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The Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge

The Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge

By Mark Brown.

Product Code: TG8000

  • Full-length Play
  • Comedy
  • Cast size: 6m., 2w., or 8m., 5w.

    Livestream and Record & Stream Rights Available

Rights and availability
This title can be licensed and sold throughout the World.

* Please note the royalty rate listed is the minimum royalty rate per performance. The actual royalty rate will be determined upon completion of a royalty application.

$11.95 /script

Min. Royalty Rate: $110/perf

In stock

Synopsis

The Trial of the Century! A year after his miraculous transformation, Ebenezer Scrooge is back to his old ways and is suing Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future for breaking and entering, kidnapping, slander, pain and suffering, attempted murder and the intentional infliction of emotional distress. The ghosts employ Solomon Rothschild, England's most charismatic, savvy, and clever barrister. Scrooge, that old penny pincher, represents himself. One by one, Bob Cratchit, Scrooge's nephew Fred, solicitor and philanthropist Sara Anne Wainwright, and the ghosts themselves take the witness stand to give their account of the night in question. But the Spirit of Christmas Future breaks down under heavy questioning and confesses that Jacob Marley forced the spirits to break one of the rules of redemption: Do not use a dead body to scare someone into redemption, for the consequences could prove fatal. Judge Stanchfield Pearson gives his verdict: Jacob Marley and the Spirits of Christmas, guilty! Pearson fines the spirits 40,000 pounds apiece and terminates their redemptive duties. Rothschild desperately pleads with the judge not to terminate the spirits of Christmas. It's a death sentence. But in another staggering turn of events, Scrooge makes the spirits an offer: work every day, not just one day a year, and he'll drop the charges. The spirits agree and, to everyone's amazement, Scrooge does drop the charges. But he's keeping the money the ghosts owe him to start a fund to help the poor. Everyone stares at Scrooge. And then … a twinkle in Scrooge's eye, a smile and giddy, joyously delirious laughter. Scrooge confesses that Jacob Marley and the Spirits of Christmas had to go to extraordinary measures to change him, so he had to go to extraordinary measures to change the Spirits of Christmas. The spirit of caring and giving should be every day, not just once a year. Scrooge then leads the stunned crowd to his house for a wondrous party.

Notes

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Details

  • Status

    In stock
  • Type of Show Full-length Play
  • Product Code TG8000
  • Cast Size 8
  • Min. Royalty Rate $110/perf
  • Cost $11.95
  • Approx. Run Time 120 min

Categories

  • Target Audience Young Audiences | Middle School | High School | College and Adult | Family (all ages) | Senior Adults | Praise Groups
  • Performing Group Elementary School | Middle School | High School | College Theatre | Community Theatre | Professional Theatre | Senior Theatre | Touring Group | Praise Group | Dinner Theatre
  • Genre Comedy
  • ISBN(13) 9781583423943
* Please note the royalty rate listed is the minimum royalty rate per performance. The actual royalty rate will be determined upon completion of a royalty application.

Customer Reviews

"This show was a hit. While hilarious at time, it has some very touching moments as well. Our audiences loved the humor and the new twist on the old story."
Review by Ane Mulligan, Players Guild at Sugar Hill, Sugar Hill, Ga.
"What a fabulous and fun play to do. So many wonderful laughs and asides and the characters are perfect. Our audience had a wonderful time (easy to tell by the number of laughs). I was working with "virgin" thespians and we only had 12 rehearsals. They did a great job and worked very hard to give the audience a great performance. The response was overwhelmingly positive. Great play!!!"
Review by Lee Kools, Scottish Rite Charitable Foundation, Hamilton, Ontario
"This is a great alternative choice for the holidays because it appeals to kids and adults. The more the audience knows A Christmas Carol, the funnier it is, but the animated characters and witty dialog keep it fun for everyone."
Review by Ted Weil, Falcon Theatre, Cincinnati, Ohio
"The play was very well received each time we've done it. The play is uplifting and certainly fills one with the Christmas spirit. The play gives actors a chance to develop and portray a variety of wonderful characters. We plan on doing this play every other year."
Review by Karyn Lee Maio, Sapulpa Community Theatre, Sapulpa, Okla.
"The play was charming and inventive ... a great introduction to Dickens for a newcomer and a delight for literature buffs. The show was full of humor and tendernessÑsomething for everyone, from laughter to tears."
Review by Beth Leffler, Eastlake High School, El Paso, Texas

Hints, Tips, and Tricks

"Make sure you make the bailiff comic relief.
Be sure the Ghost of Yet to Come is also a source of comedy.
"
Tip by Patrick Erhardt, Valerie Players, Inverness, Fla.
"Children all wanted their picture takes with Marley's ghost (we hired a professional makeup artist for him). We kept the set simple, using set pieces instead of flats."
Tip by Ane Mulligan, Players Guild at Sugar Hill, Sugar Hill, Ga.
"We used a Theremin for sound effects for the Spirit of Christmas Past, which added a spooky sound, and engendered audience curiosity as to what was making the sound."
Tip by Carole Sullivan, Galena Center for the Arts, Galena, Ill.
"Our "Ghost of Christmas Future" needed no special effects to communicate. Instead, he explored the range of his own voice to make things "eerie"... and comical! It removed a tech headache for us since we had only one operator to handle the duties of both lights and sound."
Tip by Sandy Jennings, Warehouse Theatre Company, Yakima, Wash.

Media Reviews

"A sequel worthy of Dickens' approval." -The Seattle Times

"Exhilarating entertainment." -Orlando Sentinel

"A delightful new holiday tradition." -Talkin' Broadway

Productions

Location City State Opens Closes
Tellico Community Playhouse Loudon Tennessee 12/4/2024 12/15/2024
Mapleton Hall Suffield Connecticut 12/6/2024 12/8/2024
Port Tobacco Players La Plata Maryland 11/29/2024 12/15/2024
STAGEtwo Productions Evansville Indiana 12/6/2024 12/8/2024
Dylan Thomas Theatre Swansea 12/5/2024 12/7/2024
First Avenue Playhouse Atlantic Highlands New Jersey 12/14/2024 12/21/2024
Eureka Springs High School Auditorium Eureka Springs Arkansas 12/13/2024 12/14/2024
The Space Ilfracombe 12/4/2024 12/7/2024
Wright State University-Main Campus Dayton Ohio 1/25/2025 1/26/2025

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