Mrs. Bob Cratchit's Wild Christmas Binge

Last updated

Mrs. Bob Cratchit's Wild Christmas Binge is a musical comedy written by Christopher Durang, a parody of the Charles Dickens 1843 novel A Christmas Carol . Durang was commissioned by Pittsburgh City Theatre Artistic Director Tracy Brigden to write a Christmas comedy. The show premiered November 7, 2002 at the City Theatre with Kristine Nielsen in the title role. [1] [2]

Contents

Plot

The premise of the parody is the question, "What if Dickens' Mrs. Cratchit wasn't so goody-goody, but instead was an angry, stressed-out modern-day American woman who wanted out of this harsh London 1840s life?" The main character in Binge is the hard-drinking, suicidal Gladys Cratchit, whose harshness to her family surpasses Mommie Dearest by a mile. The other two leads are The Ghost and Ebenezer Scrooge. The Ghost, whose character is written to be an African-American woman, plays the narrator role as she escorts Ebenezer Scrooge through the past, present and future of his life. But, as she says, everything keeps going "kaplooey" because she can't get her magic to work properly. In their first journey, the Ghost tries to take Scrooge to his past at the Fezziwig Christmas party, but they end up at the Cratchits' home in the present, where we meet Mrs. Cratchit and her eternally hungry yet eternally sunny children, all 21 of them. The majority of the 21 live in "a bunch in the root cellar."

Most of the characters retain their original Dickensian qualities. Ebenezer Scrooge is old and miserly. Bob Cratchit is the gentle family man who is the primary target of Scrooge's cheapness. Tiny Tim is crippled and heart-rending. Equally heart-rending is Little Nell from Dickens' The Old Curiosity Shop , who appears as one of the Cratchit children. In typical Durang style, these qualities are heightened and shaded dark (not to blackness this time, just to blueness) to give it his brand of comic tone.

Durang adds many classic allusions and pop-culture references to the story, including scenes where the Ghost accidentally takes Scrooge to the lives of Oliver Twist and Leona Helmsley. The play also makes stops in It's a Wonderful Life , the Enron scandal, The Gift of the Magi , and Touched by an Angel .

Songs

There are four original songs in Binge, lyrics by Durang and music by Michael Friedman.

  1. "It's Nearly Christmas", Act One, Scene 1
  2. "Fezziwig Song", Act One, Scene 6
  3. "Yummy Yum Yum", Act One, Scene 9
  4. "Finale", Act Two, Scene 13

Original cast

Reviews

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Scrooge</i> (1970 film) 1970 film by Ronald Neame

Scrooge is a 1970 musical film adaptation of Charles Dickens' 1843 story A Christmas Carol. It was filmed in London between January and May 1970 and directed by Ronald Neame, and starred Albert Finney as Ebenezer Scrooge. The film's score was composed by Leslie Bricusse and arranged and conducted by Ian Fraser. With eleven musical arrangements interspersed throughout, the award-winning motion picture is a faithful musical retelling of the original.

<i>Scrooge</i> (1951 film) 1951 film by Brian Desmond Hurst

Scrooge is a 1951 British Christmas fantasy drama film and an adaptation of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol (1843). It stars Alastair Sim as Ebenezer Scrooge, and was produced and directed by Brian Desmond Hurst, with a screenplay by Noel Langley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob Cratchit</span> Fictional character

Bob Cratchit is a fictional character in the Charles Dickens 1843 novel A Christmas Carol. The abused, underpaid clerk of Ebenezer Scrooge, Cratchit has come to symbolize the poor working conditions, especially long working hours and low pay, endured by many working-class people in the early Victorian era.

<i>A Christmas Carol</i> (1938 film) 1938 American Christmas film directed by Edwin L. Marin

A Christmas Carol is a 1938 American drama film adaptation of Charles Dickens's 1843 novella of the same name, starring Reginald Owen as Ebenezer Scrooge, an elderly miser who learns the error of his ways on Christmas Eve after visitations by three spirits. The film was directed by Edwin L. Marin from a script by Hugo Butler.

<i>Christmas Carol: The Movie</i> 2001 animated film by Jimmy Murakami

Christmas Carol: The Movie is a 2001 British live action/animated film based on Charles Dickens's 1843 novella A Christmas Carol. Directed by Jimmy T. Murakami, the film features the voices of numerous actors including Simon Callow, Kate Winslet, Kate's sister Beth Winslet, and Nicolas Cage. The film was a critical and commercial failure upon release.

