A Christmas Carol is a novella by Charles Dickens. Since its first publication in 1843, it has been adapted many times: for theatre, film, television, radio, and opera
Adaptations
The novel was the subject of Dickens' first public reading, given in Birmingham Town Hall to the Industrial and Literary Institute on 27 December 1852. This was repeated three days later to an audience of 'working people', and was a great success by his own account and that of newspapers of the time. Over the years Dickens edited the piece down and adapted it for a listening, rather than reading, audience. Excerpts from 'A Christmas Carol' remained part of Dickens' public readings until his death
Theatre
Throughout the late nineteenth century, and into the early years of the twentieth, British actor Seymour Hicks toured England with his own non-musical adaptation of the story, in which he played Scrooge.
A Christmas Carol (1974), original musical-comedy stage adaptation written and directed by, and starring (as Scrooge) Ira David Wood III (father of Evan Rachel Wood and Ira David Wood IV), which has been performed for the last 39 years on stage at Raleigh's Memorial Auditorium. In 2008, the show added performances at the brand new Durham Performing Arts Center. Theatre In The Park, in Raleigh, North Carolina, has produced the show since its premiere. Wood's "A Christmas Carol" is the longest running indoor show in North Carolina theatre history.
A Christmas Carol (1975 to present), a theatrical adaptation by Barbara Field produced by the Guthrie in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
A Christmas Carol (1977 to present), a theatrical adaptation performed annually at Theatre Memphis in Memphis, Tennessee.
A Christmas Carol (1981), a musical adaptation which premiered in 1982 at the Hartman Theatre, Stamford, Connecticut. The show was workshopped as a tour in 1981, with Richard Kiley as Scrooge. Book and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, Music by Michel Legrand.
A Christmas Carol (1983), a theatrical adaptation by Jeffrey Sanzel has been performed annually at Theatre Three in Port Jefferson, New York for 28 years. On December 10th, 2011, Sanzel will reach 1000 performances as Scrooge.
A Christmas Carol (1985), an adaptation by Bille Brown with music and staged by W. Stuart McDowell, was performed at the Symphony Space in New York City as a fundraiser for the Riverside Shakespeare Company, with narration by Helen Hayes, featuring Len Cariou as Scrooge, and MacIntyre Dixon, Celeste Holm, Raul Julia, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Harold Scott, Carole Shelley, and Fritz Weaver, and the children's choir of the Anglo-American School. This script was restaged the following year at the Marriott Theatre on Broadway, produced by McDowell and directed by Robert Small, narrated by Ms. Hayes, featuring F. Murray Abraham as Scrooge, and Ossie Davis, June Havoc, and Rex Smith.
A Christmas Carol (1988), is an original musical adaptation by Phillip Wm. McKinley which was written for The Chatham Players in Chatham, New Jersey. The ensemble production features Charles Dickens as narrator. In 2008, the production celebrated its 20th anniversary; actor Alan Semok has portrayed Scrooge in the Chatham production since 1994.
The Gospel According to Scrooge (1982), A stage musical that began at Jesus People Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1980 as a simple little production at a dinner theater. It grew into a broadway-style hit in 1981 as it debuted at the Historic State Theater. It was video recorded and made into a television special featuring actor Dean Jones as the host. The production emphasizes the religious elements of the story, and is still being performed by American churches.
A Christmas Carol (1988), Patrick Stewart's one-man reading/acting of the story, made its first appearance in London and later on Broadway. On stage he would use a table, chair, stool, lectern and a book with an over-sized print cover to enact the entire story. The production has been revived in London and New York several times. It has also been released on compact disc.[1]
The Scrooge Diary (Canada) (1990 to the present) (In the USA: Scrooge Tels All) Adaptation by Avril Kelly, performed by Welsh actor Phil Arnold, in a solo staged performance. Later performed on license only (two performances) by John Gray, late of RSC.
