A CHRISTMAS CAROL
By Charles Dickens
A Play For Teachers and Students!
Adapted for a Large Cast
of Young Performers
By
Kathryn Schultz Miller
SCRIPT & PERFORMANCE LICENSE
( Rights to copy script and perform one time )
Children’s Theatre Plays.com
3936 Millsbrae Avenue
Cincinnati, Ohio 45209
Phone & Fax: (513) 351-9978
Copyright 2006, Kathryn Schultz Miller
1
A CHRISTMAS CAROL
By Charles Dickens
A Play for Teachers and Students!
Adapted for a Large Cast
of Young Performers
Soundtrack: A soundtrack CD is available from
Children’s Theatre Plays.com. Please request if interested.
IMPORTANT COPYRIGHT NOTICE
NO COPIES OF THIS DOCUMENT MAY BE MADE WITHOUT
WRITTEN PERMISSION FROM THE AUTHOR.
A ROYALTY IS DUE FOR ALL PERFORMANCES, INCLUDING
PERFORMANCES FOR NON-PAYING AUDIENCES.
Professionals and amateurs are hereby warned that this play, being
fully protected under United States copyright laws, is subject to a
royalty. All rights including professional, amateur, motion pictures,
radio broadcasting, television broadcasting and the right of
translation into foreign languages are strictly reserved.
In its present form this play is reserved for personal reading and
perusal purposes only. However, authorized productions of this
play are encouraged and supported. Arrangements for productions
must be made in writing with:
Kathryn Schultz Miller
Children’s Theatre Plays.com
3936 Millsbrae Avenue
Cincinnati, Ohio 45209
Phone and fax: 513/351-9978
Email: [email protected]
Copyright 2006, Kathryn Schultz Miller
© Copyright Kathryn Schultz Miller, all rights reserved. This play cannot be performed
without written permission from the author and payment of royalty for all performances
(including non-paying audiences).
2
A CHRISTMAS CAROL
Running Time: About 45 minutes.
33-38 Roles – 6 Male, 5 Female, all others M/F
Flexible Cast – Easy Expanding/Doubling
STORYTELLERS:
CHESTNUT: (M/F, 17 lines)
FIGGY: (M/F, 17 lines)
HOLLY: (M/F, 17 lines)
MISTLETOE: (M/F, 18 lines)
PEPPERMINT: (M/F, 19 lines)
CHARLES DICKENS: (M, 23 lines)
DRAMA TEACHER: (M/F, 5 lines)
EBENEZER SCROOGE: (M, 114 lines)*
SCROOGE #1: (M/F, 17 lines)
SCROOGE #2: (M/F, 22 lines)
SCROOGE #3: (M/F, 25 lines)
SCROOGE #4: (M/F, 19 lines)
SCROOGE #5: (M/F, 11 lines)
SCROOGE #6: (M/F, 18 lines)
BOB CRATCHIT: (M, 15 lines)
NEPHEW/FRED: (M/F, 7 lines)
MERRY: (M/F, 4 lines)
GLEE: (M/F, 4 lines)
SCROOGE’S DOOR: (M/F, 0 lines, significant movement)
JACOB MARLEY (KNOCKER, PICTURE): (M/F, 14 lines)
SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS PAST: (M/F, 22 lines)
TED (BOYHOOD FRIEND): (M/F, 2 lines)
HARRY (BOYHOOD FRIEND): (M/F, 2 lines)
YOUNG EBENEZER: (M, 7 lines)
FRAN (SISTER): (F, 2 lines)
FEZZIWIG: (M, 4 lines)
DICK WILKINS: (M/F, 0 lines)
BELLE (GIRLFRIEND): (F, 5 lines)
SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS PRESENT: (M/F, 16 lines)
MRS. CRATCHIT: (F, 11 lines)
PETER CRATCHIT: (M, 4 lines)
MARTHA CRATCHIT: (F, 4 lines)
TINY TIM: (M, 5 lines)
SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS FUTURE: (M/F, 1 line, significant movement)
POCKETS: (M/F, 3 lines)
MOOHLAH: (M/F, 3 lines)
CHAR WOMAN: (F, 5 lines)
OLD JOE: (M/F 5 lines)
LUCKY BOY: (M/F, 6 lines)
* See Staging Notes concerning flexible casting for multiple SCROOGES and
expanding or doubling other roles.
© Copyright Kathryn Schultz Miller, all rights reserved. This play cannot be performed
without written permission from the author and payment of royalty for all performances
(including non-paying audiences).
3
A CHRISTMAS CAROL
STAGING NOTES
This play is best staged using a large room such as a gym, cafeteria, or fellowship room.
A stage is not needed or recommended; scenic backdrops are unnecessary. Audience
is arranged on three sides of the playing area, chairs set up in a horseshoe shape.
Performers will be seated in the front row/perimeter of this playing space. The chairs are
set with 2 aisles that leave a path through the audience, which will be used for exits,
entrances and playing area throughout the performance. If possible allow a large area
behind the audience for performing and never forget to stage scenes from that area and
the aisles. This kind of variety in performance space keeps the audience involved,
encourages participation and makes blocking easy and creative. A few simple benches
in the play area may indicate beds, chairs etc. They may also be used to give a
character some height (to add dimension to the ghosts, for instance).
Remember: There is no backstage. Exits and entrances may mean only that a
PERFORMER leaves his or her place in the playing area and simply sits back down in
his seat. Also, PERFORMERS can always exit down an aisle and sit (or hide) with the
audience to become “backstage”. Being creative with this kind of blocking will greatly
enhance the enjoyment for your cast and audience. (See diagram in Teachers Guide.)
Props and costumes for their parts may be in the PERFORMERS’ laps or on the floor
beside them. In one corner of the upstage area is a stand for percussion instruments
such as chimes, cymbals, bells, wood sticks, kazoos, slide whistles. Performers may be
seated at the stand or nearby so that they can use these instruments as sound effects
throughout the show. If the CD is being used it can also be operated from this stand. In
the other corner is a hat rack or any system of hooks where props and costume pieces
may hang ready for performers as they enter the playing area.
PERFORMERS:
The PERFORMERS seated along the perimeter of the playing area may be engaged
throughout the performance. They may react at all times, sometimes vocally. They may
provide props, or actually become props (i.e., knocker, door, gate). Use your
imagination to involve them as much as possible. It will not only be a great source of
humor throughout but it is a great ploy to keep everyone busy and paying attention
during rehearsals.
CASTING NOTES:
You may easily increase or decrease the number of roles by redistributing line
assignments. Every PERFORMER along the perimeter of the playing area may be used
to create sounds, and become part of the scenery. In this way every child will
participate. You may decrease the amount of time each group spends performing to
shorten these improvised scenes for those less able to perform, or you may increase the
time to show off talent. These kinds of ad-lib scenes are good places to insert song and
dance if you like. This script offers many opportunities for these seated PERFORMERS
to participate but do not hesitate to use your own imagination and ask for even more
ideas from the children.
When adjusting cast size you may consider the following: The small roles of MERRY
and GLEE may be played by the same actors who perform POCKETS and MOOLAH.
© Copyright Kathryn Schultz Miller, all rights reserved. This play cannot be performed
without written permission from the author and payment of royalty for all performances
(including non-paying audiences).
4
MARTHA CRATCHIT might also play BELLE etc. The cast is very large so you may
want to double in this way. Likewise, if you need a larger cast you might consider more
STORYTELLERS and more CRATCHIT children etc.
Although we all certainly consider SCROOGE to be male, I think the creative nature of
this production allows for girls to play the part also. If girls don “the nightcap” as they
enter the playing area the audience will instantly know what is going on. It is likely to
add more fun to the performance. Likewise, roles such as CHILDHOOD FRIENDS,
FEZZIWIG, OLD JOE and LUCKY BOY may be played by either gender.
Look for “OPTIONAL TRANSITION” throughout the script. These indicate breaks in the
storytelling where you might exchange PERFORMERS in the large role of SCROOGE.
The out-in-the open staging style of this play allows the audience to see these changes
take place in full view with no break in the enjoyment of the play. It actually makes it
even more fun for all!
COSTUMES AND PROPS:
Always choose the most creative way to indicate character. Caps and jackets may be
used but it always best to represent character is through the child’s own imagination.
Give them time to decide how their character talks and walks. If a child decides that
their character would like to wear a ball cap have that child bring his favorite from home.
Any time you run into the need for a prop or set piece of any kind, remember your front
row of performers – you’ll be surprised how often they come in handy.
A NOTE FROM THE PLAYWRIGHT
In the past few years since we began creating plays for young performers we’ve seen a
tremendous increase of confidence in the teachers we hear from. Most are finding it
easier to let the process flow and worry less about the final product. I firmly believe that
the experience will be best for all when you keep a few things in mind:
Free yourself from worry about whether or not it’s “good”. No one is paying big ticket
prices; no one expects a Broadway success. The key to making this project meaningful is
to put the emphasis on process; realize that rehearsal and practice are as much a part of
the experience as the actual performance. Encourage fun and you will free the children
from embarrassment and stress. If the kids can’t learn the lines let them carry a script or
use their own words to convey the character’s message. If they seem to wander the
stage, let them explore where they want to go – they might surprise you with a wonderful
idea. In every aspect of the process give them the wings to create and think. Give them a
comfortable, supportive place to go and their confidence and self-expression will soar!
