A Christmas Carol

N1: It’s Christmas Eve in London, 1843. 

N2: Ebenezer Scrooge sits at his desk counting money. 

N1: He is an old man with red eyes and a cold heart.

Scrooge: Forty, forty-one . . . 

N2: A freezing wind sweeps through the office.

N1: Scrooge’s clerk, Bob Cratchit, shivers in a thin coat. 

Bob Cratchit: Mr. Scrooge, sir, may I add coal to the fire?

Ebenezer Scrooge: No! Coal costs money. 

N2: Scrooge’s nephew Fred arrives full of Christmas cheer.

Fred: Merry Christmas, Uncle!

Scrooge: Bah! Humbug! What good has Christmas ever done for you?

Fred: Many things do us good without making us rich. It is a time for kindness and charity. 

Scrooge: Humbug!

Fred: Merry Christmas, Uncle. Merry Christmas, Mr. Cratchit!

Cratchit: Merry Christmas!

Scrooge (to himself): What does Cratchit have to be merry about? He can barely feed his family, and his child is sick. 

N1: Scrooge and Cratchit prepare to leave for the night.

Scrooge: I suppose you’ll want Christmas Day off.

Cratchit: Please, sir.

Scrooge: It’s not fair I have to pay you for not working.  

Cratchit: It’s Christmas, sir.

Scrooge: Fine. But be here early the next morning.

N2: That evening, Scrooge sits alone by his fireplace. 

N1: He hears a loud clanking noise and heavy footsteps. 

Ghost Chorus: Owooooh!

Scrooge: What is that? 

N2: A door flies open. A ghost with death-cold eyes enters. 

N1: A long, heavy chain is wrapped around its body.Scrooge recognizes the ghost.

Scrooge: My old business partner, Jacob Marley! But . . . you’re dead! 

Jacob Marley: Indeed I am. 

N2: Marley points to the chain. 

Marley: Each link in this chain is punishment for a good deed I failed to do.  

Scrooge: But you were such a good businessman!

Marley: My business should have been the happiness of others. Now I drag this weight forever. Change your ways, or your chain will be longer and heavier than mine.

Scrooge: What can I do? 

Marley: You will be haunted by three spirits. They are your only chance to escape my fate.

Ghost Chorus: Owooooh!

Marley: Expect the first when the clock strikes one.

N1: At 1:00 a.m., the first ghost appears. 

Ghost Chorus: Owooooh!

N2: The gentle spirit has long white hair and a white gown.

Ghost 1: I am the Ghost of Christmas Past. I will show you your life as it used to be.

N1: Scrooge and the ghost pass magically into Scrooge’s past. 

N2: They are standing in an old warehouse full of people.

Ghost 1: Don’t worry. They can’t see us. Do you remember this place?

Scrooge: I held my first job here. There’s old Mr. Fezziwig. 

N1: A cheerful man calls out.

Fezziwig: It’s Christmas Eve! No more work. Let’s celebrate!

N2: There is food and music. 

N1: Everyone dances joyfully, including a young Scrooge. 

Ghost 1: Some would say this is a waste of money . . .

Scrooge: A waste? Look how little it cost Fezziwig to make everyone so happy. 

Ghost 1: Your smile is so wide. Who are you dancing with? 

Scrooge: It’s Belle.

Ghost 1: You loved her, but you didn’t marry her.

Scrooge: We were both very poor. I wanted to become rich.

Ghost 1: Ah, you chose wealth instead of love.

Scrooge: You torture me!

N2: The spirit disappears. Scrooge is suddenly back in his room, alone.

N1: The clock strikes two.

Ghost Chorus: Owooooh!

N2: The second spirit is a jolly giant in a bright-green robe.

Ghost 2: I am the Ghost of Christmas Present. Come, see things as they are now. 

N1: The ghost and Scrooge appear at the Cratchits’ house. 

N2: Cratchit’s large family gathers around a small table.

N1: Cratchit’s son, Tiny Tim, hobbles in using a crutch.

Tiny Tim: There never was such a grand Christmas goose!

Scrooge: So excited over a small goose! 

Ghost 2: It is all they can afford.

Scrooge: But they are happy. 

Cratchit: A toast! To Mr. Scrooge, for our feast.

Tiny Tim: God bless us, every one!

N2: Mr. Cratchit holds Tiny Tim’s withered hand. 

Scrooge: Will Tiny Tim live?

Ghost 2: If things do not change, the child will soon die.

N1: The ghost vanishes. Scrooge is back in his bedroom.

N2: At 3 a.m., a ghost in a black cloak appears. 

Scrooge: Are you the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come?

N1: The ghost does not answer. It points a bony finger forward.

Scrooge: Ghost of the Future, I fear you most.

N2: The spirit takes Scrooge to a lonely, weedy cemetery. 

N1: A coffin is being lowered into a grave.

Scrooge: Whose funeral is this? Why is no one here? 

N2: Two people pass by.

Passerby 1: Little good his money did him. Not a single person to mourn him!

Passerby 2: But he saved money on this cheap funeral! 

N1: The ghost points toward the gravestone.

N2: Scrooge creeps toward the gravestone and reads aloud.

Scrooge: Ebenezer Scrooge.

N1: Scrooge falls to the ground. 

Scrooge: No! From now on, I will be kind and generous. I will honor Christmas!

N2: The next morning, Scrooge jumps out of bed.

N1: He opens his window and calls to a boy passing by.

Scrooge: Fine fellow, do you know the prize turkey hanging in the butcher’s window?

Boy: The turkey as big as me?

Scrooge: Yes, that one. I’ll pay you to go buy it and take it to the Cratchits.

Boy: Yes, sir! Merry Christmas!

Scrooge: The Cratchits won’t know who sent it. Oh, joy!

N2: Scrooge spends the day spreading Christmas cheer.

N1: The next day, Scrooge arrives at the office early. 

N2: Cratchit enters, shivering. Scrooge pretends to be angry. 

Scrooge: You’re late!

Cratchit: I’m sorry, sir. A kind stranger sent us a turkey. We were merry into the wee hours. 

Scrooge: I won’t stand for this any longer.

N1: Poor Cratchit is certain he’s about to be fired.

Scrooge: Mr. Cratchit . . . I’m doubling your salary!

Cratchit: Wh . . . what?

Scrooge: And whatever Tiny Tim needs, he’ll have it. 

Cratchit: Thank you, sir!

Scrooge: Merry Christmas! Let’s put more coal on the fire.

N2: From this point forward, Scrooge’s heart is full of light and laughter. 

N1: If any man knows how to celebrate Christmas, it is Ebenezer Scrooge. •