A Christmas Carol
Printed From: Community Theater Green Room
Category: Producing Theater
Forum Name: Play Suggestions
Forum Discription: Need help finding a show that's right for your theater? Ask here.
URL: http://www.communitytheater.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=3352
Printed Date: 10/31/25 at 3:48pm
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Topic: A Christmas Carol
Posted By: jayzehr
Subject: A Christmas Carol
Date Posted: 8/12/08 at 10:48pm
| This is a stupid question and I know this has to have been covered here--I just can't seem to find it. Is there a "standard" non-musical stage version of A Christmas Carol? I guess I'm asking what is the safest choice. |
Replies:
Posted By: Lazy Bee
Date Posted: 8/13/08 at 12:49pm
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Most of the discussion here has been on the (various!) musical versions. There are also various straight adaptations. See for example, the second half of http://www.lazybeescripts.co.uk/cgi-bin/Search_Results.asp?iSc=61 - Charles Dickens' Christmas Eve . I am not aware of a dominant adaptation, as most of the stage productions tend to be the musicals.
------------- Stuart Lazy Bee Scripts http://www.lazybeescripts.co.uk - http://www.lazybeescripts.co.uk read complete play scripts on-line |
Posted By: jayzehr
Date Posted: 8/13/08 at 3:03pm
| What would you suggest as the easiest musical adaptation? |
Posted By: Lazy Bee
Date Posted: 8/15/08 at 5:54am
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I don't think I'm qualified to answer that question - I haven't seen enough of the musicals! Anyone?
------------- Stuart Lazy Bee Scripts http://www.lazybeescripts.co.uk - http://www.lazybeescripts.co.uk read complete play scripts on-line |
Posted By: tristanrobin
Date Posted: 8/15/08 at 9:29am
| I don't know about the musical versions ... but my favorite straight version is the adaptation by Israel Horovitz. I believe Dramatists carries it. |
Posted By: jayzehr
Date Posted: 8/15/08 at 2:49pm
| Thanks everyone! I also just ordered "Every Christmas Story Ever Told and Then Some" which looks like it might better suit our resources. |
Posted By: kaelidancer
Date Posted: 8/18/08 at 3:01pm
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There are several straight adaptations of this available at Sam French... most require immense casts, or are frightfully abstract. There is one public domain straight adaptation as well (the original stage adaptation, afaik), and it suffers from unfortunately awful dialogue, but is otherwise a fairly simple and straightforward adaptation. We're looking at one called "Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol" for next season... it's the familiar story, told from Marley's point of view. Four actors play all the roles. It's a dark-ish comedy. Also worthwhile is the "Farndale Avenue Housing Estate Townswomen's Guild Dramatic Society's Production of 'A Christmas Carol'" ... A comedy about a terrible production of the aforementioned public domain adaptation. Did very well for us, and is very funny. |
Posted By: pdavis69
Date Posted: 8/18/08 at 4:08pm
------------- Patrick L. Davis Fort Findlay Playhouse |
Posted By: ClintonHammond
Date Posted: 8/20/08 at 11:19am
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Avoid Israel Horovitz's adaptation like the plague! The script is terrible! Philip Grecian wrote a version and if it's half as good as his adaptation of A Christmas Story then it'd be the best "A Christmas Carol" money can buy ------------- Without actors, a techie is a person with a list of marketable skills. Without techies, an actor is just a goof, emoting alone in the dark. |
Posted By: jayzehr
Date Posted: 8/20/08 at 3:17pm
| Thanks everyone for your input. |
Posted By: tristanrobin
Date Posted: 8/21/08 at 10:09am
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"Avoid Israel Horovitz's adaptation like the plague! The script is terrible!" Totally disagree! |
Posted By: ClintonHammond
Date Posted: 8/21/08 at 10:25am
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Too many stage directions (so I used a LOT of black ink, blocking them out) especially stage directions that were unnecessary to any half-way creative director... Too many impossible things (How did you have Marley take off his head? Or how did you show the audience that he "had no bowels"??? ) Too many irrelevant things (Bats? cats? Emotional italics... ) It's an awful script. But a good director can save it, as always. (A good director trumps a bad script every time) ------------- Without actors, a techie is a person with a list of marketable skills. Without techies, an actor is just a goof, emoting alone in the dark. |
Posted By: whitebat
Date Posted: 8/21/08 at 6:44pm
| I'm not sure what script we used. (Possibly the public domain one?). It was quite faithful in tone and specific quotations to the original book. We took a non-musical version and added music (recorder, a capella vocal, chimes) between the staves. |
Posted By: jayzehr
Date Posted: 8/21/08 at 11:19pm
| As it turns out the board consensus is that another theater in a neighboring town has the Christmas Carol market covered as far as a straight version. I'm going to keep looking for another Holiday script. |
Posted By: tristanrobin
Date Posted: 8/22/08 at 9:55am
So, tell me, as a "creative director," when does 'impossible' become possible with a creative director?  I think it's a terrific script. But, I'm sure you're just a much more talented director than I.  |
Posted By: ClintonHammond
Date Posted: 8/22/08 at 12:48pm
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"when does 'impossible' become possible with a creative director?" So, then answer any of the questions... Or is the script not terrific enough to stand a critical approach? "I'm sure you're just a much more talented director than I." Oh please... come down off the cross would ya... we need the wood for building flats. "I'm going to keep looking for another Holiday script." Every Christmas Story Ever Told And Then Some is fantastic A Christmas Story by Phil Grecian is a FANTASTIC, but technically demanding script. A ' creative' director can do a LOT with "Best Christmas Pageant Ever". It's well worth looking into. Good luck in your script hunt! ------------- Without actors, a techie is a person with a list of marketable skills. Without techies, an actor is just a goof, emoting alone in the dark. |
Posted By: pdavis69
Date Posted: 8/22/08 at 12:56pm
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Once again certain things ring clear in the written word. ------------- Patrick L. Davis Fort Findlay Playhouse |
Posted By: MartyW
Date Posted: 8/22/08 at 1:38pm
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Oye! ------------- Marty W "Till next we trod the boards.." |
Posted By: jaytee060
Date Posted: 8/22/08 at 1:46pm
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Just my two cents worth but I find Israel Horovitz's adaptation of The Christmas Carol to be one of the most original and refreshing versions to be found. So many versions are simply reworking of the same tired story
with emphasis of "staying true to the words of master". Now there is certainly nothing wrong with that....however, Horovitz finds ways to make
the Dickens classic exciting and innovative. Nothing wrong with that either.
