The Players: V and L
Dear George,
Katja and I
drove down to New Orleans to spend Christmas with J and K and our grandkids, V
and L. I’d written a short
adaptation of Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” for V and L to put on as a play for
family and friends. V, our
7-year-old granddaughter, played the part of Ebenezer Scrooge, and L, our
7-year-old grandson, did the parts of Bob Cratchit and the Ghosts of Christmas
Past, Christmas Present, and Christmas Yet to Come. Here’s the script.
The children did a great job.
Love,
Dave
Act One: At Ebenezer Scrooge’s office
Scrooge says, “Bah
Humbug, Bob”
(Bob Cratchit
is on stage, working at his desk.)
Narrator:
It’s Christmas eve in London. Bob Cratchit, Ebenezer Scrooge’s employee,
is busy at work in Scrooge’s office. It’s freezing cold. Scrooge
comes in the door, and Bob greets him.
(Scrooge
enters)
Bob:
Merry Christmas, Mr. Scrooge.
Scrooge:
Merry Christmas? Bah Humbug. Christmas is for babies.
Narrator:
Bob is shivering because he is so cold.
Bob
(shivering and shaking): I’m so cold, Mr. Scrooge. Could I turn on
the heat?
Narrator:
But Scrooge won’t turn on the heat.
Scrooge:
Bah humbug, Bob. Coal costs money. You go back to work.
Narrator:
Bob starts working but he really wants to go home on Christmas eve to be
with his family and his son Tiny Tim.
Bob:
Please can I go home, Mr. Scrooge? My family misses me. Tiny Tim
misses me.
Scrooge:
Bah humbug, Bob Cratchit. You get to work.
(Bob shivers
at his desk. Goes through his papers.)
Narrator:
Finally Scrooge says it’s o.k. to go.
Scrooge:
All right, Bob Cratchit. You can go home to your family.
Bob:
Oh, thank you, Mr. Scrooge. And Merry Christmas to you. (Bob exits)
Scrooge:
Merry Christmas? Bah humbug!
Narrator:
The end of act one. (Scrooge exits)
Act Two: The Ghost of Christmas Past
The Ghost tells Scrooge
of his sad childhood
Narrator:
Scrooge comes home at midnight. (Scrooge enters and sits down in his
chair.) Soon he is sound asleep in his chair. (Scrooge starts
snoring.)
Narrator:
Then the Ghost of Christmas Past comes in. (Ghost enters, waving his arms
like a ghost.) And Scrooge wakes up to see him. (Scrooge wakes up
and looks startled.)
Scrooge:
Oh. Who are you?
Narrator:
The Ghost tells Scrooge who he is.
Ghost (in an
eerie voice): I am the Ghost of Christmas Past. I am here to tell
you about your past life.
Scrooge:
(waves his arms)
Narrator:
The Ghost tells Scrooge about his sad childhood.
Ghost:
When you were a child, your parents didn’t love you.
Narrator:
Scrooge was all alone at Christmas. He was very lonely and very sad.
Scrooge
(crying): My parents didn’t love me. I was all alone. I was so sad.
Narrator:
And then when Scrooge grew up he fell in love with Belle. But he couldn’t
tell her.
Ghost:
When you grew up you fell in love with Belle. But you didn’t show her any
love. And she left you.
Narrator:
That made Scrooge so sad.
Scrooge
(crying): Oh, I loved Belle. But I couldn’t show her my love.
And she left me. I am so sad. (Cries some more)
Narrator:
And then the Ghost of Christmas Past departed.
Ghost:
(leaves, waving arms)
Narrator:
The end of Act Two. (Scrooge leaves stage)
Act Three: The Ghost of Christmas Present
The Ghost tells Scrooge
of Tiny Tim’s illness
Narrator:
Scrooge is alone at Christmas eve. He is sound asleep in his chair.
Scrooge:
(asleep in his chair, snoring)
Narrator:
While Scrooge slept, the Ghost of Christmas Present arrived.