Scrooge!: A Dickens of a One-Man Show (1991), a theatrical adaptation one person show written by and starring Kevin Norberg portraying all 40-plus characters in a solo performance.
Scrooge: The Musical (1992), a British stage musical adapted from the 1970 film and starring Anthony Newley.
A Christmas Carol: The Musical (1994), a Broadway musical adaptation with music by Alan Menken and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, ran at The Theatre at Madison Square Garden, New York City yearly until 2003. Starring as "Scrooge" were Walter Charles (1994), Terrence Mann (1995), Tony Randall (1996), Hal Linden and Roddy McDowell (alternating) (1997), Roger Daltrey (1998), Tony Roberts (1999), Frank Langella (2000), Tim Curry (2001), F. Murray Abraham (2002) and Jim Dale (2003). The 2004 television version of the musical starred Kelsey Grammer as "Scrooge".
A Christmas Carol (1996 to the present), a one-man show of the work performed by Gerald Charles Dickens, great-great-grandson of Charles Dickens, in which he plays 26 characters.
A Christmas Carol (1997), a musical adaptation with music by Steve Parsons and book/lyrics by John Popa was performed from 1997–2000 at The Players Guild Theatre in Canton, Ohio and is scheduled to be remounted in December 2009. This version spawned two cast recordings, one featuring the original cast and a 10th anniversary recording in 2008.
A Christmas Carol, written and performed by Greg Oliver Bodine, is a one-man stage adaptation enacted by Charles Dickens himself, and is based on a condensed version of the novel that he used while on the second of his historic reading tours of the United States. First performed in 2003.
Steve Nallon's Christmas Carol (2003), theatrical adaptation starring impressionist Nallon, as a number of famous people.
A Christmas Carol (2003), theatrical adaptation by Karen Louise Hebden produced by and performed at Derby Playhouse in 2003 and revived in 2006. On both occasions, Scrooge was played by Ben Roberts.
A Christmas Carol: the musical (2005), musical adaptation by Stephen DeCesare. Follows 99% of the original book and has had over 300 performances around the world. It starred Carl DeSimone as Scrooge, Scott Morency as "Marley" and Kim Kalunian as "Belle" from the Academy Players in East Greenwich, Rhode Island.
A Christmas Carol (2007), theatrical adaptation by Jacqueline Goldfinger produced by and performed at North Coast Repertory Theatre in San Diego. This adaptation has become North Coast Rep's annual Christmas show.
A Christmas Carol adapted by Tom Haas, has been performed each year at the Indiana Repertory Theatre for more than 25 years. Set on a minimalist stage covered in snow, this adaptation features the characters narrating their own actions to the audience and intersperses carols and dance along with the visits of the ghosts.
A Christmas Carol a new adaptation by Adam Graham, first performed on 6 December 2007 by Performing Arts Winchester, part of Winchester Student Union. A one hour version featuring all the major characters and well loved carols, it was performed twice a night for the holiday season.
A Christmas Carol an adaptation by Ron Severdia, premiered on 6 December 2006 at the Barn Theatre in Ross, CA. In 2007, he toured Europe with a new adaptation of the show.[citation needed]
A Christmas Carol (2003) a new stage adaptation by Scott Harrison which has been produced in both the UK and the US. Originally performed by The Dreaming Theatre Company in the Kirkgate Victorian street exhibition inside the York Castle Museum (the first ever company to perform inside this venue) it has also recently been performed across the United States by three separate theatre companies.
Fellow Passengers (2004), a three-actor narrative theatre adaptation using nearly every word of the novel, first presented at Strawberry Theatre Workshop in Seattle.
A Christmas Carol - (2006) a stage adaptation by Jeannette Jaquish for the Firehouse Theater in Fort Wayne, Indiana, was performed Decembers of 2006, 2007 & 2009, and is now found on the theaterfunscripts website.
A Christmas Carol - As told by Jacob Marley (deceased) (2009/10); adapted and performed as a one-man show by James Hyland.