Above all else, make sure you are having fun. If you’ve never directed a play before, don’t
worry. It’s all just pretend -- you can’t do it wrong! The quality of your experience is every
bit as important as that of the children. You need the joy of self-expression too, that
doesn’t go away when we grow up. So give yourself a break. And when all else fails,
laugh!
Thank you so much for choosing A Christmas Carol. It’s been a pleasure to hear from
you and to receive accounts of your wonderful productions. I can’t think of anything more
rewarding than to create this version of A Christmas Carol for you and your students!
Break a leg! -- KSM
© Copyright Kathryn Schultz Miller, all rights reserved. This play cannot be performed
without written permission from the author and payment of royalty for all performances
(including non-paying audiences).
5
A CHRISTMAS CAROL
Suggested Songs & Music
We Wish You a Merry Christmas (page 9)
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen (page 13)
Silent Night (page 15)
It Came Upon a Midnight Clear (page 18)
Deck the Halls (page 22)
Oh Little Town (page 24)
Joy to the World (page 34)
We Wish You a Merry Christmas (Finale, page 38)
About Suggested Songs & Music
The songs included in this script are suggestions of traditional Christmas songs that can
be easily sung by the cast and audience. The CD Soundtrack has simple instrumental
accompaniment for each song – words and piano music matching the CD are available
in the Teachers Guide. You can also use a live band or piano to accompany the singalong for each of the songs – all of these songs should be in any Christmas songbook
available from a music store, library, the Internet (or use the piano music in the Teachers
Guide). You can even include the school glee club (church choir, etc.)!
Our suggested songs are generally well-known and simple to sing by most people, but
there are many other Christmas and Holiday songs that could be used: either older
traditional songs or more contemporary songs, secular or non-secular. None of the
suggested songs are absolutely necessary to the story or plot, so feel free to make any
changes you think will work better for your situation (only those few lines referring to the
songs will need to be changed; skip the particular song cues on the CD – shown in bold
on the following cue sheet).
A Christmas Carol is certainly one of the world’s most well-known and endearing
Christmas stories. The addition of joyous music and songs for everyone to sing will
make your production a truly memorable experience. It’s Charles Dickens’ story, but it’s
your show – so just make sure that the songs and music you decide to use (these or
others) are those most appropriate for your cast, your audience, and your community.
© Copyright Kathryn Schultz Miller, all rights reserved. This play cannot be performed
without written permission from the author and payment of royalty for all performances
(including non-paying audiences).
6
A CHRISTMAS CAROL
CD Sound Cues
CD soundtrack available from Children’s Theatre Plays.com
Cue Time
Description
Page / Cue Line / Action
1
:39
Thunderous applause
Pg 7, Starts the show (fade pre-show music)
2
:51
We Wish You a Merry
Christmas
Pg 9, “On Christmas Eve!”
3
:51
God Rest Ye Merry
Gentlemen
Pg 13, “Again, Scrooge heard a cheerful sound.”
4
1:11
Silent Night
Pg 15, “Come blessed sleep, come!”
5
:55
Bell, chains, scary
Pg 15, After PERFORMERS ring bells.
6
:27
Chains, bell, scary
Pg 17-18, “LISSSSSSSSTENNNNNN!”
7
:48
It Came Upon a
Midnight Clear
Pg 18, “…and fell into a deep, deep sleep.”
8
:53
Wind, cold, eerie sounds
Pg 19, “One!”
9
:49
Flying
Pg 20, “FLY!”
10
1:06
Deck the Halls
Pg 22, “It’s time for the Christmas dance!”
11
:54
Oh Little Town
Pg 24, “And again Scrooge began to slumber.”
12
:43
Happy fat turkey music
Pg 26, “And belly!”
13
:41
Streets of London
Pg 27, “These are the streets of London!”
14
:45
Bell dong, wind, scary
Pg 30, “…Scrooge heard the bell strike…”
15
:59
Bell tolling twelve
Pg 33, “…EBENEZER SCROOGE!”
16
:43
Joy to the World
Pg 34, “…hear people sing Joy to the World.”
17
4:06
Joyous Christmas music
Pg 35, “…and began calling to the world…!”
18
1:44
We Wish You a Merry
Christmas (Finale)
Pg 38, “GOD BLESS US EVERY ONE!"
Cues have ½ second of silence at the beginning and 10 seconds at the end. Times shown include
silence. Some cues may be longer than needed so they can play through your particular staging and
fade out at the end of the action or when the scene changes.
Start the play with Cue 1, then use Pause/Fwd/Play controls for each cue:
1. Press PAUSE at the end of the cue or fade out VOLUME then PAUSE.
2. Press FWD (or SKIP, right arrows) to set at next cue.
3. Press PLAY to start the next cue (at the appropriate line, action, as indicated)
© Copyright Kathryn Schultz Miller, all rights reserved. This play cannot be performed
without written permission from the author and payment of royalty for all performances
(including non-paying audiences).
7
A CHRISTMAS CAROL
AT RISE: The stage is set with various stools, chairs and benches that may be
used throughout to represent furniture. In one upstage corner there is a hat rack
which will be draped with costumes and props ready for use when needed.
Children/performers are seated in a half circle, on three sides of the playing area,
(audience is seated directly behind them also in rows that make up a half circle).
At their feet or on their laps are various percussion instruments they will use
throughout the performance such as triangle, rhythm sticks, chimes etc.
(SOUND CUE #1: Thunderous applause (fade pre-show music).
CHARLES DICKENS enters and takes a deep bow, addressing all three
sides of his audience.)
DICKENS: Thank you, thank you. You are too kind. Ladies and Gentlemen
allow me to introduce myself. I am Charles Dickens, renown author, writer
extraordinaire and of course…your humble servant. (Bows again.) I shall
begin today’s reading of A Christmas Carol. (Opens book, clears throat,
elaborate preparation...) “Marley was dead to begin with, there can be no
doubt of that.”
(CHESTNUT enters.)
CHESTNUT: Hey! What are you doing?
(FIGGY, HOLLY, MISTLETOE and PEPPERMINT enter following, each
as indignant as CHESTNUT.)
FIGGY: Hey, who are you?
HOLLY: This is our show!
MISTLETOE: Yeah, we’ve been rehearsing all week.
PEPPERMINT: What’s the big idea?
DICKENS: (Utterly astounded.) Your show? My dear little friends. I assure you
I am the famed, prestigious and illustrious writer Charles Dickens and this
is indeed… my show.
CHESTNUT: Mrs. Drama Teacher!
(STORYTELLERS call out to the director of the play, they may substitute
the real name for “Drama Teacher”.)
© Copyright Kathryn Schultz Miller, all rights reserved. This play cannot be performed
without written permission from the author and payment of royalty for all performances
(including non-paying audiences).
8
STORYTELLERS: Mrs. Drama Teacher!
(TEACHER enters, embarrassed, trying to keep up a big smile for the
audience.)
TEACHER: Now, kids. This isn’t how we rehearsed it, is it?
FIGGY: But he’s stealing our lines!
HOLLY: Yeah, we’re the storytellers!
MISTLETOE: He can’t just barge in here and take over like this.
TEACHER: (Overly polite.) Oh, dear. Mr. Dickens. We’re honored to have
you… It’s just that they were planning to be the storytellers today.
DICKENS: Well who the dickens do they think they are. (Points to book.)
It says right there: A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens Yours Truly.
TEACHER: So it does, Mr. Dickens. I wonder if we might ask you a favor.
DICKENS: This story is all about generosity. Of course, I will grant you a favor.
TEACHER: Well…
PEPPERMINT: We want to do it our way!
CHESTNUT: Yeah! We want all the kids to play the parts. And we want
everybody in the audience to be part of the show!
DICKENS: Oh dear. That’s a little… unusual, isn’t it?
FIGGY: And we want everybody to sing Christmas Carols with us!
HOLLY: So that everybody can have a good time!
MISTLETOE: After all, it’s Christmas, isn’t it? (She repeats/speaks to the
audience.) Well, isn’t it?
(AUDIENCE replies, “Yes!”)
DICKENS: Very well, then. In the spirit of the season. (To TEACHER.) Uhhum. Perhaps you should take your…
TEACHER: My what…? My seat! Yes of course! Break a leg, kids!
© Copyright Kathryn Schultz Miller, all rights reserved. This play cannot be performed
without written permission from the author and payment of royalty for all performances
(including non-paying audiences).
9
(TEACHER exits, sits in audience.)
DICKENS: And the rest of you?
(All STORYTELLERS sit together in an upstage corner of the playing
area. Only PEPPERMINT remains.)
Now as I was saying. Marley was dead…
PEPPERMINT: (Tugging at his sleeve.) Excuse me, Mr. Dickens.
DICKENS: (Trying to keep temper, to himself.) Patience. Patience. What is it?
PEPPERMINT: There’s a great deal to come before that, sir.
DICKENS: All right then. (To STORYTELLERS.) How do you think the story
should begin?
PEPPERMINT: On Christmas Eve!
(SOUND CUE #2: Intro to next song.)
CHESTNUT: Snow was falling everywhere!