(Enter: The
Ghost of Christmas Present)
Narrator: And
Scrooge wakes up.
Scrooge:
Oh, who are you?
Ghost: I am
the Ghost of Christmas Present.
Narrator:
Scrooge asks where he is.
Scrooge:
Where am I? What’s happening?
Narrator: The
Ghost explains that they are at Bob Cratchit’s house.
Ghost:
We are at Bob Cratchit’s house. (pointing to side of stage) There
is Bob Cratchit and his family.
Narrator:
Scrooge wonders who the little boy is.
Scrooge:
Who is that little boy?
Ghost:
That is Tiny Tim.
Narrator:
Bob Cratchit is sad because he has no food for Tiny Tim. Bob Cratchit is
also sad because he has no gifts for his family. Scrooge feels bad for
them.
Scrooge:
I feel bad. They have no food. They have no gifts.
Narrator:
Tiny Tim says he doesn’t need Christmas gifts. All he needs is love from
his family. Scrooge is impressed with how loving the Cratchits are.
Scrooge:
They are so loving. Bob Cratchit is very loving. Tiny Tim is very
loving.
Narrator:
The Ghost tells Scrooge that Tiny Tim is very sick and that he may die.
Ghost:
Tiny Tim is very sick. He will die unless Bob Cratchit gets some money to
pay the doctor.
Narrator:
And Scrooge is very upset.
Scrooge:
Oh no. Tiny Tim can’t die. (Scrooge starts to cry.)
The end of
Act Three (the actors exit)
Act Four. The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come
Scrooge is dead
(Scrooge is
asleep in his chair)
Narrator:
Scrooge is awakened a third time by the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come who
takes him on a journey. (Ghost enters, and he and Scrooge walk around the
stage.) They soon come to a graveyard. The first gravestone says
“Tiny Tim.” Scrooge is very sad.
Scrooge:
Oh no, Tiny Tim is dead. That makes me so sad.
Narrator:
The Ghost explains that Tiny Tim’s family had no money to pay the doctor.
Ghost:
Bob Cratchit was so poor. He had no money. And Tiny Tim died.
Narrator:
They move on to the next gravestone. It reads “Ebenezer Scrooge.”
Scrooge:
Oh no. That’s my own gravestone.
Narrator:
The Ghost explains that no one came to Scrooge’s funeral.
Ghost:
No one came to your funeral. You didn’t have any friends. You were
all alone in the world.
Scrooge
(starts crying): I was all alone. No one came to my funeral.
I promise I will change my ways. I will help everyone on
Christmas.
Narrator:
The end of Act Four (actors exit)
Act Five: At Bob Cratchit’s house on Christmas morn
Scrooge gives Christmas gifts to
Bob Cratchit
(Bob Cratchit
on stage)
Narrator: Bob
Cratchit is home with his family. Just then there is a knock on the door.
(Scrooge
knocks on the door and enters)
Scrooge:
Merry Christmas, Bob Cratchit.
Bob
(surprised): Merry Christmas, Mr. Scrooge.
Narrator: And
Scrooge gives Bob Cratchit a turkey and presents for his family.
Scrooge:
Here is a turkey for your Christmas dinner. (Hands turkey to Bob)
And here are presents for your family. (Hands presents to Bob)
Merry Christmas to you and Tiny Tim.
Narrator:
Bob is very thankful.
Bob
(excited): Thank you so much, Mr. Scrooge. Come and have dinner
with us. You will always be a part of our family.
Scrooge: Oh that makes me so happy!
Narrator:
And then Scrooge and Bob Cratchit do a line dance to celebrate the true meaning
of Christmas.
(Dance steps:
To the right, to the right, to the right, to the right; to the left, to the
left, to the left, to the left; kick and kick and kick and kick; turn it all
around, turn it all around)
Narrator:
And that is the end of the play. In Tiny Tim’s famous words: “God
bless us, everyone!”
The players
take a bow. (Exit and return for a second bow.)
The End
No comments:
Post a Comment