Marley's Christmas
book & lyrics by Jeff Goode
music by Jonathan Price
From the playwright of THE EIGHT: REINDEER MONOLOGUES and the composer of the musical LAO JIU, comes the Christmas musical MARLEY'S CHRISTMAS. A prequel to Charles Dickens' A CHRISTMAS CAROL, it is the story of Ebenezer Scrooge's late partner Jacob Marley, a miser more miserable than Scrooge himself.
Seven years before Ebenezer Scrooge would come to learn the true meaning of Christmas... his old partner Jacob Marley wakes from a night of excruciating stomach pangs to find himself standing in an open grave... his own.
Refusing to believe in his demise, Marley is forced to contend with an ominous spirit — who Scrooge will later come to know as the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come — a hooded phantom who attempts to convince Marley that he is indeed as dead as a doornail by presenting visions of those who have been affected by his passing — businessmen he has exploited, widows he has swindled, and his hapless nephew Bob Cratchit.
When Marley finally accepts that he is deceased, he is whisked away to a Celestial Court of the Damnéd to be punished for his lifetime of wrongdoings. There, the old curmudgeon continues to flout all rules of decorum, as he did in life, and demands a trial for his supposed crimes. When the prosecution confronts him with images of his own past, they confirm not only his own wrongdoings, but the fact that he, Jacob Marley, is directly responsible for Ebenezer Scrooge becoming the miser that he is today. And more importantly that it was his own manipulation that drove Ebenezer to murder him, and will ultimately lead to the death of his grand nephew Tiny Tim as well.
Finally understanding the damage he has done with his life, and in order to prevent his nephew Bob Cratchit and his family from suffering an undeservedly horrible fate, Marley begs the spirits to let him return to earth for one night to save the life of the man he despises the most.
MP3's
Marley's Christmas received a concert reading at Unusual Theater, Los Angeles, May 23 & 24, 2006
with the following cast:
Jacob Marley......Nathan Bouldin
Young Marley......Ben Zolno
Gravedigger......Chris Griffin
Gravedigger's Wife......Tenaya Cleveland
Ebenezer Scrooge/Caroller/Bass Ghost......David Fruechting
Phantom......Isaac Nippert
Benjamin Tuttle/Toby Cratchit/Businessman/Caroller/Friend of Marley......Michael Annetta
Dick Wilkins/Mr. Fezziwig......Dale Gregory
Jenny......Courtney DeCosky
Laundress......Erika Davis-Marsh
Pawnbroker/Maggie Cratchit/Caroller/Passerby......Ellen Dostal
Reverend Hedges......Jeffrey Stackhouse
Mrs. Adrian......Shelby Janes
Giant Ghost......Eric Curtis Johnson
Bob Cratchit......Brett Webster
Mrs. Fezziwig/Widow......Debra Kay Lee
Tiny Tim......Benjamin Luker
Susan Cratchit......Jonna Price
Mrs. Cratchit......Jenn Webster
Diminutive Ghost......Kevin Fabian
assistant director......Chris Griffin
music director......Beverly Crain
director......Dale Gregory
Cast
Male: 10
Female: 7
Children: 1 boy, 1 girl
Contact
Jeff Goode
jeffgoode@gmail.com
Jonathan Price
jonathan@jonathanprice.com