FIGGY: Kids were throwing snowballs!
HOLLY: People were putting up Christmas trees!
MISTLETOE: Hanging the mistletoe!
PEPPERMINT: Buying presents!
CHESTNUT: And hurrying home to get ready for…
STORYTELLERS & ALL PERFORMERS: Christmas Day!
FIGGY: Everybody! Sing with us!
(ALL sing.
SONG SUGGESTION: We Wish You a Merry Christmas.
During the song STORYTELLERS set up for the next scene. They set up
two desks and a potbellied stove. SOUND CUE ENDS. )
© Copyright Kathryn Schultz Miller, all rights reserved. This play cannot be performed
without written permission from the author and payment of royalty for all performances
(including non-paying audiences).
10
DICKENS: But on this bitterly cold day there was one man who did not wish
anyone a merry Christmas.
(Pulling on his hat and coat, SCROOGE enters…)
SCROOGE: Bah! Humbug! (To the audience.) To the lot of you! Bah!
HOLLY: Ebenezer Scrooge was sitting in his counting house…
(SCROOGE sits, hunched over his desk with pencil and paper.)
MISTLETOE: He loved to sit and figure and count how much money he had.
PEPPERMINT: Because Scrooge loved his money.
DICKENS: Scrooge had one man who worked for him…
CHESTNUT: Poor Bob Cratchit…
(CRATCHIT enters, pulling on a tattered coat. Goes to his desk.)
FIGGY: He had only a piece of coal…
(FIGGY puts a piece of coal in the “stove”.)
HOLLY: (Bringing candle.) And the light of one candle…
(HOLLY pretends to light candle and blow out the match. CRATCHIT tries
to warm his hands by the candle.)
…to keep him warm.
CRATCHIT: Master Scrooge?
SCROOGE: Dare you speak to me when you should be working?
CRATCHIT: I’m sorry, Master Scrooge, it just that…
SCROOGE: What? What? Out with it!
CRATCHIT: I was wondering if I might…
SCROOGE: So! You want Christmas Day off again this year do you?
CRATCHIT: It would be ever so nice of you to grant it to me. All of my children
and my dear wife, well… it would make them very happy, sir.
© Copyright Kathryn Schultz Miller, all rights reserved. This play cannot be performed
without written permission from the author and payment of royalty for all performances
(including non-paying audiences).
11
SCROOGE: Very well, I’ll think about it. Back to work!
DICKENS: Suddenly there was a cheerful voice!
(NEPHEW enters carrying a Christmas wreath.)
NEPHEW: Merry Christmas, Uncle Scrooge!!
SCROOGE: Bah! Humbug!
NEPHEW: What do you have to be cross about?
SCROOGE: This Christmas that you love so much is robbing me blind! No one
pays their bills! No one pays their rent!
NEPHEW: But Uncle, surely you’re rich enough!
SCROOGE: I lose money every Christmas and it takes me half the year to make
it up. Just ask him, Cratchit over there. He’s planning to steal a day’s
wages for this Christmas foolery.
NEPHEW: Oh, hello, there Mr. Cratchit. Merry Christmas to you.
(CRATCHIT begins to answer.)
SCROOGE: Don’t say it. Not under my roof!
NEPHEW: I came to ask you to Christmas dinner, Uncle.
SCROOGE: I’ll be too busy, doing his job and mine too!
NEPHEW: Well, if you change your mind…
SCROOGE: I won’t. Good day to you.
NEPHEW: I asked you last year and I’ll ask you again next year. Maybe
someday you will accept.
(NEPHEW hangs wreath on Scrooge’s desk.)
Say Merry Christmas to your family for me, Mr. Cratchit.
CRATCHIT: You’re very kind, sir.
(NEPHEW exits. SCROOGE takes wreath and throws it on the ground.)
© Copyright Kathryn Schultz Miller, all rights reserved. This play cannot be performed
without written permission from the author and payment of royalty for all performances
(including non-paying audiences).
12
DICKENS: Next came two unsuspecting gentlemen. Mr. Merry and Mr. Glee.
MERRY & GLEE: Merry Christmas. Ho, ho, ho! Merry Christmas one and all!
MERRY: Mr. Scrooge, we are here to collect for the poor…
GLEE: Just half a shilling will feed a family…
SCROOGE: Are there no prisons? No workhouses?
MERRY: But the children, sir!
SCROOGE: Are there no orphanages?
GLEE: It’s a very cold winter. Some of the poor among us may die without our
help.
SCROOGE: That is no business of mine. Good day, Gentlemen.
MERRY & GLEE: (Sadly.) Merry Christmas, sir.
(MERRY and GLEE exit.)
SCROOGE: Humbug.
(CRATCHIT blows out his candle.)
What are you doing?
CRATCHIT: If you please, sir. It is my quitting time, sir.
SCROOGE: And you leave right at the minute? You expect me to give you a
whole day and you can’t give me a minute?
CRATCHIT: I’ll come early the morning after, sir.
SCROOGE: See that you do!
(CRATCHIT takes his hat and tips it to SCROOGE, begins to speak…)
Don’t say it!
(CRATCHIT nods and hurries out. He sees wreath where SCROOGE has
thrown it, picks it up and hides it under his coat as he exits.)
© Copyright Kathryn Schultz Miller, all rights reserved. This play cannot be performed
without written permission from the author and payment of royalty for all performances
(including non-paying audiences).
13
DICKENS: Again, Scrooge heard a cheerful sound.
(SOUND CUE #3: Intro to next song.)
MISTLETOE: Carolers were right outside his window.
PEPPERMINT: It sounded as if the whole town was singing….
CHESTNUT: God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen…
(ALL sing.
SONG SUGGESTION: God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.
During the song SCROOGE closes his books, rubs his eyes under his
spectacles, throws a scarf around his neck, locks up and walks alone,
around the perimeter of the playing area. SOUND CUE ENDS. As the
song ends he growls at the audience…)
SCROOGE: Bah! Humbug!
(SCROOGE exits.
[OPTIONAL TRANSITION: SCROOGE #1 may hand his hat and scarf
to SCROOGE #2 as he exits.]
DOOR and KNOCKER enter and become SCROOGE’s door. DOOR
stands tall, with KNOCKER in front of him. KNOCKER’s face is the
KNOCKER.)
DICKENS: It was a cold night and the fog and frost hung about Scrooge’s old
house like a mournful ghost as he made his way to the front door.
(SCROOGE enters rummaging in his pockets for a key.)
FIGGY: Old Scrooge once had a partner named Jacob Marley,
HOLLY: But Marley had been dead for seven years.
(DOOR and KNOCKER make quiet ooooooeeey sounds, gently scary.)
MISTLETOE: Scrooge didn’t miss Marley or even think about him.
FIGGY:
But for some reason this night…
HOLLY: Scrooge looked at his door knocker and saw Marley’s face.
© Copyright Kathryn Schultz Miller, all rights reserved. This play cannot be performed
without written permission from the author and payment of royalty for all performances
(including non-paying audiences).
14
(MARLEY pops spectacles on his nose and slowly distorts his face.
DOOR and KNOCKER make ooooeeey sounds. SCROOGE sees knocker
face…)
SCROOGE: Marley!
(He yelps and jumps back. He turns his back and cowers, covering his
face. He gains courage and turns slowly to look again. KNOCKER has
removed the glasses and his face is plain, scary sounds stop.)
You must be getting old Scrooge. There’s no face in that knocker. Bah!
(He snaps his fingers at the KNOCKER and tries again with the key.
Suddenly KNOCKER pops on the glasses, distorts face and DOOR makes
scary sounds. SCROOGE jumps back again.)
Yikes!
(Slowly he looks again, hand across his face, peering through his fingers.)
(Feebly.) It’s nothing. Bah.
(Tries to be brave, again with the key, his hand shaking wildly. DOOR and
KNOCKER suddenly make scary sounds very loud. SCROOGE screams
as he throws open the “door”! The DOOR and KNOCKER fly away from
their positions and twirl into “house” to take positions of PICTURE and
FRAME described below. SCROOGE looks back to see nothing there.
Snaps his fingers.)
Ha! Pooh! Humbug!
MISTLETOE: Now there was a portrait of Jacob Marley that hung in Scrooge’s
bedroom.
(DOOR becomes FRAME and KNOCKER becomes MARLEY’S image
inside the frame. FRAME may arch his arms over MARLEY’S image or
hold a cardboard frame, framing the image. MARLEY dons his spectacles
and takes a formal pose with two fingers between his buttons at his chest.
SCROOGE speaks as he gets ready for bed, putting on his nightcap.)
SCROOGE: There was a man who knew how to keep Christmas! What was it
you used to say, Jacob? Christmas is a poor excuse for picking a man’s
pocket every year. How true, how true.
PEPPERMINT: Maybe the door knocker didn’t frighten him.
© Copyright Kathryn Schultz Miller, all rights reserved. This play cannot be performed
without written permission from the author and payment of royalty for all performances
(including non-paying audiences).
15
SCROOGE: Humbug!
CHESTNUT: Maybe the darkness didn’t spook him.
SCROOGE: Bah!
HOLLY: Maybe the shadows didn’t scare him…
SCROOGE: (Snaps fingers.) Ha!