A Christmas Carol a stage adaptation by Jason Carr and Bryony Lavery was written for the Chichester Youth Theatre and performed at The Chichester Festival Theatre during Christmas 2008. This adaptation was also performed by Birmingham Repertory Theatre for Christmas 2009.
A Christmas Carol (2009) a stage adaptation written by Alexandria Haber and produced by Geordie Productions, premiering in December 2009 at the D.B. Clarke Theatre in Montreal, Quebec (Canada).
A Christmas Carol (2010) a new stage adaptation written by Jim Cook, Jr. and produced by the Off Broad Street Players Theater Company in Bridgeton, New Jersey. Follows much of the original text of the novella with some character relationships explored. Premiered in November 2010.[2]
A Christmas Carol (2010) a stage adaptation by The Pantaloons theatre company, touring England in Winter 2010.[3]
Film
Scrooge; or, Marley's Ghost (1901), a short British film that is the earliest surviving screen adaptation.
A Christmas Carol (1908), with Thomas Ricketts as Scrooge.
A Christmas Carol (1910) is a 10-minute silent version of the film starring Marc McDermott as Scrooge and Charles Ogle as Cratchit.
Scrooge (1913), starring Sir Seymour Hicks and retitled Old Scrooge for its U.S. release in 1926.
A Christmas Carol (1914), with Charles Rock as Scrooge.
The Right to Be Happy (1916), the first feature-length adaptation, directed by and starring Rupert Julian as Scrooge. Now presumed lost.
A Christmas Carol (1923), produced in the UK and starring Russell Thorndike, Nina Vanna, Jack Denton, and Forbes Dawson.
Scrooge (1935), a British movie, again starring Seymour Hicks as Scrooge, rather notorious for not showing most of the ghosts onscreen.[4]
A Christmas Carol (1938), starring Reginald Owen as Scrooge and Gene Lockhart and Kathleen Lockhart as the Cratchits.
Leyenda de Navidad (1947), a Spanish adaptation starring Jesús Tordesillas as Scrooge.
Scrooge (1951), re-titled A Christmas Carol in the U.S., starring Alastair Sim as Scrooge and Mervyn Johns and Hermione Baddeley as the Cratchits.
It's Never Too Late (1953), Italian adaptation of Dickens's novel, featuring Paolo Stoppa and Marcello Mastroianni.
Scrooge (1970), a musical film adaptation starring Albert Finney as Scrooge and Alec Guinness as Marley's Ghost.
A Christmas Carol (1971), an Oscar-winning animated short film by Richard Williams, with Alastair Sim reprising the role of Scrooge.
Mickey's Christmas Carol (1983), an animated short film featuring the various Walt Disney characters (including characters from Wind in the Willows, Robin Hood and The Three Little Pigs), with Scrooge McDuck fittingly playing the role of Ebenezer Scrooge.
The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992), featuring the various Muppet characters, with Michael Caine as Scrooge.
A Christmas Carol (1994), an animated version produced by Jetlag Productions, written by Jack Olesker.
A Christmas Carol (1997), an animated production featuring the voice of Tim Curry as Scrooge as well as the voices of Whoopi Goldberg, Michael York and Ed Asner.
Christmas Carol: The Movie (2001), an animated version produced by Illuminated Films (Christmas Carol), Ltd/The Film Consortium/MBP; screenplay by Robert Llewellyn & Piet Kroon; with the voices of Simon Callow, Kate Winslet, and Nicolas Cage.
A Christmas Carol (2004), an animated film with animals in the lead roles. Distributed by Genius Entertainment and produced by BKN International. ISBN 1594442657.
A Christmas Carol (2006), a computer animated adaptation featuring anthropomorphic animals in the lead roles.
A Christmas Carol (2009), a performance capture film directed by Robert Zemeckis, and starring Jim Carrey as Ebenezer Scrooge and the three ghosts, from Walt Disney Pictures and ImageMovers Digital. It was released in November 2009 in Disney Digital 3D.
