Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" Stage Play Script &Score
by
Tony Palermo
Every Christmas, people across the world license my "Carol" script and
music and sound effects cues for productions ranging from broadcasts to regional theaters, schools and
even private parties. There have been hundreds of performances of this script
since 1997. Here is
information about the play, the cast, music and sound effects. The script is
delivered as PDF file via e-mail. Music and sound effects can be downloaded as
MP3 files or shipped as audio CDs.
I also offer a shorter, simpler version of "A Christmas Carol"
which can be inexpensively done by families or at office staff parties. See Charles Dickens'
"A Christmas Carol" as family/staged-reading version for
more information.
Contact me at
and tell me about your intended production. Performance rights vary according
to the venue and length of the run. I accept credit cards via the free and
secure www.Paypal.com service. You can
have the script, music and sound effects in your hands within hours.
ALSO: If the stage-play version is beyond your production
capabilities, see my web page about my
Radio-drama version of "A Christmas Carol". The
radio-drama-on-stage version is much simpler to produce since it doesn't require sets,
costumes or memorization, but it still pleases theatre audiences who get a big
kick out of seeing the sound effects artists create the sound of doors, wind,
howling phantoms, thunder, etc.
You may also be interested in my
other offerings--for the stage, or radio-on-stage:
A Christmas Carol
is Tony Palermo's very faithful stage-play adaptation of Charles
Dickens’ classic story of Christmas, memory, and
redemption. The dialogue is verbatim Dickens. This adaptation has been performed
by professional theaters, community theatre troupes, colleges, churches, high schools and
elementary students around the world.
The full stage-play runs one hour--without intermission--but there is a natural place
to insert one, just after Scrooge returns from the visit with the First Spirit.
But there are two versions of this show--the full-story one-hour version, and a
simpler, half-hour version, trimmed for tight time-slot limits.
Changes of gender for characters is permitted as is trimming lines and even
whole scenes. While the show makes use of pre-recorded music for scene
transitions and as dramatic underscoring, this is not a Broadway-style musical.
However, it is possible to employ a choir to serve within scenes as the poor
child carolers dispelled by Scrooge and as Marley's colleagues, the moaning
phantoms. You can choose to insert carolers at Nephew Fred's parties, the
Cratchit household and elsewhere.
Here's a free, downloadable MP3 clip of a famous "Christmas Carol" scene from my
radio drama adaptation, employing voices, music and sound
effects:
MP3 - A Christmas Carol - Scrooge & Marley excerpt (2.2 MB)
Free "Christmas Carol" Radio Drama Script:
Here's a free, downloadable stage-play "Christmas Carol" script, including scene excerpts and a truncated
version of the 19-page appendix:
SCRIPT SAMPLE - STAGE VERSION - Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol -
TRUNCATED.pdf
(243
KB)
You can view/print the
script, 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' for the stage.
Valuable information about how I've approached this adaptation and suggestions
for how you handle your production.
CAST SIZE: Rarely are more than 7 people on stage at any
moment, so doubling is suggested.
Without any doubling, the cast requires: 12 males, 6 females, 9 males or
females, 7 boys, 4 girls and 2 boys or girls.
NOTE: Asterisk (*) indicates role is not used in half-hour
stage-play version.
|
EBENEZER
SCROOGE |
Miserly
old man (male) |
|
THE
NARRATOR |
Charles
Dickens (male) |
|
MARLEY’S
GHOST |
Spirit
of Scrooge’s partner (male) |
|
SECOND
SPIRIT |
Ghost Of
Christmas Present- Jovial spirit (male or female) |
|
FIRST
SPIRIT |
Ghost Of
Christmas Past - Old/Young Spirit (male or female) |
|
NEPHEW
FRED |
Scrooge’s kind nephew (male) |
|
BELLE |
Scrooge’s young fiancée (female) |
|
BOB
CRATCHIT |
Scrooge’s meek clerk (male) |
|
MRS.
CRATCHIT |
Bob’s
kind/feisty wife (female) |
|
POOLE |
Charity
Seeker (male) |
|
LAMB |
Charity
Seeker (male or female) |
|
FAN* |
Scrooge’s young sister (girl) |
|
KATE* |
Nephew
Fred’s wife (female) |
|
TINY TIM
CRATCHIT` |
Bob’s
crippled young son (boy) |
|
PETER
CRATCHIT |
Bob’s 12
year-old son (boy) |
|
MARTHA
CRATCHIT |
Bob’s 15
year-old daughter (girl) |
|
BELINDA
CRATCHIT |
Bob’s 9
year-old daughter (girl) |
|
GUESTS
#1, #2, #3* |
(3) of
Fred party guests (male or females) |
|
OLD JOE* |
Rag and
bottle shop owner (male or female) |
|
CHARWOMAN* |
Coarse
cleaning lady (female) |
|
MRS.
