Bringing new life to the classics
Inspirational Musical Theater in Concord, MA & Beyond
Ebenezer Scrooge Musical
featuring local talent comes to Groton for 8 performances
A cast of 64 and a small orchestra, conducted by John Skinner, features talent from Southern New England. 8 performances will be held at the Groton-Dunstable Performing Arts Center, 344 Main Street, Groton, Massachusetts.
“A seasonal dose of this Dickens classic is good for the soul”, according to David MacAdam of Concord, Massachusetts, the director, lyricist and composer of this piece which he originally adapted and produced while living in England. “There is something cathartic about witnessing the on-stage transformation of Ebenezer Scrooge (performed by baritone Ben Morse of Natick). Dickens’ gifted prose introduces Scrooge as a ‘squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner’. I believe audiences are moved by his miraculous reclamation because there is a little bit of Scrooge in all of us and this message gives us hope”. Our version highlights the work of the Spirit to make a new man of Scrooge and weaves together Dickens’ story with another 19th century Christmas carol, “O Little Town of Bethlehem” written by the renowned clergyman, Phillips Brooks, from this side of the Atlantic who was invited to preach before Queen Victoria at the Royal Chapel at Windsor. The juxtaposition of both Christmas carols clarifies Scrooge’s reaction to his wounded past, his spiritually impoverished present, and the warning of his woeful future if he fails to receive the change of heart described in Phillips Brooks carol.
This production has proved to be a family favorite in NLFA’s repertoire, bringing audiences to their feet and reminding them that the spirit of Christmas can be every day of the year.