Adaptations
The novel was the subject of Dickens' first public reading, given in Birmingham Town Hall to the Industrial and Literary Institute on 27 December 1852. This was repeated three days later to an audience of 'working people', and was a great success by his own account and that of newspapers of the time. Over the years Dickens edited the piece down and adapted it for a listening, rather than reading, audience. Excerpts from 'A Christmas Carol' remained part of Dickens' public readings until his death
Theatre
Throughout the late nineteenth century, and into the early years of the twentieth, British actor Seymour Hicks toured England with his own non-musical adaptation of the story, in which he played Scrooge.
A Christmas Carol (1974), original musical-comedy stage adaptation written and directed by, and starring (as Scrooge) Ira David Wood III (father of Evan Rachel Wood and Ira David Wood IV), which has been performed for the last 39 years on stage at Raleigh's Memorial Auditorium. In 2008, the show added performances at the brand new Durham Performing Arts Center. Theatre In The Park, in Raleigh, North Carolina, has produced the show since its premiere. Wood's "A Christmas Carol" is the longest running indoor show in North Carolina theatre history.
A Christmas Carol (1975 to present), a theatrical adaptation by Barbara Field produced by the Guthrie in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
A Christmas Carol (1977 to present), a theatrical adaptation performed annually at Theatre Memphis in Memphis, Tennessee.
A Christmas Carol (1981), a musical adaptation which premiered in 1982 at the Hartman Theatre, Stamford, Connecticut. The show was workshopped as a tour in 1981, with Richard Kiley as Scrooge. Book and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, Music by Michel Legrand.
A Christmas Carol (1983), a theatrical adaptation by Jeffrey Sanzel has been performed annually at Theatre Three in Port Jefferson, New York for 28 years. On December 10th, 2011, Sanzel will reach 1000 performances as Scrooge.
A Christmas Carol (1985), an adaptation by Bille Brown with music and staged by W. Stuart McDowell, was performed at the Symphony Space in New York City as a fundraiser for the Riverside Shakespeare Company, with narration by Helen Hayes, featuring Len Cariou as Scrooge, and MacIntyre Dixon, Celeste Holm, Raul Julia, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Harold Scott, Carole Shelley, and Fritz Weaver, and the children's choir of the Anglo-American School. This script was restaged the following year at the Marriott Theatre on Broadway, produced by McDowell and directed by Robert Small, narrated by Ms. Hayes, featuring F. Murray Abraham as Scrooge, and Ossie Davis, June Havoc, and Rex Smith.
A Christmas Carol (1988), is an original musical adaptation by Phillip Wm. McKinley which was written for The Chatham Players in Chatham, New Jersey. The ensemble production features Charles Dickens as narrator. In 2008, the production celebrated its 20th anniversary; actor Alan Semok has portrayed Scrooge in the Chatham production since 1994.
The Gospel According to Scrooge (1982), A stage musical that began at Jesus People Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1980 as a simple little production at a dinner theater. It grew into a broadway-style hit in 1981 as it debuted at the Historic State Theater. It was video recorded and made into a television special featuring actor Dean Jones as the host. The production emphasizes the religious elements of the story, and is still being performed by American churches.
A Christmas Carol (1988), Patrick Stewart's one-man reading/acting of the story, made its first appearance in London and later on Broadway. On stage he would use a table, chair, stool, lectern and a book with an over-sized print cover to enact the entire story. The production has been revived in London and New York several times. It has also been released on compact disc.[1]
The Scrooge Diary (Canada) (1990 to the present) (In the USA: Scrooge Tels All) Adaptation by Avril Kelly, performed by Welsh actor Phil Arnold, in a solo staged performance. Later performed on license only (two performances) by John Gray, late of RSC.
Scrooge!: A Dickens of a One-Man Show (1991), a theatrical adaptation one person show written by and starring Kevin Norberg portraying all 40-plus characters in a solo performance.
