A Holiday Tradition at The Shakespeare Tavern Playhouse, ASC is proud of this very special adaptation of a timeless classic. A handful of actors bring the wondrous art of storytelling to life, transporting you to Scrooge’s London counting house that fateful Christmas when Scrooge meets three Ghosts and a certain little boy named Tiny Tim. This enchanting holiday experience will bring the magic of the season to Scrooge, to The Tavern, and to you. Join us for some Dickens, a bit of song, and a lot of holiday cheer.

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Director's Notes

Directed by J. Tony Brown

“Merry Christmas!” Did you know that phrase was first popularized in Charles Dickens’ novella, A Christmas Carol? Indeed, many of our Christmas traditions, can be traced back to a mid-Victorian revival of the holiday, spearheaded by Mr. Dickens’ little book. English historian Ronald Hutton points out that Dickens, “linked worship and feasting, within a context of social reconciliation.”1 Dickens emphasis on family gatherings, seasonal food and drink, dancing, games and a festive generosity of spirit have strongly influenced the nature of our holiday gatherings down to the present day.

And it’s not just the trappings; the story’s themes continue to resonate as well. Besides the many and varied productions of the story itself, we see echoes in popular holiday fare like Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life and Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Its cultural impact was felt almost from the beginning. English novelist William Thackeray in the February, 1844 edition of Fraser’s Magazine, called the book “a national benefit and to every man or woman who reads it, a personal kindness. The last two people I heard speak of it were women, neither knew the other, or the author, and both said, by way of criticism, ‘God bless him!’” Of Tiny Tim he wrote, “There is not a reader in England but that little creature will be a bond of union between the author and him, and he will say of Charles Dickens, as the woman just now, ‘GOD BLESS HIM!’ What a feeling this is for a writer to inspire, and what a reward to reap!”

Over the past 12 years, A Christmas Carol has become a part of the Tavern tradition, and many audience members have made it a part of their own families’ tradition as well. Over the years, there have been some questions that have consistently come up.

“I love the music, but why did you put so much in the show?” Actually, the story inspired that choice. Even the title bespeaks music: A Christmas Carol. Each chapter is called a “stave,” another word for a song’s stanza. Moreover, there are frequent references to music in the text: the carol-singing boy, the singing and dancing at Fezziwig’s and Fred’s parties, and many more besides. You may want to keep an ear out for them.

“Why did you put in so many religious references?” Actually, I didn’t add anything to the story. I simply left in what Mr. Dickens had already put there. Charles Dickens was described by his son, Henry, as a man who “possessed deep religious convictions.” Tolstoy referred to him as “that great Christian writer.” He even wrote a book called The Life of Our Lord (1849), a short work about the life of Jesus Christ, designed to pass on his faith to his children and family.”

“Why the story-tellers?” A large part of the power and beauty of the novella is found in the prose, and I felt that another “dialogue-only adaptation,” just couldn’t do it justice. More importantly, I really wanted you to get Dickens’ words, not mine.

“Merry Christmas, and God Bless us, everyone!”

1 Hutton, Ronald, Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain, Oxford Univ. Press. P. 113.