MISTLETOE: But he double locked his door just the same.
(SCROOGE’s hand shakes wildly as he jiggles keys in imaginary door and
quickly jumps in bed. Bed can a bench or a few benches together. He
takes blanket and holds it beneath his chin, peering out into the darkness.)
SCROOGE: Come blessed sleep, come!
(SOUND CUE #4: Intro to next song.)
DICKENS: At last Scrooge drifted away, and it seemed a choir of angels sang
him to sleep.
(ALL sing.
SONG SUGGESTION: Silent Night.
SCROOGE closes eyes and snores. SOUND CUE ENDS. When song is
done the bells begin. PERFORMERS all have bells. One begins to ring,
then another, then another until there is a mass confusion of bells. Soon
we hear…
SOUND CUE #5: Long low toll of church bell: Dong… Dong…
SCROOGE jumps from the bed covers his ears.)
SCROOGE: What can it mean? What can it mean?
(Suddenly all bells cease. SOUND: bell changeS to chains and eerie
sounds, continues through following scene.)
Huh?
(Seated PERFORMERS begin making frightening sounds. They may
repeat these sounds as needed in excess of what is written here.)
© Copyright Kathryn Schultz Miller, all rights reserved. This play cannot be performed
without written permission from the author and payment of royalty for all performances
(including non-paying audiences).
16
PERFORMERS: Ooooooooooohhh. OOOOOoooooooooooooo….
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooohhhh.
SCROOGE: Who is there? Who?
PERFORMERS: Ebeneeeeeeeeesssserrrrrrr!!
EEEEEEehhhhhhhbennneeeeeeezzzzzzzzer…..
EEEEEEEEEEAAAAHHHHHBEEEENNEEEEEEEZAAAAAARRRRRRRR
rrrrr…
SCROOGE: That’s my name! I admit it! Who calls for me???
(PERFORMERS have chains and things to make the sound of rattling
such as tin cans filled with marbles, jingle bells, triangles, rain sticks.
They may tap a pen against the seat of a metal chair.)
Who? Who is there?
(While SCROOGE runs around calling out, two PERFORMERS dress
PICTURE/MARLEY in gauzy white cloth that drapes from his head to his
feet. They wrap him in chains. SOUND CUE ENDS. MARLEY speaks
loudly…)
MARLEY: IT IS I…
(MARLEY steps from the picture FRAME into SCROOGE’S bedroom.
SCROOGE screams in horror!)
SCROOGE: AAAhhhh! What do you want from me?
MARLEY: Much!
SCROOGE: Who are you?
MARLEY: Ask me who I was.
SCROOGE: Who were you then?
MARLEY: In life I was your partner, Jacob Marley.
SCROOGE: It can’t be true!
MARLEY: You don’t believe in me!
SCROOGE: (Straightening himself up.) Not at all. You’re nothing but a
© Copyright Kathryn Schultz Miller, all rights reserved. This play cannot be performed
without written permission from the author and payment of royalty for all performances
(including non-paying audiences).
17
stomach cramp, a bit of undigested beef…
PERFORMERS & MARLEY: EEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeehhhhbeeeneeeeezzerrrrr!
Scrooooooooooooooggggg!
(SCROOGE screams and falls in horror as MARLEY looms over him.
SCROOGE is shaking like a leaf. Chains rattle horribly throughout the
room.)
SCROOGE: Oh ghost, oh ghostly thing, oh terrible, terrible ghostly thing….
MARLEY: Marley!
SCROOGE: Marley! Why, why have you come to me this way?
MARLEY: I am doomed.
SCROOGE: Duh… duh… duh… doooooomed?
MARLEY: In life I showed no kindness, I offered no happiness. Now I am
doomed…
PERFORMERS: (Echoey.) DoooooOOOOOoooooooommmmmedddddddd!
MARLEY: …to wander the world and see what I cannot share but might have
shared on earth… I am bound in my chains… Chains of my own making.
(PERFORMERS make sound of chains.)
SCROOGE: Your own making?
MARLEY: Do you not see? My chains are made of cash-boxes, keys, ledgers,
padlocks. The things I worshipped in life!
SCROOGE: But you were always a good businessman.
MARLEY: Mankind was my business! Charity, mercy, kindness were all my
business. At Christmas I suffer most. Oh, why did I not see the poor, the
hungry, the needy…?
SCROOGE: (Helpful.) You were awfully busy…
MARLEY: LISSSSSSSSSSTENNNNN!
© Copyright Kathryn Schultz Miller, all rights reserved. This play cannot be performed
without written permission from the author and payment of royalty for all performances
(including non-paying audiences).
18
(SOUND CUE #6: Chains, bell, scary sounds. The chains flare in
rattles. The bells shriek again. Scrooge screams and cowers. They
suddenly stop. SOUND CUE ENDS.)
My time is nearly gone. You have a chance to escape my fate, Ebenezer
Scrooge.
SCROOGE: Oh, yes, yes, yes… Thank you, thank you…I’m very glad to hear
it…
MARLEY: You will be haunted by Three Spirits. Expect the first when the bell
tolls one. Look to see me no more. Remember what has passed between
us!
(PERFORMERS use bells, chains, scary ooey sounds as MARLEY walks
backwards into his picture. PERFORMERS wait there to remove the
shroud & chains from MARLEY. All sounds cease. MARLEY stands once
again as nothing more frightening than a painting. SCROOGE trembles
on the floor until the sounds are gone and he feels safe. He timidly gets
up to examine the painting. )
SCROOGE: (Whispers.) Humbug. (Throws a hand to his mouth, sorry he said
it.) Doh!
DICKENS: As all these terrible and troubling images fell away, Scrooge crawled
into bed and fell into a deep, deep sleep.
(SOUND CUE #7: Intro to next song.)
PEPPERMINT: Little did he know, little did he dream…
CHESTNUT: Of the Christmas that was soon to come…
(ALL sing.
SONG SUGGESTION: It Came Upon a Midnight Clear.
PERFORMERS may set up for the next scene during the song.
[OPTIONAL TRANSITION from SCROOGE #2 to SCROOGE #3.
SCROOGE #3 comes to SCROOGE # 2, takes night cap. SCROOGE
#2 exits, SCROOGE #3 curls up under blanket to sleep. This can be
done during song and during the PERFORMERS’ many “dongs”.]
© Copyright Kathryn Schultz Miller, all rights reserved. This play cannot be performed
without written permission from the author and payment of royalty for all performances
(including non-paying audiences).
19
SOUND CUE ENDS. At end of the song ALL seated PERFORMERS
make sound of bells. For each “Dong” they hold another finger up until the
end, when they have donged twelve times.)
PERFORMERS: (Like a church bell.) Dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong,
dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong…
(PERFORMERS each hold up two fingers. SCROOGE yelps and sits up
in bed.)
SCROOGE: Twelve!
PERFORMERS: (ALL holding up just one finger.) Dong!
SCROOGE: (Terrified.) One!
(SOUND CUE #8: Wind, cold, eerie sounds. ALL seated
PERFORMERS blow in the direction of the Spirit of Christmas PAST, a
gentle wind that makes PAST “float” as she/he enters.)
Aaa! Who, who, who… are you?
PAST: I am the Ghost of Christmas Past.
SCROOGE: La, la, la…. long past?
PAST: No. Your past.
SCROOGE: But why have you come?
PAST: Your welfare.
(SOUND CUE ENDS.)
SCROOGE: Oh! Well! How nice of you. But actually I think I’d rather stay here
In bed…
PAST: RISE!
PERFORMERS: RISE!
PAST: Walk with me.
PERFORMERS: WALK WITH MEEEeeeeee….
SCROOGE: Oh but you seem to fly, don’t you? I’m a mere mortal, I’ll fall…
© Copyright Kathryn Schultz Miller, all rights reserved. This play cannot be performed
without written permission from the author and payment of royalty for all performances
(including non-paying audiences).
20
PAST: Take my hand…
(Terrified, SCROOGE crawls from his cover and places his shaking hand
in PAST’s hand.)
PERFORMERS: FLY!
(SOUND CUE #9: Flying, wind. PERFORMERS blow a strong wind and
SCROOGE and PAST act as if lofted by the wind around the playing area.
They may also “fly” down aisles and behind audience, up another aisle,
ending up back on stage.)
FIGGY: When at last they touched down…
(SOUND CUE ENDS.)
HOLLY: Scrooge saw that they stood upon an old country road.
PAST: Do you recognize it?
SCROOGE: (Looking around.) Recognize it? I was a boy here!
(SCROOGE looks around, overcome with emotion.)
PAST: Show me the way, Scrooge.
(SCROOGE takes PAST’s hand and eagerly pulls her/him along.)
SCROOGE: It’s just past this gate, and then this post and then this tree…
MISTLETOE: Soon they came to the school yard. It was filled with children.
(TED and HARRY enter the playing area and throw a ball to each other.)
HARRY: Hey, Ted! Catch!
(SCROOGE walks right up the boys who do not see him.)
SCROOGE: Why it’s Ted Sperling! Ted! And Harry Boniface!
TED: Got it!
(TED tosses ball back to HARRY. Scrooge tries to join the game.)
SCROOGE: Over here, boys!