<i>A Christmas Carol</i> (TV special) 1971 animated film

A Christmas Carol is a British-American animated adaptation of Charles Dickens's 1843 novella. The film was broadcast on U.S. television by ABC on December 21, 1971, and released theatrically soon after. In 1972, it won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. The film notably has Alastair Sim and Michael Hordern reprising their respective roles as Ebenezer Scrooge and Marley's ghost.

<i>A Christmas Carol</i> (1984 film) 1984 US television film directed by Clive Donner

A Christmas Carol is a 1984 British-American made-for-television film adaptation of Charles Dickens' famous 1843 novella of the same name. The film was directed by Clive Donner, who had been an editor of the 1951 film Scrooge, and stars George C. Scott as Ebenezer Scrooge, featuring Frank Finlay as Marley's ghost, David Warner as Bob Cratchit, Susannah York as Mrs. Cratchit, Edward Woodward as the Ghost of Christmas Present and Roger Rees as Scrooge's nephew; he also serves as narrator, reading portions of Charles Dickens' words at the beginning and end of the film. It was filmed in the historic medieval county town of Shrewsbury in Shropshire.

<i>A Christmas Carol</i> (2004 film) 2004 television film based on a 1994 stage musical

A Christmas Carol: The Musical is a 2004 American musical television film based on the 1843 novella of the same name by Charles Dickens, which also inspired a 1994 stage musical by Alan Menken and Lynn Ahrens.

<i>A Christmas Carol</i> (1999 film) 1999 British-American television film by David Jones

A Christmas Carol is a 1999 British-American made-for-television film adaptation of Charles Dickens' 1843 novella A Christmas Carol that was first televised December 5, 1999, on TNT. It was directed by David Jones and stars Patrick Stewart as Ebenezer Scrooge and Richard E. Grant as Bob Cratchit. The film was produced after Patrick Stewart performed a series of successful one-man shows of A Christmas Carol on Broadway and in London.

<i>Rich Littles Christmas Carol</i> Canadian TV series or program

Rich Little's Christmas Carol, broadcast in Canada as A Christmas Carol, is a TV special that premiered on CBC Television in December 1978, and in the United States on Home Box Office (HBO) on December 16, 1979. It was produced by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in 1978. It starred Rich Little in a one-man performance with impersonations of his characters playing the parts in Charles Dickens' famous 1843 holiday story, A Christmas Carol. Little played the following celebrities:

<i>A Christmas Carol</i> (2009 film) 2009 film directed by Robert Zemeckis

A Christmas Carol is a 2009 American animated Christmas fantasy film written for the screen and directed by Robert Zemeckis, produced by ImageMovers Digital and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Based on Charles Dickens's 1843 novel of the same name, the film was animated through the process of motion capture, a technique used in Zemeckis's previous films The Polar Express (2004) and Beowulf (2007), and stars the voices of Jim Carrey, Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Bob Hoskins, Robin Wright Penn and Cary Elwes. It is Disney's third adaptation of the novel, following Mickey's Christmas Carol (1983) and The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992), and the first of two films produced by ImageMovers Digital.

Adaptations of <i>A Christmas Carol</i> Works based on Charles Dickens 1843 novella

A Christmas Carol, the 1843 novella by Charles Dickens (1812–1870), is one of the English author's best-known works. It is the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, a greedy miser who hates Christmas, but is transformed into a caring, kindly person through the visitations of four ghosts. The classic work has been dramatised and adapted countless times for virtually every medium and performance genre, and new versions appear regularly.

<i>A Christmas Carol</i> (1982 film) 1982 Australian made-for-television animated film

A Christmas Carol is an Australian made-for-television animated Christmas fantasy film from Burbank Films Australia as part of the studio's series of Charles Dickens adaptations from 1982 to 1985. It was originally broadcast in 1982 through the Australian Nine Network. Based on Charles Dickens' classic 1843 English story, A Christmas Carol, the adaptation by Alexander Buzo was produced by Eddy Graham and directed by Jean Tych.