DILBER* |
Lower
class laundress (female) |
|
BUCK |
Street
urchin (boy) |
|
BUSINESSMAN #1, #2, #3* |
(3)
Greedy businessmen (male) |
|
BOY
CAROLER |
Poor
street caroler (boy) |
|
FREDERICK CRATCHIT |
Bob’s 8
year-old son (boy)--one line of dialogue |
|
HARRIET
CRATCHIT |
Bob’s 7
year-old daughter (girl)--one line of dialogue |
|
CAROLERS |
(2)
other carolers (boys or girls) |
|
DOORSTEP
WOMAN |
non-speaking part (female) |
|
9-year
old SCROOGE* |
non-speaking part (boy) |
|
16-year
old SCROOGE* |
non-speaking part (male) |
|
YOUNG
SCROOGE (Age 22) |
non-speaking part (male) |
|
FIDDLER |
non-speaking part (male or female) |
|
CONCERTINA PLAYER |
non-speaking part (male or female) |
|
IGNORANCE* |
non-speaking part (boy) |
|
WANT* |
non-speaking part (girl) |
|
UNDERTAKER’S MAN* |
non-speaking part (male) |
Also: Crowds of passersby, moaning phantoms, party
goers, Fezziwig's party dancers
MUSIC:
Twenty-two pre-recorded, orchestral music cues serve for scene
changes and to dramatically underscore the dialogue at various points. This is
NOT a Broadway style musical, with a singing Scrooge or Tiny Tim. The music cues
I provide function the way film scores do--to support and color the drama.
The instrumentation is strictly Victorian: brass choir, pipe and reed organs,
hand bells, church bells, chimes, cymbals, timpani, fiddle, concertina,
music-box, wine glasses (glass harmonica), choirs and strings. This musical
underscore adds greatly to the production.
The 36 minutes of music cues are available on CD or as downloadable MP3 files.
1) Holiday Playhouse theme (under narration)
2) Boy Carolers singing—then cut-off
3) Foggy Night
4) Marley’s Woe
5) The Phantoms
6) Spirit #1 Arrives
7) Christmas Past
8) Fezziwig’s Ball
9) Belle’s Music Box
10) Return to Bed
11) Spirit #2 arrives
12) Christmas Present/Cratchit Home #1
13) Christmas Montage
14) Spirit #3 Arrives
15) Cratchit Home #2
16) Graveyard Sequence
17) Church Bell Cacophony
18) Christmas Day in London
19) Nephew Fred’s Party
20) “Uncle Scrooge!” Toast
21) God Bless Us
22) Outro – Curtain call
Christmas
Carol music tracks are also available separately (without purchasing script
performance royalties). Contact:
SOUND EFFECTS:
These can be all manually produced by an off-stage team of sound effects
artists working as an ensemble--OR via my professionally
recorded SFX--available as a CD or as downloadable MP3 files.
The pre-recorded SFX tracks total to over 12 minutes of professionally produced
sound design.
WIND
(Gentle, Wintry, Hellish)
CASHBOXES, KEYS, LEDGERS, CHAINS
DOORS BEING DOUBLE-LOCKED
CYMBAL FLOURISHES AND WIND CHIMES
HORSE-DRIVEN COACH FULL OF BOYS
CLOCK CHIMES (strikes 1X, 7X, 9X)
OTHERWORLDLY
SCREECH OF SPIRIT #3 IN REPLY TO SCROOGE'S DIALOGUE
SEVERAL BELLS RINGING CRAZILY--TO ANNOUNCE MARLEY'S GHOST
THUNDER
CRASHES AND THE OFF-STAGE APPROACH OF MARLEY'S GHOST
CRASHES OF BLIND MAN'S BUFF AT NEPHEW FRED'S PARTY
JINGLING BELLS
CHAINS RATTLING AND MOANS OF THE PHANTOMS
The above Christmas Carol sound effect tracks are also available
separately (without purchasing script performance royalties). Contact:
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