© Copyright Kathryn Schultz Miller, all rights reserved. This play cannot be performed
without written permission from the author and payment of royalty for all performances
(including non-paying audiences).
21
PAST: They cannot see us, Scrooge. These are the things that have been.
TED: Race you to the school house!
HARRY: You’re on!
(TED and HARRY run out of the area, down an aisle. PAST and
SCROOGE turn away as YOUNG EBENEZER takes his place at a desk in
playing area.)
PAST: The school house is deserted. Yet there is one boy there. All alone.
(They turn and see YOUNG EBENEZER.)
Do you recognize him?
SCROOGE: (Sadly.) It is me, poor boy. All alone on Christmas. Year after year
as the boys ran off to their families I sat here in this school house. (Near
tears.)
PAST: But there was one time…
SCROOGE: Yes, yes! There was one time!
(FRAN enters and runs to SCROOGE.)
FRAN: Ebenezer! Ebenezer!
YOUNG EBENEZER: Fran! Franny, is it really you?
FRAN: Yes, it’s me you silly! Father is so much nicer these days and he sent
me to get you and take you home for Christmas!
YOUNG EBENEZER: I can hardly believe it! And look at you Fran. Look how
much you’ve grown!
(FRAN twirls to show how much she’s grown. She and YOUNG
EBENEZER embrace and laugh and play…)
SCROOGE: She had such a good heart.
PAST: She died young, didn’t she, Scrooge?
SCROOGE: (Smiles turning to sadness.) Yes.
© Copyright Kathryn Schultz Miller, all rights reserved. This play cannot be performed
without written permission from the author and payment of royalty for all performances
(including non-paying audiences).
22
PAST: But she had one child. A son.
SCROOGE: My nephew!
(FRAN and YOUNG EBENEZER exit, running gleefully down the aisle.
SCROOGE turns away, trying to hide tears.)
PAST: What is it Scrooge?
SCROOGE: Oh nothing. I was just thinking how I talked to my nephew this
morning. My sweet Franny’s son.
(SCROOGE and PAST walk around perimeter of playing area.)
PEPPERMINT: Soon they came to the city…
CHESTNUT: …And the Spirit of Christmas Past stopped at a warehouse door…
PAST: Do you know this place?
SCROOGE: Know it? I was an apprentice here!
(FEZZIWIG enters, boisterous and jolly.)
FEZZIWIG: Yo ho, there, boys! It’s Christmas come at last!
SCROOGE: Old Fezziwig! I worked for him but he felt like a father to me.
FEZZIWIG: Ebenezer! Dick! Out from behind those desks!
(YOUNG EBENEZER and DICK enter carrying Christmas garlands and
decorations. They may drape the decorations around the area and even
among the audience in the front rows.)
SCROOGE: Why it’s Dick. Dick Wilkins! He was my best friend.
FEZZIWIG: Push everything to the walls, boys. It’s time for the Christmas
dance!
(SOUND CUE #10: Intro to next song.)
FIGGY: And so it was!
HOLLY: Everyone forgot their work and had the jolliest time you ever saw!
MISTLETOE. And their favorite Christmas Carol of all?
© Copyright Kathryn Schultz Miller, all rights reserved. This play cannot be performed
without written permission from the author and payment of royalty for all performances
(including non-paying audiences).
23
PEPPERMINT: Why, Deck the Halls (or name of next song.), of course!
CHESTNUT: (To audience.) Everyone! Deck the Halls! (or name of next song.)
(ALL sing.
SONG SUGGESTION: Deck the Halls.
During song all PERFORMERS may leave their seats and dance and
sing. SCROOGE enjoys it and dances by himself at the edge of the
activity. When the dance is done, PERFORMERS return to their seats.
FEZZIWIG gives DICK and YOUNG EBENEZER big hugs.)
FEZZIWIG: Yo-ho boys! Nothing like Christmas is there? Nothing like it at all!
(FEZZIWIG, DICK and YOUNG EBENEZER exit joyfully, still singing Fa,
la, la, la, la, la, la, la…)
(SOUND CUE ENDS.)
PAST: All that food and merriment. It must have cost Master Fezziwig a pretty
penny.
SCROOGE: So what? The happiness he gave people was priceless!
PAST: And the people who work for him…
SCROOGE: It never seemed like I worked for him.
PAST: What did it seem like?
SCROOGE: Well, like we were friends!
(SCROOGE turns away with a suddenly troubled look.)
PAST: What is it, Scrooge?
SCROOGE: Nothing. I was just thinking how I talked to my clerk this morning.
PAST: Walk with me Scrooge. There is still another Christmas to visit.
FIGGY: They walked until they came to a small house with a modest parlor…
(BELLE enters and sits with her eyes down, sadly. YOUNG EBENEZER
enters behind her… )
© Copyright Kathryn Schultz Miller, all rights reserved. This play cannot be performed
without written permission from the author and payment of royalty for all performances
(including non-paying audiences).
24
YOUNG EBENEZER: But Belle, I don’t understand what you are trying to tell
me.
BELLE: We met when we both young and poor, Ebenezer. We were alike then.
But you have changed.
YOUNG EBENEZER: How have I changed?
BELLE: You don’t love me anymore.
YOUNG EBENEZER: But I do! Very much!
BELLE: No, Ebenezer. I can see it plainly. You love your money most of all.
YOUNG EBENEZER: Is it so bad to make a profit? To improve one’s standing?
BELLE: But it’s all you really care about. I must return this to you.
(She takes the ring from her finger and holds it out to him.)
YOUNG EBENEZER: No, Belle, no.
BELLE: Goodbye, Ebenezer.
(BELLE exits. YOUNG EBENEZER looks at the ring, sadly puts it in his
pocket and exits in another direction.)
SCROOGE: No more. I don’t want to see anymore!
PAST: I told you these are the things that have been. They are what they are…
SCROOGE: I can’t bear it! Take me back!
PAST: Very well, Scrooge. Take my hand.
(PERFORMERS blow a gentle wind that seems to “loft” PAST and
SCROOGE. SCROOGE ends up on his bed. PAST places the cover
over him.)
Good bye, Master Scrooge. I shall not come again. Sleep well.
HOLLY: And again Scrooge began to slumber.
(SOUND CUE #11: Intro to next song. PAST “flies”,
exiting. STORYTELLERS begin the singing as audience joins in.
© Copyright Kathryn Schultz Miller, all rights reserved. This play cannot be performed
without written permission from the author and payment of royalty for all performances
(including non-paying audiences).
25
SONG SUGGESTION: Oh Little Town
[OPTIONAL TRANSITION. SCROOGE #4 enters and takes the night
cap. SCROOGE #3 exits as SCROOGE #4 takes his place.]
SOUND CUE ENDS.)
PERFORMERS: (Holding up fingers to count each dong.) Dong, dong, dong,
dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong.
(SCROOGE sits bolt upright and gasps!)
SCROOGE: Twelve!
PERFORMERS: (Each holding up one finger.) Dooooonnnnngg!
SCROOGE: One!
(SCROOGE looks all around him. He jumps up and looks under the bed,
quick turns to see if anyone is at his back. )
Nothing! Ha! (Thinks again.) Nothing? (Begins to tremble.) What does
that mean?
(SCROOGE is shaking and chattering when Ghost of Christmas
PRESENT, still off stage, cries out in laughter.)
PRESENT: Ho, ho, ho, ho!
(This sets all the PERFORMERS to laughing. All of them laugh right out
loud, any way they want until the room is terrifying with laughter!
SCROOGE runs around trying to find the source of the laughter. At last,
PRESENT calls out again.)
Scrooge!
(Laughter stops.)
SCROOGE: That… that… that’s me.
PRESENT: Enter!
(SCROOGE pretends to open a door, using his big key, his hand shaking
wildly. PERFORMERS make the sound of a door creaking open.
© Copyright Kathryn Schultz Miller, all rights reserved. This play cannot be performed
without written permission from the author and payment of royalty for all performances
(including non-paying audiences).
26
SCROOGE goes through open door. PRESENT enters from another
direction and cries out.)
PRESENT: I am the Spirit of Christmas Present!
(SCROOGE turns to see him, screams and falls to a heap on the floor.)
MISTLETOE: It was Scrooge’s own room there was no mistaking that…
PEPPERMINT: But it was hung with beautiful green ivy and leaves…
CHESTNUT: A mighty fire rose in the chimney!
FIGGY: And there was such a feast for the eyes…
HOLLY: And belly!
(SOUND CUE #12: Happy fat turkey music & sounds.
STORYTELLERS enter with a trays of plastic food [glued to tray] that they
carry around, twirling in a great display, whisking the delicacies under the
noses of the audience and SCROOGE.)
MISTLETOE: There were fat turkeys and juicy geese!
PEPPERMINT: Roasted beef and peppered sausages!
CHESTNUT: Mince pies and apple pies and great iced cakes!
FIGGY: Figgy Puddings!
HOLLY: Cherry-cheeked apples and luscious pears!
SCROOGE: Oh my!
PRESENT: Ho, ho, ho! Come in! Come in and get to know me, Scrooge!
(SCROOGE approaches PRESENT with great wide eyes. STORYTELLERS stand still but move their trays around as if they are suspended
in air.)
