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SCROOGE, THE MUSICAL by Tony Annicone
The Mansfield Music and Arts Society's current show is an
adaptation of the Dickens holiday classic " A Christmas Carol"
called "Scrooge, the Musical". This show is based on the 1970
movie version which starred Albert Finney in the title role. A
storybook with the title "A Christmas Carol" on it opens to
display London buildings and a huge Christmas tree, setting the
scene for various snippets of Christmas carols to be sung by the
cast which leads into the harmonic splendor of the opening
number called "A Christmas Carol" dune in glorious four part
harmony. Directors Kelly Warriner and Ken Butler lead a cast of
34 performers in this wonderful musical version mixed with
enough joyous and poignant moments to melt the hearts of any
skinflint who sees it. The musical director and conductor David
Coccia obtains the best sounds from his talented orchestra and
cast while choreographers Judee and Courtney Bottomley create
magical dance numbers to enthrall audiences of all ages.
Moveable sets and gorgeous costumes help create the 1843
atmosphere and a standing ovation is the reward for everyone's
hard work on this holiday show.
Ken not only is one of the directors of this show but he also
plays the massive role of Scrooge. He and Kelly use the aisles
and various entrances of the auditorium to keep the show flowing
from start to finish. Although he is only in his 30's, he
transforms himself into this old miser of 60 plus years. Ken's
speaking and singing voice convey the age of the character and
his strong tenor voice soars in his many numbers. Some of them
include "No Better Life" as the hard hearted skinflint and again
when he decides to change his life in the second act, the
hilarious "I Hate People" as the chorus sings "Father Christmas"
in counterpoint and the touching duet "You...You" with Kevin
Mischley as Young Scrooge where they realize their error
in losing their true love, Isabel. Scrooge repents, returns
dressed as Santa and doles out many gifts to everyone, learning
the true meaning of the day from the visiting spirits.
The four ghosts are played by Jeff Swaebe as Marley, Cindy
McCarron as Christmas Past, Debby Rawson as Christmas Present
and Jon Warriner as Christmas Future. Jeff is very scary as the
dead Marley where he tells him to "Make the Most of the World"
and in this version, he reappears in the second act to welcome
Scrooge to hell. The stage is awash in red lights as Scrooge's
enormous chain is brought to him and is greeted with gales of
laughter. Cindy is dressed all in white as leads Scrooge on his
trip to his past and as she leaves she confesses she is his dead
sister who is trying to get him to change his ways, which brings
tears to your eyes. Debby is a hoot as she sings "I Like Life"
which shows off her strong singing voice and it also gives the
chorus a chance to harmonize the number closing the first act.
She delivers many stinging one liners and makes each of them
count. Jon is frightening as the ghost but he gets a chance to
shine as the jolly old Mr. Fezziwig leading the singing and
dancing to "December the 25th" with Diana Kane as Mrs. Fezziwig.
Other standout performers include Kevin Mischley as Young
Scrooge and his nephew, Rachael Parkman as Isabel and the
nephew's wife, ( They sing a beautiful ballad "Happiness" with
Ken and Cindy) Courtney Bottomley as the energetic Mary who
leads the nonsense drinking song called "The Minister's Cat",
Patrick Murphy who gets to dance up a storm with the entire cast
in the show stopping "Thank You Very Much" ( where Judee and
Courtney have the cast dancing on Scrooge's casket which is
hilarious) and the cute Kyle Burke as Tiny Tim who gets to sing
the tear jerking " "The Beautiful Day" which the Cratchit's join
in on and the strong singing voice of Lauren Dausch in
"Christmas Children". Many wonderful performers too numerous to
mention here contributed to the success of this show. So for a
joyful look at this well known tale be sure to catch "Scrooge,
the Musical".
SCROOGE, THE MUSICAL ( 9-11 December, 2005)
MMAS, Mansfield High School, 250 East Street,
Mansfield, MA
1 (508) 243-8824 or
www.mmas.org
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