Scrooge: The Musical (1992), a British stage musical adapted from the 1970 film and starring Anthony Newley.
A Christmas Carol: The Musical (1994), a Broadway musical adaptation with music by Alan Menken and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, ran at The Theatre at Madison Square Garden, New York City yearly until 2003. Starring as "Scrooge" were Walter Charles (1994), Terrence Mann (1995), Tony Randall (1996), Hal Linden and Roddy McDowell (alternating) (1997), Roger Daltrey (1998), Tony Roberts (1999), Frank Langella (2000), Tim Curry (2001), F. Murray Abraham (2002) and Jim Dale (2003). The 2004 television version of the musical starred Kelsey Grammer as "Scrooge".
A Christmas Carol (1996 to the present), a one-man show of the work performed by Gerald Charles Dickens, great-great-grandson of Charles Dickens, in which he plays 26 characters.
A Christmas Carol (1997), a musical adaptation with music by Steve Parsons and book/lyrics by John Popa was performed from 1997–2000 at The Players Guild Theatre in Canton, Ohio and is scheduled to be remounted in December 2009. This version spawned two cast recordings, one featuring the original cast and a 10th anniversary recording in 2008.
A Christmas Carol, written and performed by Greg Oliver Bodine, is a one-man stage adaptation enacted by Charles Dickens himself, and is based on a condensed version of the novel that he used while on the second of his historic reading tours of the United States. First performed in 2003.
Steve Nallon's Christmas Carol (2003), theatrical adaptation starring impressionist Nallon, as a number of famous people.
A Christmas Carol (2003), theatrical adaptation by Karen Louise Hebden produced by and performed at Derby Playhouse in 2003 and revived in 2006. On both occasions, Scrooge was played by Ben Roberts.
A Christmas Carol: the musical (2005), musical adaptation by Stephen DeCesare. Follows 99% of the original book and has had over 300 performances around the world. It starred Carl DeSimone as Scrooge, Scott Morency as "Marley" and Kim Kalunian as "Belle" from the Academy Players in East Greenwich, Rhode Island.
A Christmas Carol (2007), theatrical adaptation by Jacqueline Goldfinger produced by and performed at North Coast Repertory Theatre in San Diego. This adaptation has become North Coast Rep's annual Christmas show.
A Christmas Carol adapted by Tom Haas, has been performed each year at the Indiana Repertory Theatre for more than 25 years. Set on a minimalist stage covered in snow, this adaptation features the characters narrating their own actions to the audience and intersperses carols and dance along with the visits of the ghosts.
A Christmas Carol a new adaptation by Adam Graham, first performed on 6 December 2007 by Performing Arts Winchester, part of Winchester Student Union. A one hour version featuring all the major characters and well loved carols, it was performed twice a night for the holiday season.
A Christmas Carol an adaptation by Ron Severdia, premiered on 6 December 2006 at the Barn Theatre in Ross, CA. In 2007, he toured Europe with a new adaptation of the show.[citation needed]
A Christmas Carol (2003) a new stage adaptation by Scott Harrison which has been produced in both the UK and the US. Originally performed by The Dreaming Theatre Company in the Kirkgate Victorian street exhibition inside the York Castle Museum (the first ever company to perform inside this venue) it has also recently been performed across the United States by three separate theatre companies.
Fellow Passengers (2004), a three-actor narrative theatre adaptation using nearly every word of the novel, first presented at Strawberry Theatre Workshop in Seattle.
A Christmas Carol - (2006) a stage adaptation by Jeannette Jaquish for the Firehouse Theater in Fort Wayne, Indiana, was performed Decembers of 2006, 2007 & 2009, and is now found on the theaterfunscripts website.
A Christmas Carol - As told by Jacob Marley (deceased) (2009/10); adapted and performed as a one-man show by James Hyland.
