Here's the interesting part: the same four ghosts appear in each, but they also differ in each.
Which ghosts are being referenced?
Well, the Ghost of Christmas Past, the Ghost of Christmas Present, the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come, and, of course, the ghost of the miser's partner.
I have seen three shows this month which are all centered upon Charles Dickens' holiday tale which was published December 19, 1843 - that was 174 years ago. Titled "A Christmas Carol in Prose, Being a Ghost-Story of Christmas", all copies of the first edition had been sold by Christmas Eve, five days later.
My tale is of the three experiences I have had this month alone, all centered on the ancient tome, all taking different creative paths.
The first day of December 2017, it was a movie that caught my fancy. "The Man Who Invented Christmas" does a fine job of portraying the fever pitch of the six weeks during which the tale was originally written, by an author strapped for cash and in need of another best seller. As coincidence would have it, the new nanny was an Irish lass who not only told ghost tales to his children, but also informed them that Christmas Eve was the night that spirits could most easily pass between the worlds of the living and the dead. As coincidence would also have it, Dickens' nephew was a sickly child with a lame leg. As well as those references, he also knew had a cast of other characters that were pieced from those he met along life's path... and the rest is history. Scrooge was created, as was the kindly nephew, Marley and the three Christmas ghosts, the clerk Cratchit and tiny Tim.
The next encounter I had was through a radio broadcast production, recorded before a live audience (which included me). Odd Time Radio Hour's "A Savannah Carol" required two airings, each fifty minutes long and recorded one week apart, on the 7th and the 14th, aired on the following Saturdays on WRUU.
Christopher Soucy, the author of this version, is the fellow in the center, above, running the recorder. His cast is populated by females in the lead roles, from Abigail Scruggs (the miser, far right) to her niece (far left). The assistant, Sharon Crane, has a blind son and injured husband, both hurt during a car wreck. Scruggs' business partner was also female, Suzanne Moore, as well as the Ghost of Christmas Present. The other details shifted slightly, adding Savannah flavor and Southern accents, but the plot remained the same: redemption of the miser, just in time for Christmas. Fabulous!
(I do hope WRUU will eventually post the podcasts.)
The third encounter was this very evening. A new troupe in town, Savannah Repertory Theatre, put on a five-man production of "Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol" (written by Tom Mula). Staged as theater-in-the-round, the energetic play had the five racing hither and yon, with minor wardrobe changes along the way. In the photo above, that's Scrooge in the foreground, being hassled by Jacob Marley's ghost from hell (literally, with the spiteful sprite, Bogle, accompanying him).
Marley has spent seven years in hell, having spent the bulk of his life with far more debits 9crimes against humanity) than credits (acts of random kindness) in his life account. His one chance for a better fate lies in his ability to transform Scrooge back into a warm-blooded human being. To this end, he takes on the personae of two spirits, that of Christmas Past as well as that of Christmas Present, discovering his own heart along the way.
Truly, a warm and beautiful way to round out the Christmas holiday, with these three tales of redemption of people cast out of society for their ill treatment of others.
Perhaps there's even a word of hope for those like my youngest brother...
for each and every one of us...
Dear God, i pray that it be so.
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