------------- "REMEMBER ME IN LIGHT" |
Posted By: ClintonHammond
Date Posted: 8/22/08 at 1:55pm
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"I find Israel Horovitz's adaptation of The Christmas Carol to be one of the most original and refreshing versions to be found." It's got some good dialogue, I'll grant it that... But most of its over-arching structure is so poorly hung together that it can be very nearly impossible to stage... ------------- Without actors, a techie is a person with a list of marketable skills. Without techies, an actor is just a goof, emoting alone in the dark. |
Posted By: tristanrobin
Date Posted: 8/22/08 at 3:45pm
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Well, as it is one of the most popular versions used in college productions, there seems to be many who are in disagreement with your ever-so-creative self! Perhaps it's just your writing style that makes you appear to be one of the most arrogant and self-important people to post on this forum ever? |
Posted By: ClintonHammond
Date Posted: 8/22/08 at 4:04pm
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"as it is one of the most popular versions" "Most popular" doesn't necessarily mean "Good", does it... anybody with half an artistic bone in their body knows that... If it was the case, the best art would come from The Fox Network. "there seems to be many who are in disagreement" And that's fair enough... People are welcome to disagree with me. It would be a boring old world if we were all the same. The discussion and the sharing of differences is one of the whole points of discourse. You seem to expect that everyone has to agree with you, but I'm the one who's 'arrogant' and 'self-important'?? That's pretty damn funny. But if you'd rather just attack me personally instead of taking part in the discussion at hand, you're welcome to... I'm more than big enough to suffer your little slings and arrows. Leaves me to wonder why on earth you seem to feel so threatened by me though... *shrug* This is a picture of me, not losing any sleep over it. As Robert Frost said... "Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self-confidence." Can those of us who wish to continue the discussion get back to the topic at hand now? ------------- Without actors, a techie is a person with a list of marketable skills. Without techies, an actor is just a goof, emoting alone in the dark. |
Posted By: tristanrobin
Date Posted: 8/22/08 at 4:20pm
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nice twisting of history it would seem that you're used to defending yourself against this kind of complaint 'nuff said |
Posted By: tristanrobin
Date Posted: 8/22/08 at 4:23pm
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"... anybody with half an artistic bone in their body knows that.." "...creative director..." I, for one, seem to be a tad sick of your condescension and know-it-all approach are you this unpleasant in real life? by the way - I've been a participating member of this forum for years - it's been quite some time since anybody with such a self-important attitude has come through did you come just to let us all us non-creative and half-creative-boned people the wisdom and depth of your creative talent and knowledge and experience? |
Posted By: ClintonHammond
Date Posted: 8/22/08 at 4:44pm
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Tristanrobin. Now go back and try reading my posts without your personal agenda attached to them... You're reading tone INTO my posts that is not there in the least. I fail to see why you're taking my criticism of a play, personally as if I have somehow slighted you, by disagreeing with you. I also fail to see why I should have to endure being called 'arrogant' and 'self-important' for having an opinion that differs from yours. You said you like the play and left it at that. I said I didn't and listed some reasons for it. You reacted as if I'd kicked sand in your ice-cream. I'm at a loss to understand why. ------------- Without actors, a techie is a person with a list of marketable skills. Without techies, an actor is just a goof, emoting alone in the dark. |
Posted By: Mike Polo
Date Posted: 8/22/08 at 5:26pm
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I am closing this thread due to personal attacks (in both directions) and undue arrogance. Please learn to have differing opinions while being civil to each other. ------------- Mike Polo Community Theater Green Room http://www.communitytheater.org http://www.twitter.com/CTGreenRoom"> 
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