You’ve never seen anything like me before, have you?
SCROOGE: Nuh… nuh… nuh… No.
PRESENT: Touch my robe!
© Copyright Kathryn Schultz Miller, all rights reserved. This play cannot be performed
without written permission from the author and payment of royalty for all performances
(including non-paying audiences).
27
(SCROOGE crawls, trembling and gingerly reaches a shaking hand out to
touch the foot of PRESENT’S robe.)
(SOUND CUE ENDS.)
MISTLETOE: Suddenly everything vanished.
(STORYTELLERS whisk their food away and take their seats.)
SCROOGE: (Looking around.) Where am I?
PRESENT: Why don’t you recognize it? We’re right outside your door, man.
These are the streets of London!
(SOUND CUE #13: Streets of London.)
SCROOGE: Why, yes. I see now. (Reacting to a sudden smell.) Whew!
PRESENT: Yes, Scrooge. That is the stench of poverty. These people live in a
different London than yours.
SCROOGE: But look at them all! Why, they’re all so happy. What do they have
to be happy about?
PRESENT: Why it’s Christmas Eve, man! They are preparing for a feast.
SCROOGE: Well, if they’re poor I can’t see what kind of meal they could look
forward to.
PRESENT: Come with me and I’ll show you.
DICKENS: The Spirit of Christmas Present did not hesitate. He took Scrooge
straight to the home of Bob Cratchit…
(SOUND CUE ENDS. SCROOGE and PRESENT stand aside as
CRATCHITS enter.)
PEPPERMINT: First came Mrs. Cratchit…
CHESTNUT: Though her dress had seen many years, she disguised its age with
many brave ribbons!
(MRS. CRATCHIT enters calling over her shoulder.)
MRS. CRATCHIT: What can be keeping your father, children?
© Copyright Kathryn Schultz Miller, all rights reserved. This play cannot be performed
without written permission from the author and payment of royalty for all performances
(including non-paying audiences).
28
(MARTHA and PETER enter, happy and excited. MARTHA goes to
“window”, pretends to draw back the curtain.)
He went to church with Tiny Tim. They should have been home a half
hour ago!
MARTHA: There he is, Mother!
PETER: (Wildly happy, clapping.) Just in time! We have a mighty goose to eat!
(BOB CRATCHIT, TINY TIM enter.)
DICKENS: Alas for Tiny Tim, he used a little crutch and his legs were held up by
an iron frame!
MRS. CRATCHIT: Bob!
MARTHA & PETER: Father!
(ALL hug and wish each other Merry Christmas.)
MRS. CRATCHIT: Now come here, the both of you. Warm yourself by the fire.
(She places a stool by the “fire”. TINY TIM sits upon it.)
And how did our golden boy behave?
CRATCHIT: He told me, coming home, that he hoped everyone saw him in
Church. Because it might be pleasant for them to remember who made
lame beggars walk and blind men see.
(ALL are solemn but TINY TIM.)
TINY TIM: Why is everyone frowning? It’s Christmas! When do we eat,
Mother? And can we start with the pudding?
MRS. CRATCHIT: Tiny Tim you know very well the pudding comes after.
Martha, Peter! Set the table!
(MARTHA and PETER arrange set for dining table and others come and
sit. PERFORMERS come to the imaginary “table” and set it. One shakes
out tablecloth and lays it down. Others place ‘dishes” on the table A
PERFORMER hands MRS. CRATCHIT a tray with a small turkey on it and
she carries it to table.)
ALL CRATCHITS and PERFORMERS: Ooh! Ah!
© Copyright Kathryn Schultz Miller, all rights reserved. This play cannot be performed
without written permission from the author and payment of royalty for all performances
(including non-paying audiences).
29
MARTHA: Why its as big as a bread basket!
PETER: It’s as big as house!
TINY TIM: It’s as big as me!
(ALL laugh.)
SCROOGE: Why its quite a small bird. What’s everyone going on about?
PRESENT: Shh! It’s time for the pudding and Mrs. Cratchit is very nervous…
(MRS. CRATCHIT goes to get the pudding, a PERFORMER hands it to
her. She carries it in.)
ALL CRATCHITS and PERFORMERS: Ooh! Ah!
SCROOGE: It’s a very small pudding for such a large family.
(CRATCHIT stands to give a toast.)
CRATCHIT: Merry Christmas to us all, my dears! God bless us!
TINY TIM: God bless us every one!
(CRATCHITS circle TINY TIM and embrace him, laugh, continue having
fun.)
SCROOGE: Spirit. Tell me if Tiny Tim will live.
PRESENT: I see a vacant place at that table.
SCROOGE: No!
PRESENT: Time will tell. If nothing changes in the future…
SCROOGE: So it can be fixed? We can change the future?
PRESENT: Shh! Another toast.
CRATCHIT: A toast to Mister Scrooge, founder of the feast!
MRS. CRATCHIT: (Suddenly angry.) Founder of the Feast indeed! How can
you toast to such a stingy, odious, hard, unfeeling man!
© Copyright Kathryn Schultz Miller, all rights reserved. This play cannot be performed
without written permission from the author and payment of royalty for all performances
(including non-paying audiences).
30
(SCROOGE gasps.)
CRATCHIT: My dear. It’s Christmas Day!
MRS. CRATCHIT: I’ll toast to Mr. Scrooge because it’s Christmas. I’m sure he
and his money are having quite a holiday!
SCROOGE: Take me away, Spirit.
PRESENT: Will you turn your back again, Scrooge? Will you ever look and see
what is before you?
SCROOGE: I… I see poor Tiny Tim.
PRESENT: Look around you, man! Tiny Tim is one of many!
SCROOGE: But are there no charities, no foundations…?
PRESENT: No prisons, no workhouses, no orphanages…?
SCROOGE: Please, please….
(SCROOGE falls to crying as CRATCHIT family exits. PRESENT begins
to exit, walking backwards…)
DICKENS: Once again and a final time, Scrooge heard the bell strike…
(SOUND CUE #14: Bell “DONG”, wind, scary sounds.)
PERFORMERS: (Each with one finger up.) DONG!
SCROOGE: (Looking up, terrified.) One!
(PERFORMERS enter and swoosh about pieces of black cloth indicating
frightening darkness and wind. This flurry of activity may cover the
transition.
[OPTIONAL TRANSITION: SCROOGE # 4 passes nightcap to
SCROOGE #5 and exits.]
When transition is over… )
DICKENS: The phantom slowly, gravely, silently approached!
(PERFORMERS with black cloth loft it off the stage as FUTURE enters.
© Copyright Kathryn Schultz Miller, all rights reserved. This play cannot be performed
without written permission from the author and payment of royalty for all performances
(including non-paying audiences).
31
He is dressed as the traditional image: Black hooded robes, no face or
body visible. SOUND FADES. As the sound subsides…)
SCROOGE: Ghost of the Future! I fear you more than any I have seen!
Have you come to save me? I wish to become a new man. In the future!
(FUTURE holds up one arm, points with one bony finger.)
Yes, yes, Spirit of the Future! I will follow!
(SOUND CUE ENDS.)
FIGGY: Scrooge was led to a street corner he knew very well…
SCROOGE: I know these men, they are business men like me!
(POCKETS and MOOLAH enter, with their thumbs in their suspenders,
wearing identical Derby hats.)
POCKETS: What-ho, did you hear the news?
MOOLAH: Indeed, it seems the codger died in his sleep.
POCKETS: What’s he done with all his money?
MOOLAH: You know what a miser he was.
POCKETS: They say you can’t take with you but knowing him…
MOOLAH: He probably figured out a way!
(They laugh and exit.)
SCROOGE: Spirit? Who do they speak of? Who?
(FUTURE says nothing and points in another direction. SCROOGE and
FUTURE walk the perimeter of the playing area as CHAR WOMAN enters
dragging a heavy cloth sack. OLD JOE enters from another direction and
speaks to her.)
OLD JOE: Well, all right then, what you got there?
CHAR WOMAN: Open up the bundle Joe and let me know the value of it.
(OLD JOE opens it up.)
© Copyright Kathryn Schultz Miller, all rights reserved. This play cannot be performed
without written permission from the author and payment of royalty for all performances
(including non-paying audiences).
32
OLD JOE: Some silver teaspoons, a pair of boots. A couple shilling.
CHAR WOMAN: Dig deeper, Old Joe.
OLD JOE: Bed-curtains? Ain’t he still in his bed?
CHAR WOMAN: That might be, but he won’t miss ‘em. See what else, have a
look.
OLD JOE: His blankets?
CHAR WOMAN: (Grinning.) Still warm, ain’t they?
OLD JOE: You got a heart as cold as his.
CHAR WOMAN: And what of it? If he wanted love and kindness he could ‘a
give some himself -- in his better days.
(OLD JOE and CHAR WOMAN laugh and drag the bundle off.)
SCROOGE: Who, Spirit? Who died? Who do they speak of?
(FUTURE does not speak. Points again. (MRS. CRATCHIT enters with
her darning and sits on a stool. She works at the cloth for a little while and
then looks up, takes a handkerchief from her apron and dabs her eyes.
BOB CRATCHIT enters, she runs to him.)
MRS. CRATCHIT: Oh, Bob!
(They embrace, both tearfully.)
