By Stub Estey
Charles Dickens’ well-known A Christmas Carol can be explained in a few words. Cantankerous cheapskate old Ebenezer Scrooge hates Christmas and people. But on Christmas Eve, he is visited by the ghost of his deceased business partner, who tells Scrooge he will be visited by three spirits before dawn. Those spirits, in turn, show the old man how his past miserable youth led to his present pinchpenny attitude, and they change his future Christmas behavior, convincing him that time is short and life can be good.
Scrooge! The Musical is a 1992 staged musical version of the classic Dickens story, with book, music, and lyrics by Leslie Bricusse. Bricusse received an Academy Award nomination for the score he wrote for the 1970 musical film Scrooge, and most of those songs were carried over to the musical, so this version of the Scrooge tale is a treat!
Cue the music: Director Jack Tessier at Fauquier Community Theatre has a winner.
As Tessier’s director notes state in the playbill, “This is an ensemble-led show, and every member of the 22-person cast brings their all to every role they play” The players wear varying hats (literally) as the story moves along, bringing to life a total of 42 different characters. Even when their part is not featured in a scene, the ensemble players make subtle gestures, facial presentations, and asides that advance the story without being distracting. Strong cast camaraderie is evident because it is clear that the many instances of clasping hands and putting arms on shoulders is a Real Thing. They are having fun up there, and just watching them transforms the audience into a cheerful (sometimes tearful) pack of people.
Michael J. Baker Jr. has the title character well in hand because he has played Scrooge before, both in a musical version as well as an Emmy-nominated performance in a TV broadcast of A Christmas Carol. Baker channels Alistair Sims’ performance in the classic 1951 film adaptation of the Dickens story — the non-musical version that people of a certain age recall as the definitive Scrooge.
Baker delivers characteristic grimness at the beginning, modulating to celebratory charm and gleeful kindness by the end. His mannerisms tell the story as much as his dialogue delivery, and his clear, crisp, and bold singing voice adds to his command of the stage throughout. He was onstage for most of the play, and even when not featured, his reactions showed that his character was an important part of telling the story.
The opening number has the company singing an a capella medley of overlapping carols that must have taken a lot of work by music director Anthony Smitha, honing the song to melodic precision. When the music joins the solitary singers midway through the song, the choral group is right on tempo and in tune. Kudos to Smitha and the ensemble for spending the necessary rehearsal time; the harmonies were pleasing all through the show.
The youngest members of the cast were featured in the choral number “A Christmas Carol” and were delightfully resonant. So much music from such youthful singers!
There are so many “money songs” that it’s hard to track them separately, but there is an actual “money song” when Scrooge makes a strong introduction with his signature ditty, “M.O.N.E.Y.” During that performance, the light behind him turns green. It was as if lighting designer Georgia Fenimore and assistant Bek Perez, along with sound designer Kaitlyn Nelson, made the lighting and sound two extra characters in the show, starting with this song and continuing throughout, at key moments. Actors were amplified and lit as needed, so the audience could clearly see and hear them, and scenes where singers were consciously overlapped by Scrooge and the Spirits were aptly programmed to have just the right volume and lighting for each.
One among many things that the audience will marvel at is every actor mastered the English accent needed for their characters. Not a small thing to keep that up for a two-hour show, and everyone nailed it, from the youngest to the most experienced performers. With dialect coaching from Robert DeBroeck, they transported us to London and took us back to a time nearly two centuries ago.
The spot-on period costume design by Kyna Chilcot and versatile set/scenic designs by Diane King and Debbie Martin helped make time travel seem real. Stage manager Esther Wells coached her crew to change those sets in minimal time when moving through time or space was necessary.
Watching a show like this makes it challenging to highlight standouts because there are so many. Cast member Wilson Johnson does an awesome job with Marley’s ghost, a role he has played before. His makeup and mannerisms were right on point. Noah Sariñana’s Bob Cratchit was alternately submissive with Scrooge and charming with his family; his solos clear and tuneful.
Luke Tessier’s Nephew was respectful of Uncle Scrooge and fun to watch, especially during his songs and dance numbers. His “Happiness” duet with Jessica Frydl Mabry (Isabel) showed solid performances by both.
Nick Villacorte, as Tom Jenkins, started out strong on “Father Christmas” and never wavered through several more numbers. His formidable performance reflects his theater and musical experience.
The audience was waiting for the iconic character Tiny Tim to take center stage, and Peter Albrigo captured the moment well, with the Cratchit family adding pleasant harmonies for “The Beautiful Day” in one of the scenes where the characters’ singing overlapped neatly with dialog and lyrics from Scrooge.
Gabrielle Tessier’s choreography put well-designed motion to the songs, adding an extra element of fun to watching the show. Hearing the ensemble sing their harmonies, while capably dancing the night away, made for a Broadway-like experience right here in Vint Hill.
Ghosts and Spirits, oh my! Christmas Spirits Past (Lexi Gioia), Present (Tim Carlson), and Future (Brad Broemmel) played their parts handsomely. Gioia’s lovely high voice and Carlson’s smooth bass led Scrooge through the eras pleasingly. Broemmel got his Spirit job done silently, solely through imaginative gestures, but his separate portrayal as Mr. Pringle added a delightful comic element.
Spoiler alert: There is a happy ending, and right through it and the curtain call’s standing ovation, Scrooge and the Company sang and danced a rollicking version of what I had been thinking all through the show: “Thank You Very Much”!
Scrooge! The Musical plays through December 15, 2024 (Thursday, Fridays, and Saturdays at 7:30 pm and Sundays at 2:00 pm), at Fauquier Community Theatre – 4225 Aiken Drive, Warrenton, VA. All tickets ($18–$24) are for reserved seating and are beginning to sell out. Purchase tickets online or call the box office at 540-349–8760.
Printed playbills are available at the performances and also online here.
See Facebook for additional photos.
COVID Safety: Fauquier Community Theatre is following the latest guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Virginia Department of Health. As such, we will not have any seating or distancing restrictions. Face coverings are optional. If you feel sick or are displaying any symptoms of COVID-19, or have been exposed to someone sick, please do not attend. The theater’s complete COVID Procedures are here.
This project was supported, in part, by the Virginia Commission for the Arts, which receives support from the Virginia General Assembly and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.
Stub Estey is a retired business executive and local theater actor/musician in northern Virginia. His book Oxcart Gold Rush recounts the travels of a 19th-century ’49er who crossed the country in an oxcart just before the 1853 setting of Scrooge! the Musical.
Scrooge! The Musical
Book, Music and Lyrics by Leslie Bricusse
From A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