<i>Scrooge</i> (1935 film) 1935 British fantasy film directed by Henry Edwards

Scrooge is a 1935 British Christmas fantasy film directed by Henry Edwards and starring Seymour Hicks, Donald Calthrop and Robert Cochran. Hicks appears as Ebenezer Scrooge, the miser who hates Christmas. It was the first sound version of the Charles Dickens classic A Christmas Carol, not counting a 1928 short subject that now appears to be lost. Hicks had previously played the role of Scrooge on the stage more than 2000 times beginning in 1901, and again in a 1913 British silent film version. This was the first film to be released by the Twickenham Film Distributors, Ltd., founded by Julius Hagen and Arthur Clavering. Hagen acted as producer for the new company, with Clavering handling film distribution.

<i>A Christmas Carol</i> (musical) American stage musical

A Christmas Carol is a musical with music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, and book by Mike Ockrent and Lynn Ahrens. The musical is based on Charles Dickens' 1843 novella of the same name. The show was presented annually at New York City's Theater at Madison Square Garden from December 1, 1994, to December 27, 2003.

"A Christmas Carol" is the December 23, 1954 episode of the hour-long American television anthology variety series, Shower of Stars. The episode is an adaptation of Charles Dickens' 1843 novella of the same name.

<i>Scrooge & Marley</i> (2012 film) 2012 film by Richard Knight Jr. and Peter Neville

Scrooge & Marley is 2012 film adaptation of Charles Dickens' 1843 novella A Christmas Carol, which is retold from a gay perspective, co-directed by Richard Knight Jr. and Peter Neville, and co-written by Knight, Ellen Stoneking, and Timothy Imse. It also features David Pevsner as Ebenezer "Ben" Scrooge, Tim Kazurinsky as the ghost of Scrooge's business partner Jacob Marley, Ronnie Kroell as the Ghost of Christmas Past, Megan Cavanagh as the Ghost of Christmas Present, David Moretti as Bob Cratchit, and JoJo Baby as the Ghost of Christmas Future. The film adaptation received a mixed critical reception.

A Queer Carol is a 1999 theatrical adaptation of Charles Dickens's classic novel A Christmas Carol retold in a gay perspective, written by Joe Godfrey. It work-shopped in Buffalo in December 1999 before later premiering in Manhattan in December 2001, and the rest of the United States over the years. A Queer Carol is the first queer adaptation of A Christmas Carol.

<i>A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story</i>

A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story is a play based on the 1843 novella of the same name by Charles Dickens, adapted for the stage by Mark Gatiss.

<i>A Christmas Carol; or, Past, Present, and Future</i> A play adaption of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

A Christmas Carol; or, Past, Present, and Future is a play in three acts by Edward Stirling at the Adelphi Theatre in London on 5 February 1844. Containing songs especially written for the show, the drama was adapted from the novella A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens which had been published just weeks before in December 1843. By February 1844 eight other adaptations had already appeared on the London stage, including A Christmas Carol, or, the Miser's Warning! by C. Z. Barnett, which had opened at the Surrey Theatre in February 1844. Stirling's version, however, was the only production to be sanctioned by Dickens, who gave permission for the adaptation in January 1844.

References

  1. ↑ Christopher Durang (2007). Miss Witherspoon and Mrs. Bob Cratchit's Wild Christmas Binge: Two Plays. Grove/Atlantic, Inc. pp. x, 70. ISBN   978-0802199690.
  2. ↑ Kenneth Jones (November 7, 2002). "Durang Scrooges Dickens in Mrs. Bob Cratchit's Wild Christmas Binge, Nov. 7-Dec. 22". PlayBill.
  3. ↑ Ann Miner. "World Premiere of Christopher Durang's Mrs. Bob Cratchit's Wild Christmas Binge". Talkin' Broadway.
  4. ↑ Toby Zinman (December 2, 2012). "Review: Mrs Bob Cratchit's Wild Christmas Binge". The Philadelphia Inquirer.
  5. ↑ Paul Hood (December 6, 2012). "Theater review: 'Mrs. Bob Cratchit's Wild Christmas Binge' at Little Theatre of Mechanicsburg". Penn Live.
  6. ↑ Martha Heimberg (December 23, 2013). "Bah, Humbug and a Ho, Ho, Ho". TheaterJones.
  7. ↑ John Garcia (December 14, 2013). "Mrs. Bob Cratchit's Wild Christmas Binge". The Column.
  8. ↑ James Mackillop (December 11, 2013). "Mrs. Bob Cratchit's Wild Christmas Binge". Syracuse New Times.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.