CRATCHIT: Now, now my dear. Don’t be grieved. I visited him just now and it
would cheer your heart to see a place so green.
MRS. CRATCHIT: Oh, my little child. My little child!
SCROOGE: Why that’s Bob Cratchit and his wife. What are they going on
about?
CRATCHIT: I came upon Scrooge’s nephew in the street just now. You know
the one? A very decent man. He said he was ever so sorry and if there
was anything he could do…
SCROOGE: Oh, no. No!
MRS. CRATCHIT: Sit by the fire, my dear.
© Copyright Kathryn Schultz Miller, all rights reserved. This play cannot be performed
without written permission from the author and payment of royalty for all performances
(including non-paying audiences).
33
CRATCHIT: And together, let’s remember him.
SCROOGE: No…
MRS. CRATCHIT: None of us will forget… Tiny Tim.
SCROOGE: No!
(BOB CRATCHIT and MRS. CRATCHIT exit. FUTURE lifts a long arm
and points again.)
HOLLY: Scrooge and the Spirit walked until they came upon an iron gate…
(HOLLY opens the ‘gate” making the sound of a creaking hinge.)
SCROOGE: Well, what is this?
(FUTURE points.)
It is a church yard. I see that well enough.
MISTLETOE: It was overgrown with grass and weeds…
PEPPERMINT: The spirit stood among the graves and pointed down to one.
SCROOGE: Before I look at the name on that stone. Tell me. Are these the
shadows of things that will be or can they be changed? Can I change `
them?
CHESTNUT: Still the Spirit pointed…
(SCROOGE falls and crawls, trembling, reaches for a stone… brushes it
off.)
FUTURE: (Deeply dramatic.) Whose name has been chiseled there?
(SCROOGE falls to weeping, can barely speak.)
SCROOGE: It says… EBENEZER SCROOGE!
(SOUND CUE #15: Bell tolling twelve.)
FIGGY: (After 2nd or 3rd bell “dong”.) As the words fell from his lips…
HOLLY: The Ghost of the Future began to fade away…
© Copyright Kathryn Schultz Miller, all rights reserved. This play cannot be performed
without written permission from the author and payment of royalty for all performances
(including non-paying audiences).
34
SCROOGE: No! Oh, no! Don’t go! Hear me! I’m not the man I was!
(As FUTURE exits, bells toll twelve times. FUTURE walks slowly down to
aisle to exit behind the audience with SCROOGE calling out to him.)
I will honor Christmas in my heart! I will live in the Past, Present and
Future! Oh, hear me, Spirits! I will change!
(SCROOGE falls in sobs.
SOUND CUE ENDS.
PERFORMERS with black cloth enter silently, “waft” SCROOGE up and
sweep him out of the playing area.
PAUSE.
CHARLES DICKENS enters with his book.)
DICKENS: (Reading at first then looking up with book in hand.) It may be
hard to believe but the next day the sun came up and the event was quite
unremarkable. Past, Present and Future seemed hardly interested. The
world went about its way as ever. The only difference from all other days,
was simply that it was… Christmas. From the local chapels one could
hear people sing Joy to the World (or name of next song.)…
(SOUND CUE #16: Intro to next song.
ALL sing:
SONG SUGGESTION: Joy to the World
[OPTIONAL TRANSITION: SCROOGE #5 may remain off as
SCROOGE #6 enters with nightcap, climbs into bed.]
SOUND CUE ENDS. SCROOGE wakes, sits up, looks around, yelps and
ducks under covers. Timidly looks over blanket again. Starts to see
everything is all right.)
SCROOGE: My bedpost! My bed curtains! My shirt! Why you’re all right here.
No one has taken you. You’ve stayed with me like little pets, my friends!
MISTLETOE: Scrooge woke up and began to behave… (To DICKENS.) What’s
the word?
© Copyright Kathryn Schultz Miller, all rights reserved. This play cannot be performed
without written permission from the author and payment of royalty for all performances
(including non-paying audiences).
35
DICKENS: Peculiar.
MISTLETOE: Ah! That’s it. Peculiar.
SCROOGE: I’m alive! I’m not dead! No! I’m alive!
PEPPERMINT: The old man began to dance about the room.
SCROOGE: Oh Spirits! You have saved me! I have time! Time to make
amends! Time to be good and kind to my fellow man!
CHESTNUT: He ran to the window, threw it open and began calling to the
world…
(SOUND CUE #17: Joyous Christmas music, through following long
scene.)
SCROOGE: It’s Christmas! It’s Christmas. Merry Christmas one and all!
FIGGY: He laughed, he cried…
SCROOGE: Oh it is so good to be alive. Oh thank you Spirits, thank you Lord,
for granting me this gift!
HOLLY: One boy was walking along…
(LUCKY BOY enters, walking before SCROOGE and whistling “Joy to the
World.”)
SCROOGE: Hello! You there, little boy. Can you tell me what day it is?
LUCKY: What day? Why, it’s Christmas Day, of course.
SCROOGE: Of course, I knew that. I just wanted to make sure!
(Dances, forgetting boy.)
It’s Christmas, its Christmas, it’s Christmas… Oh! (Back to the window.)
Oh, little boy. Good little boy. Remarkable little boy.
LUCKY: (Looking around.) Me?
SCROOGE: Do you know if they’ve sold the prize turkey at the grocer in the
next street?
LUCKY: What? The one as big as me?
© Copyright Kathryn Schultz Miller, all rights reserved. This play cannot be performed
without written permission from the author and payment of royalty for all performances
(including non-paying audiences).
36
SCROOGE: Intelligent boy! Yes, Yes!
LUCKY: It’s hanging there now.
SCROOGE: Then go and buy it.
LUCKY: You’re fooling me.
SCROOGE: No, no! I’m completely serious. Go and buy it and tell them to
bring it here. Here, pay them with this. (Throws money.) Come back in
less than five minutes and I’ll give you half a crown!
LUCKY: Oh, boy!
(LUCKY runs off.)
SCROOGE: I’ll send it to Bob Cratchit’s. It will be twice as big as Tiny Tim. Oh
it makes me happy. Oh, it makes me chuckle. It makes me chuckle and
chuckle.
MISTLETOE: And so he sat down and chuckled and chuckled till he cried.
(SCROOGE sits and cries, gets up, takes off his nightcap and kisses it.
Puts on his day hat…)
PEPPERMINT: He walked through the streets and greeted everyone, young
and old, rich and poor, the very same way…
(SCROOGE walks into the audience, greeting everyone, shaking hands,
slapping people on the back. He may add to the following lines, ad lib,
laugh, notice details about the people, etc..)
SCROOGE: Hello! Ha! A Merry Christmas to you, sir! Madam! Merry
Christmas. Oh, I hope you’re enjoying your holiday. Look at me! I was a
bad man and now I’m changed, changed, changed! Oops! Sorry to step
on you. Merry Christmas. Here have a farthing, a hey-penny, how much
do you think a hey-penny is? Ho-ho! Who cares?
(SCROOGE pulls Monopoly money from his pockets and throws it around
the audience.)
Merry Christmas!!!!
CHESTNUT: He went to the house of his nephew and had a merry time!
© Copyright Kathryn Schultz Miller, all rights reserved. This play cannot be performed
without written permission from the author and payment of royalty for all performances
(including non-paying audiences).
37
(SCROOGE picks out someone from the audience and recognizes him as
his nephew. This could be fun if is, say, the school principal)
SCROOGE: Fred! There you are my favorite nephew! What a good hand
shake you have there. Here shake the other! Good! Good! Got that
Charlie horse, you did! And you my darling niece! (Look for a bald man
and kiss his head.) My favorite lovely niece! And all these little nieces
and nephews. My there’s quite a few of you aren’t there? Wonderful
Party! Wonderful time! Wonderful everything!
FIGGY: At last he came to the house of Bob and Mrs. Cratchit.
(SOUND CUE ENDS. SCROOGE pushes doorbell.)
ALL PERFORMERS: Ding Dong!
SCROOGE: (To PERFORMERS.) Why thank you. That was quite effective!
You’re very good at bells I’ve noticed. Let’s do it again just for fun.
(SCROOGE puts a finger to the doorbell.)
ALL PERFORMERS: Ding Dong!
SCROOGE: Splendid! Splendid! Geniuses! All of you!
(BOB and MRS. CRATCHIT enter.)
MRS. CRATCHIT: Whoever could it be?
CRATCHIT: I don’t know, dear.
(CRATCHIT opens “door”.)
Mr. Scrooge!
(SCROOGE is excited and happy then suddenly falls back into his bad old
self.)
SCROOGE: Bob! Lady Cratchit! How well you both look! I mean… (Face turns
to scowl.) I see you are all here making merry just because it’s Christmas
Day. I came to tell you that I will not stand for this any longer therefore I
am giving you…. A RAISE!! Yes, yes a raise, a raise! Ha! (Embraces all
around, then he pushes past them.) And where is he? Where is the
Christmas boy?
(MARTHA and PETER enter.)
© Copyright Kathryn Schultz Miller, all rights reserved. This play cannot be performed
without written permission from the author and payment of royalty for all performances
(including non-paying audiences).
38
MARTHA & PETER: Mr. Scrooge?
