but my script has a "cookbook" section explaining how
to make each sound using items you can find in your town.
Christmas Carol stage play
Many troupes have requested that I adapt my "radio Carol"
for the traditional stage and so I have. This Christmas Carol stage play
uses the faithful text and orchestral musical underscoring of my radio
adaptation, but includes light cues, stage directions, props and sets. It is intended for schools, community theatre troupes as well as
professional companies--the very groups that have been producing the radio
version since 1997.
Visit my Christmas Carol
stage play webpage
for information on performance rights and downloadable
PDF samples.
A Christmas Carol
is Tony Palermo's very faithful radio drama adaptation of Charles
Dickens’ classic story of Christmas, memory, and
redemption. The dialogue is verbatim Dickens. This adaptation has been performed and recorded by Hollywood
professionals, radio stations, community theatre troupes, colleges, high schools and elementary
students across the world. This richly imaginative work is particularly well-suited to the
medium of radio, but it also goes over well as a live-on-stage performance--one
which doesn't require costumes, sets or memorization. The manual sound effects
(mostly doors, bells, chains and thunder and walla walla) always fascinate live
audiences.
This script is true to Dickens language and theme. It also boasts an authentic
orchestral score of Victorian Christmas Carols
and spooky ghost music. The instrumentation is brass choir, pipe and reed
organs, hand bells, church bells, chimes, cymbals, timpani, fiddle, concertina,
music-box, wine glasses (glass harmonica), choirs and strings.
Here's a downloadable MP3 clip of a famous scene, employing voices, music and sound
effects:
MP3 - A Christmas Carol - Scrooge & Marley excerpt (2.2 MB)
Here's a downloadable excerpt of the 60 minute version:
SCRIPT SAMPLE - RADIO VERSION - Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol -
TRUNCATED.pdf (114
KB)
You can view/print the
excerpt, which is in the PDF format, via the free Adobe Acrobat reader program,
which works for PCs and Macs.
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2_allversions.html
Tony's Extensive Notes On
How to Produce 'A Christmas Carol'
Valuable information about how I've approached this adaptation and suggestions
for how you handle your production.
Cast size:
 Here's
the cast listing from the 60 and 40 minute versions. The 30 minute version uses
3 less characters, but also cuts down on everyone's lines. Below, characters indicated
with "-also-" may be doubled.
Throughout the play, there are never more than 5 characters in a scene, so a
very small cast could easily perform the entire show. You can employ anywhere
from 5 to 21 actors.
EBENEZER SCROOGE
Miserly old man
NARRATOR
The story’s narrator
MARLEY’S GHOST Scrooge’s partner
ANNOUNCER Holiday
Playhouse announcer
FIRST SPIRIT
Old/Young spirit
SECOND SPIRIT Jovial spirit
-also- MR. LAMB Second
charity seeker
NEPHEW FRED Scrooge’s kind nephew
BOB CRATCHIT Scrooge’s meek
clerk
MRS. CRATCHIT Bob’s
kind/feisty wife
BELLE
Scrooge’s fiancée
-also- KATE
Nephew Fred’s wife
POOLE
First charity seeker
-also- FEZZIWIG
Scrooge’s old master
FANNY SCROOGE Scrooge’s sister
-also- BELINDA Bob’s 9 year-old
daughter
TINY TIM
Bob’s crippled young son
-also- BUCK
Street Urchin
PETER CRATCHIT Bob’s
12 year-old son
-also- BOY CAROLER Poor Street caroler
Sound Effects:
These can be all manual, or a mix of pre-recorded and
manual SFX. In this show teams of sound effects artist work as an ensemble. This
show could be handled by anywhere from 2-7 sound effects performers. I've done
this whole show with 8 actors who also doubled on live sound effects, as you can
see in the photo here.
WIND
CASHBOXES
DOOR CREAKS OPEN
FORKS
GLASSES CLINK (for a toast)
WIND CHIME
FOOTSTEPS & SNEAKY FOOTSTEPS
HORSE-DRIVEN COACH
CLOCK CHIMES (strikes 1X, 7X, 9X)
PUNCH BEING LADLED OUT
OTHERWORLDLY
SCREECH OF SPIRIT #3
FOOTSTEPS IN SNOW
SEVERAL
HAND BELLS
THUNDER
QUIET CYMBAL CRASH
SPOON SERVINGS & SPOON RAPS ON TABLE
KNOCK ON DOOR
TINKLING BELL
LOCKS
CRASHES OF MARLEY'S GHOST
PLATES RATTLING
HORSES
JINGLING BELLS
ONE MAN’S MEEK HAND CLAPS
CHAINS RATTLING
DANCING
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