CHRISTMAS CAROL, A: THE MUSICAL (TV)
Summary
A television film adaptation of the 1994 stage musical of the same name, based on Charles Dickens' novel "A Christmas Carol."
The story opens on Christmas Eve in London, where everyone is excited about Christmas ("A Jolly Good Time") with one notable exception: the miserly and ill-tempered banker Ebenezer Scrooge, who views Christmas as a waste of time. He demonstrates his lack of empathy when he refuses to accept a delay in mortgage payments from a Mr. Smythe; his wife has just passed away and he needs the money for funeral expenses. A trio of gentlemen collecting charity for the poor asks for Scrooge's aid, but he refuses ("Nothing to Do with Me"), proclaiming that the poor should die to "decrease the surplus population." On the way home, Scrooge runs into his nephew Fred, who invites him to join his family for Christmas dinner. Scrooge refuses to meet Fred's family and declines the offer.
Scrooge continues his walk home, having a number of encounters along the way ("Street Song"). These include run-ins with a ticket vendor, a streetlamp lighter, and an old blind beggar woman, all of whom he tries to ignore. All of them issue ominous warnings as he walks away from them. He also runs across Mrs. Smythe's casket being carted through the street, and briefly encounters her daughter Grace. Scrooge says he wants everyone to leave him alone. Meanwhile, Bob Cratchit returns home to his family, including his young son Tiny Tim, who is ill and must walk with a cane. He carries Tiny Tim out to the poulterer to buy a chicken for Christmas dinner, each of them saying that the other is the most important thing in their lives ("You Mean More to Me").
When Scrooge gets to his house he hears what he believes are spectral voices calling him. For a moment he believes he sees his old business partner Jacob Marley, although he died seven years ago on Christmas Eve. That night as Scrooge is eating his dinner the ghost of Jacob Marley appears before him, clad in chains. Scrooge is soon convinced of the ghost's identity, and Marley explains that in death he is chained to the money he hoarded in life ("Link by Link"), and that a similar fate awaits Scrooge unless he changes his ways. He summons forth the spirits of others who lived their lives without charity and kindness, condemned to a horrific afterlife. He warns Scrooge that this night he will be visited by three spirits representing the past, present, and future. His message complete, Marley and the spirits disappear, leaving Scrooge alone once again.
Later that night Scrooge is lying in bed when he is visited by the first spirit, the Ghost of Christmas Past. She appears to him as a young woman matching the appearance of the streetlamp lighter he encountered earlier. She shows him a book detailing the events of his life in order to get him to remember what he was once like ("The Lights of Long Ago"). She then transports Scrooge to a scene from his childhood when his father was imprisoned for failing to pay his debts. As he is being led away, his father advises Scrooge to always save his money and never fall into debt. Scrooge's mother is forced to send Scrooge and his sister Fan away to work so that they may make a living, advising them not to lose their love for each other and for others ("God Bless Us Every One"). The Ghost of Christmas Past reminds Scrooge that his mother passed away soon after he was separated from his sister. She then takes Scrooge to six months later, when he is working a menial job at a boot factory. He follows his father's advice and saves his money carefully. He often writes to Fan and promises that one day they will be reunited ("A Place Called Home"). Scrooge recounts that he and his sister never saw each other again: she married and gave birth to Fred, dying in childbirth.
The Ghost of Christmas Past takes Scrooge to a memory from years later, when he is a young man apprenticing in a bank owned by Fezziwig, his former employer. He sees Jacob Marley there, as well as Emily, a young woman with whom he was deeply in love with. Fezziwig leads the festivities in his annual Christmas celebration ("Mr. Fezziwig's Annual Christmas Ball"), and everyone has a delightful time. Scrooge is entranced at seeing his younger self dancing with Emily. He watches as the younger Scrooge proposes marriage to her, and she accepts. However, he says that they must wait a while until he can amass enough money to ensure their security, although she says that all she really wants is his love.
Soon Scrooge and Marley start their own bank. Slowly they become more fixated on money and less on the plights of their customers, even refusing to give their old employer Mr. Fezziwig a loan to save his ailing business. Finally Emily gives back Scrooge's ring, believing that his obsession with money has outgrown his love for her. She leaves and the elder Scrooge pleads with his younger self to chase after her. However, the younger Scrooge cannot hear him, and returns to work. The Ghost of Christmas Past then shows Scrooge the sudden death of Jacob Marley years later, as he collapses from a heart attack in the bank on Christmas Eve. Scrooge laments the loss of Marley, his only friend. Finally Scrooge finds himself back in his bed. The Ghost of Christmas Past departs, asking that he not blame her for what he has seen, as she has only shown him what has already transpired.
An hour later, Scrooge finds a huge man dressed in furs in his living room, surrounded by Christmas decorations. It is the Ghost of Christmas Present, and he matches the appearance of the ticket vendor Scrooge encountered earlier that day. The Ghost of Christmas Present advises Scrooge to enjoy life, taking him to an extravagant stage show ("Abundance and Charity"). Scrooge is in the audience surrounded by children, including Grace Smythe. The dancing and pageantry commences, and Scrooge is dragged up onto the stage to take part in it at the spirit's urging. Next, the Ghost of Christmas Present takes Scrooge to the Cratchit household to watch their Christmas celebration. Scrooge is surprised to discover that Tiny Tim is ill; Bob Cratchit tried to tell him but he refused to listen. The Cratchits are thankful that they are all together on Christmas Day ("Christmas Together"), and Scrooge is surprised when Bob raises a toast in honor of him. They drink to Scrooge in spite of Mrs. Cratchit's distaste for him. The Ghost of Christmas Present shows Scrooge people all over London celebrating Christmas, including Fred and his family. Fred wishes that Scrooge was there with them and drinks to him as well.