(TINY TIM pushes past them and runs to SCROOGE.)
TINY TIM: Mr. Scrooge, Mr. Scrooge! What a nice surprise!
SCROOGE: Yes, Yes. It is quite a surprise. But here I am. Flesh and blood,
heart and soul. Just like you, Tiny Tim. Just like you.
(SCROOGE and TINY TIM embrace. ALL in playing area embrace.
SCROOGE IS overcome with emotion.)
Oh! Heaven bless me!
(TINY TIM breaks away and calls out…)
TINY TIM: God Bless us every One! God Bless us every One!
(To audience.) EVERYONE!
ALL PERFORMERS & AUDIENCE: GOD BLESS US EVERY ONE!
(SOUND CUE #18: Finale, plays long for curtain call.
ALL sing:
SONG SUGGESTION: We Wish You a Merry Christmas!
During the song ALL PERFORMERS sing and go into the audience,
greeting, shaking hands and wishing everyone a Merry Christmas, then at
the end of song, ALL come back to the playing area for final bows.)
END
© Copyright Kathryn Schultz Miller, all rights reserved. This play cannot be performed
without written permission from the author and payment of royalty for all performances
(including non-paying audiences).
39
A CHRISTMAS CAROL
Prop List
Book (Dickens)
Coal (Cratchit)
Candle (Cratchit)
Paper and pencils (Scrooge and Cratchit)
Christmas Wreath (Nephew)
Large Frame (Optional, may be played by Frame/Actor)
Keys (Scrooge)
Blanket (Scrooge)
Night Cap (Scrooge)*
Bells (All Kinds)
White Cloth (Marley)
Chains (Marley)
Ball (Boyhood Friends)
Christmas Decorations/Garlands (Deck the Halls)
Ring (Belle)
Platters of Food
(Inexpensive plates with plastic food glued on.
NOTE: You might want to glue handles underneath
so Performers can hold with palms up and move easily.)
Crutch (Tiny Tim)
Dining Table Things (Minimal) (Cratchits)
Small Turkey on Tray (Mrs. Cratchit)
Small Pudding (Cake) on Tray (Mrs. Cratchit)
2 Cups for Toast (Bob and Mrs. Cratchit)
Black Cloths (Spirit Future Scene)
Bundle (Char Woman)
Money (Scrooge)
Prize Turkey (Lucky Boy)
*The Night Cap may be considered a costume, but is used as a prop with each
Scrooge Performer wearing the same one. (Costumes in general are more like
props since Performers wear basic costume and put on pieces to distinguish
characters.)
© Copyright Kathryn Schultz Miller, all rights reserved. This play cannot be performed
without written permission from the author and payment of royalty for all performances
(including non-paying audiences).
40
Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens is much loved for his great contribution to classical English literature.
He is the quintessential Victorian author: his epic stories, vivid characters and
exhaustive depiction of contemporary life are unforgettable.
His own story is one of rags to riches. He was born in Portsmouth on February 7, 1812,
to John and Elizabeth Dickens. The good fortune of being sent to school at the age of
nine was short-lived because his father, inspiration for the character of Mr Micawber in
David Copperfield, was imprisoned for bad debt. The entire family, apart from Charles,
were sent to Marshalsea along with their patriarch. Charles was sent to work in
Warren's blacking factory and endured appalling conditions as well as loneliness and
despair. After three years he was returned to school but the experience was never
forgotten and became fictionalised in two of his better-known novels David Copperfield
and Great Expectations. He wrote A Christmas Carol in about six weeks in 1843.
Like many others, he began his literary career as a journalist. His own father became a
reporter and Charles began with The Mirror of Parliament and The True Sun. Then in
1833 he became parliamentary journalist for The Morning Chronicle. With new contacts
in the press he was able to publish a series of sketches under the pseudonym 'Boz'. In
April 1836, he married Catherine Hogarth, daughter of George Hogarth who edited
Sketches by Boz. Within the same month came the publication of the highly successful
Pickwick Papers, and from that point on there was no looking back.
As well as a huge list of novels he published autobiography, edited weekly periodicals
including Household Words and All Year Round, wrote travel books and administered
charitable organisations. He was also a theatre enthusiast, wrote plays and performed
before Queen Victoria in 1851. His energy was inexhaustible and he spent much time
abroad - for example lecturing against slavery in the United States and touring Italy with
companions Augustus Egg and Wilkie Collins, a contemporary writer who inspired
Dickens' final unfinished novel Mystery of Edwin Drood.
He was estranged from his wife in 1858 after the birth of their ten children, maintained
relations with his mistress, the actress Ellen Ternan and died of a stroke in 1870. He is
buried at Westminster Abbey.
Kathryn Schultz Miller
Kathy co-founded the professional ArtReach Touring Theatre and served as Artistic
Director for over 20 years. Most of her 44 plays have been published and have won
countless awards. Her play A Thousand Cranes was performed at the Kennedy Center,
the Sundance Institute, and has been produced thousands of times the world over. She
has won Playwriting Fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Ohio
Arts Council and the Post-Corbett Foundation. Kathy lives in Cincinnati with her husband
Barry, who handles orders, soundtracks and website design for Children’s Theatre
Plays.com.
© Copyright Kathryn Schultz Miller, all rights reserved. This play cannot be performed
without written permission from the author and payment of royalty for all performances
(including non-paying audiences).
41
FULL PLAY LIST - Check our website often for exciting new titles!
A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Wizard of Oz
A Thousand Cranes
Aladdin and the Magic Lamp
Alice in Wonderland
Amelia Earhart
Annie Oakley
Beauty and the Beast
Blue Horses
Choosing Sides for Basketball
Cinderella
Emperor’s New Clothes, The
Hansel and Gretel
Haunted Houses
I Think I Can
I'm a Celebrity!
Island Son
Jack and the Beanstalk
Knights of the Round Table
Laura Ingalls Wilder
Legend of Sleepy Hollow, The
Legend of the Trouble Dolls
Lewis and Clark
Little Mermaid, The
Mark Twain Show, The
Mountains are a Feeling
Peter Pan
Pinocchio
Poe! Poe! Poe!
Princess and the Pea, The
Red Badge of Courage, The
Robin Hood
Rumpelstiltskin
Shakespeare to Go!
Shining Moment, The
Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs
Sword in the Stone, The
Thomas Edison: Fire of Genius
Time Machine, The
Trail of Tears
Twas the Night Before Christmas
Very Bestest Christmas Present, The
We Are The Dream
Welcome Home
Why Do Heroes Have Big Feet?
Wizard of Oz, The
Yearning to Breathe Free
You Don't See Me
Young Cherokee
Dicken’s classic story, traditional Christmas songs (SPP)
Wizard of Oz – Christmas version with Holiday music! (SPP)
Story of Sadako, a young Hiroshima victim (SM, EX, SPP)
Magical characters, audience participation! (SM)
Lewis Carroll and Alice in Wonderland (SM, EX, SPP)
Amelia's life and her final, tragic flight (SM)
The true story of an American heroine (SM)
A classic tale, beautifully told (SM, SPP)
Four children act out their dreams (SM)
School friends deal with life and self esteem (SM)
The world’s most popular fairy tale (SPP)
A rollicking version of the classic tale (SM, EX, SPP)
Classic fairy tale, audience participation! (SM)
Four children tell haunting real life stories (SM)
A young girl gains confidence through imagination (SM)
An unpopular boy dreams of becoming famous (SM)
A Caribbean boy’s adventure on an enchanted island (SM)
Hilarious version, audience participation! (SM)
King Arthur fights the forces of evil (SM, EX)
Voice of the Prairie: Story of the beloved author (SM, EX)
Innovative retelling of the classic Halloween tale (SM, EX)
An anciant Central American legend comes to life (SM)
American explorers, a Bicentennial of Discovery (SM)
Classic musical tale of underwater adventure (SPP)
Twain’s writings: Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn and company (SM)
Traditional Appalachian stories and folk tales (SM)
The popular story that never grows old (SPP)
The little puppet who became a real live boy! (SM, SPP)
Edgar Allen Poe's classic writings, reader’s theatre style (SM)
Full length version of the classic fairy tale (EX)
Stephen Crane’s classic Civil War story (SM, EX)
The classic Medieval adventure tale (SM, EX)
The delightfully rich fairy tale told in a Scottish setting (SM)
Scenes from the Bard’s popular works, playfully told (SM)
A grandfather's tender story and his final, loving gift (SM)
A classic fairy tale and favorite the world over! (SPP)
Merlin teaches Arthur to be a good king (SM, EX)
Illuminating review of the great inventor's life and times (SM)
Two children hitch a ride into the future (SM)
Cherokees removal from their homeland (SM)
Holiday musical play with famous St. Nicholas poen (SPP)
Hilarious holiday fun – great for parties! (SM)
The legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (SPP)
A Vietnam veteran shares his memories (SM)
Midwest tall tales and American folklore (SM)
Our most popular play! (SPP, also bilingual Spanish version)
A Caribbean boy searches for freedon in America (SM)
A young girl deals with the loss of her brother (SM)
Native American culture and myths (SM)
*SM=SMall cast (touring), EX=EXpanded cast, SPP=School Play Package (large cast)
42
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A CHRISTMAS CAROL
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