A Christmas Carol a stage adaptation by Jason Carr and Bryony Lavery was written for the Chichester Youth Theatre and performed at The Chichester Festival Theatre during Christmas 2008. This adaptation was also performed by Birmingham Repertory Theatre for Christmas 2009.
A Christmas Carol (2009) a stage adaptation written by Alexandria Haber and produced by Geordie Productions, premiering in December 2009 at the D.B. Clarke Theatre in Montreal, Quebec (Canada).
A Christmas Carol (2010) a new stage adaptation written by Jim Cook, Jr. and produced by the Off Broad Street Players Theater Company in Bridgeton, New Jersey. Follows much of the original text of the novella with some character relationships explored. Premiered in November 2010.[2]
A Christmas Carol (2010) a stage adaptation by The Pantaloons theatre company, touring England in Winter 2010.[3]
Film
Scrooge; or, Marley's Ghost (1901), a short British film that is the earliest surviving screen adaptation.
A Christmas Carol (1908), with Thomas Ricketts as Scrooge.
A Christmas Carol (1910) is a 10-minute silent version of the film starring Marc McDermott as Scrooge and Charles Ogle as Cratchit.
Scrooge (1913), starring Sir Seymour Hicks and retitled Old Scrooge for its U.S. release in 1926.
A Christmas Carol (1914), with Charles Rock as Scrooge.
The Right to Be Happy (1916), the first feature-length adaptation, directed by and starring Rupert Julian as Scrooge. Now presumed lost.
A Christmas Carol (1923), produced in the UK and starring Russell Thorndike, Nina Vanna, Jack Denton, and Forbes Dawson.
Scrooge (1935), a British movie, again starring Seymour Hicks as Scrooge, rather notorious for not showing most of the ghosts onscreen.[4]
A Christmas Carol (1938), starring Reginald Owen as Scrooge and Gene Lockhart and Kathleen Lockhart as the Cratchits.
Leyenda de Navidad (1947), a Spanish adaptation starring Jesús Tordesillas as Scrooge.
Scrooge (1951), re-titled A Christmas Carol in the U.S., starring Alastair Sim as Scrooge and Mervyn Johns and Hermione Baddeley as the Cratchits.
It's Never Too Late (1953), Italian adaptation of Dickens's novel, featuring Paolo Stoppa and Marcello Mastroianni.
Scrooge (1970), a musical film adaptation starring Albert Finney as Scrooge and Alec Guinness as Marley's Ghost.
A Christmas Carol (1971), an Oscar-winning animated short film by Richard Williams, with Alastair Sim reprising the role of Scrooge.
Mickey's Christmas Carol (1983), an animated short film featuring the various Walt Disney characters (including characters from Wind in the Willows, Robin Hood and The Three Little Pigs), with Scrooge McDuck fittingly playing the role of Ebenezer Scrooge.
The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992), featuring the various Muppet characters, with Michael Caine as Scrooge.
A Christmas Carol (1994), an animated version produced by Jetlag Productions, written by Jack Olesker.
A Christmas Carol (1997), an animated production featuring the voice of Tim Curry as Scrooge as well as the voices of Whoopi Goldberg, Michael York and Ed Asner.
Christmas Carol: The Movie (2001), an animated version produced by Illuminated Films (Christmas Carol), Ltd/The Film Consortium/MBP; screenplay by Robert Llewellyn & Piet Kroon; with the voices of Simon Callow, Kate Winslet, and Nicolas Cage.
A Christmas Carol (2004), an animated film with animals in the lead roles. Distributed by Genius Entertainment and produced by BKN International. ISBN 1594442657.
A Christmas Carol (2006), a computer animated adaptation featuring anthropomorphic animals in the lead roles.
A Christmas Carol (2009), a performance capture film directed by Robert Zemeckis, and starring Jim Carrey as Ebenezer Scrooge and the three ghosts, from Walt Disney Pictures and ImageMovers Digital. It was released in November 2009 in Disney Digital 3D.