Scrooge is moved by observing the Christmas celebrations, particularly by Tiny Tim and his kind spirit. He watches as Bob Cratchit puts Tiny Tim to bed, and Tiny Tim wishes that next Christmas he will be able to walk again. Outside of the Cratchit house, the Ghost of Christmas Present shows Scrooge a pair of children representing ignorance and want, and warns that there are many like them. When Scrooge wonders if anyone will help them, the ghost uses Scrooge's own comments about the poor against him, distressing Scrooge immensely. The Ghost of Christmas Present warns that if nothing is done, Tiny Tim will die. Scrooge asks what he must do to change all that, but the ghost disappears before he can get an answer.
At his home, Scrooge finds himself confronted by the old beggar woman from before. He recognizes that she is actually the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Be, and she transforms into an otherworldly silent figure clothed in white. She takes Scrooge with her to the future, where he sees gravediggers bury him in a graveyard ("Dancing on Your Grave"). Scrooge asks the ghost to show him what the future holds for him, and finds that his death was ignored and unmourned, and that upon his death his possessions were looted from under his corpse. He also sees the Cratchits burying Tiny Tim, but he cannot bear to watch. Finally the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Be leads Scrooge to his own headstone. Scrooge realizes that he has lived his life without friends, family, or sympathy for his fellow man. He says that the visits of the three ghosts have taught him much ("Yesterday, Tomorrow, and Today"), and that he wants to use the lessons he's learned to change his ways and make a better future. He is then approached by Grace Smythe and a number of other children ("God Bless Us Every One" reprise), as well as Fan and his mother. Scrooge repents and sees his grave split open and a great light issue forth.
A moment later, Scrooge finds himself back in his bed, awakening on Christmas morning. Overjoyed at being given the opportunity to start his life anew, Scrooge drags a caroler boy into his house and gives him the money to purchase the prize turkey at the poulterer's. Scrooge steps out of his house and completely mends his old ways ("What a Day, What a Sky"): he gives money to charity, he relieves Smythe of his debts and gives him money to help provide for his family, he buys tickets from the street vendor for the children who want to see his show, and gives money to the blind beggar woman. He takes the prize turkey to the Cratchit house and gives it to them as a present, promising to raise Bob's salary and help care for Tiny Tim. He then visits Fred's house and agrees to join them for Christmas dinner. Scrooge steps out as it starts snowing, happy and satisfied at his new outlook on life. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: NBC
- DATE: November 28, 2004 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:27:26
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 109082
- GENRE: Musical
- SUBJECT HEADING: Musical
- SERIES RUN: NBC - TV, 2004
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Camille Grammer … Executive Producer
- Robert Halmi Sr. … Executive Producer
- Robert Halmi Jr. … Executive Producer
- Howard Ellis … Producer
- Steven North … Producer
- Adam Goodman … Line Producer
- Arthur Allan Seidman … Director
- Lynn Ahrens … Writer, Lyrics
- Charles Dickens … Based on the novel by
- Michael Kosarin … Music by, Conductor
- Alan Menken … Composer
- Dan Siretta … Choreographer
- Tibor Kovats … Choreographer
- Mark Hummel … Choreographer
- Budapest Film Orchestra, The … Symphony Orchestra
- Kelsey Grammer … Cast, Ebenezer Scrooge
- Jesse L. Martin … Cast, Ghost of Christmas Present, Ticket Seller
- Jane Krakowski … Cast, Ghost of Christmas Past, Streetlamp Lighter
- Jennifer Love Hewitt … Cast, Emily
- Geraldine Chaplin … Cast, Ghost of Christmas Future, Blind Beggar Woman
- Jason Alexander … Cast, Jacob Marley, Marley's Ghost
- Brian Bedford … Cast, Mr. Fezziwig
- Claire Moore … Cast, Mrs. Fezziwig
- Ruthie Henshall … Cast, Scrooge's Mother
- Steven Miller … Cast, Young Scrooge
- Edward Gower … Cast, Bob Cratchit
- Jacob Moriarty … Cast, Tiny Tim
- Linzi Hateley … Cast, Mrs. Cratchit
- Julian Ovenden … Cast, Fred Anderson
- Julie-Alanah Brighten … Cast, Sally Anderson
- Sheila Reid … Cast, Mrs. Mops
- Ian McLarnon … Cast, Mr. Smythe
- Emily Deamer … Cast, Grace Smythe
- Joseph Tremain … Cast, Jonathan (urchin)
- Alan Ruscoe … Cast, The Poulterer
- Leah-Verity White … Cast, Fan
- Josh Wilmott … Cast, Scrooge (10 Years Old)
- Patrick David … Cast, Ghost
- Gus Corrado … Cast, Mr. Hawkins
- Will Collyer … Cast, Caroller
- Karen Sieber … Cast, Panto Girl 1
- Beth Curry … Cast, Panto Girl 2