’Tis the season to bring Charles Dickens’ immortal tale to the stage! These festive holiday plays and musicals – from faithful adaptations to creative reinventions – bring A Christmas Carol to vivid life, capturing all the merriment and cheer of the classic novel.
A Carol Christmas by Doug Haverty and Bruce Kimmel (US)
(One-Act Musical, Holiday Classic / 9w, 5m)
Carol, the workaholic head of a home shopping network, is haunted by the ghost of a former business partner. During one fateful night, she must confront the very things that pushed her away from people to finally appreciate the true meaning of Christmas. With catchy songs and a clever script, A Carol Christmas is the perfect family-friendly musical adaptation of the Charles Dickens holiday classic.
A Christmas Carol by Janet Allard and Michael Bigelow Dixon (US)
(Full-Length Play, Holiday Classic / 3w, 5m)
This timeless holiday classic is creatively retold with a unique twist by having every actor – any gender, young and old – take turns playing Scrooge. Jacob Marley’s ghost and three other spirits take Scrooge on a journey through time and space, as Scrooge confronts his misdeeds and awakens to a deeper purpose in life. All of the dialogue is taken directly from Charles Dickens’ novella in this interpretation of Ebenezer Scrooge’s transformation from a cruel and miserly curmudgeon to a joyous and generous soul.
A Christmas Carol by Patrick Barlow (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Dramatic Comedy / 2w, 3m)
Patrick Barlow, writer of the Broadway and West End hit The 39 Steps (US/UK), has retold Charles Dickens’ holiday classic, A Christmas Carol. This thrilling adaptation uses only five actors to bring some of Dickens’ most beloved characters to life. From Scrooge and Tiny Tim to Bob Cratchit and Mrs. Fezziwig, Barlow’s A Christmas Carol uses nothing more than some simple props, fresh physicality and the power of imagination to convey this timeless story of redemption.
A Christmas Carol by Peter DeLaurier (US)
(Full-Length Play, Holiday Drama / 6w, 10m)
Faithful to Dickens’ beautiful language, this flexible adaptation of the beloved Christmas classic tells the heartwarming story of miserly Ebeneezer Scrooge. Mr. Scrooge is always coldhearted, and Christmas is no exception – that is, until the ghost of his deceased business partner, Jacob Marley, comes to warn him about the consequences of living a life of greed and materialism. Over the next three nights, Scrooge is visited by three other spirits who try to convince him that his selfishness will be his downfall. Is this enough to make the selfish old miser change his ways?
A Christmas Carol by Jacqueline Goldfinger (US)
(Full-Length Play, Family Drama/Comedy, 3w, 7m)
This swift adaptation of the Christmas classic remains true to the original story by incorporating portions of the Dickens novella not usually seen on the stage or screen. Infused with a myriad of popular Christmas carols and a subtle twist of contemporary humor, the morality tale of Ebenezer Scrooge is brought to life with holiday spirit.
A Christmas Carol by Sheldon Harnick and Michel Legrand (US/UK)
(Full-Length Musical, Comedy / 6w, 9m, 3 girls, 3 boys)
Academy Award-winning composer Michel Legrand teamed up with Sheldon Harnick, one of the theatre’s most celebrated Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning librettists, and the tale of Ebenezer Scrooge’s prophetic Christmas Eve is reborn. From the pages of Dickens comes this scintillating musical adaptation of the Yuletide classic that continues to touch hearts and minds the world over.
A Christmas Carol by Alan Harris (UK)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 10 any gender)
It’s Christmas Eve, and Ebenezer Scrooge is miserable – will he ever get into the Christmas spirit? Set in North Wales, this version of Dickens’ festive classic tale explores a living, breathing Victorian community. This adaptation by Alan Harris is a funny, immersive family show filled with music and mystery that whisks away the audience to a dream world where anything can happen and ghosts are just around the corner.
A Christmas Carol by Romulus Linney (US)
(Full Length Play, Holiday Classic / 17w, 19m)
Of his new stage version of the story, Linney writes, “When the Milwaukee Repertory asked me about adapting its new A Christmas Carol for them, I did not remember actually reading the book, nor had I seen any of its numerous stage versions. I was only acquainted with the film starring Alastair Sim, done in England years ago, which I had liked, but only dimly remembered. So when I read A Christmas Carol , I was able to pretend I had never heard of the great story before. I was of course amazed, not only at its beauty and durability, but at its blazing theatricality. It is part Hamlet… part Everyman… and part Charlie Chaplin. I vowed to stick to the bones of the story as closely as I could to take the evolution of Scrooge seriously, and to try and find, as he does, the child within him that slowly emerges from his ordeal to such bountiful happiness.” Directions are included for a simplified version of the play.
A Christmas Carol by Charles Ludlam (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 14w, 17m)
A ridiculous but surprisingly faithful rendition of the Dickens classic. Ebenezer Scrooge is haunted by the ghosts of Jacob Marley, Christmas Past, Christmas Present and the Spirit of Christmas Yet to Come. Faced with his own mortality and the evil results of his misanthropic, miserly ways, Scrooge finds redemption, reconciles with his nephew and his neighbors, and becomes a second father to his assistant’s son, Tiny Tim.
A Christmas Carol by Ed Monk (US)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 7w, 9m, 9 any)
A lean, entertaining, and faithful adaptation of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.
A Christmas Carol by Michael Paller (US)
(Full-Length Play / 2w, 5m, 3 boys or girls)
This fresh approach to the classic tale faithfully conveys the magic of Dickens. On Christmas Eve in 1843, friends and family gathered at Dickens’ home ask him to tell a story, but he refuses to work on Christmas Eve. If there is going to be a story, each must take a part in its telling. And so the story unfolds with the cast of 10 playing over 40 parts.
A Christmas Carol by John Popa and Steve Parsons (US)
(Full-Length Musical, Holiday Classic/ 8w, 12m, Ensemble)
This brand-new musical retelling of Charles Dickens’ holiday classic follows the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge as he is visited by three spirits on Christmas Eve. They take him on a tour of his past, present, and future in order to change the man he is into the man he must become. The lushly orchestrated Broadway-style score by Steve Parsons and witty lyrics by John Popa breathe new life into the beloved tale. This brand new adaptation is even more epic, magical, and joyous than the story of Christmas redemption you thought you knew.
A Christmas Carol by Lynn Stevens (US)
(Full-Length Play / 9w, 9m)
By suggesting famous Christmas carols, this talented author incorporates appropriate music for the re-telling of this classic story. This is an inspiring musical that captures the essence of the great tale, and of the meaning of Christmas.
A Christmas Carol: A Live Radio Play The Charles Dickens holiday classic comes to life as a live 1940s radio broadcast, complete with vintage commercials for fruitcake (extra-fancy), and the magic of live sound effects and musical underscoring. A handful of actors bring dozens of characters to the stage, as the familiar story unfolds: Three ghosts take Ebenezer Scrooge on a thrilling journey to teach him the true meaning of Christmas. A charming take on a family favorite that will leave no one saying “Bah Humbug!”
A Christmas for Carol by Michael Mitnick (US)
(Full-Length Play, Comedy / 5w, 4m, 4 any)
Carol is a selfless but lonely veterinarian who can easily reset a dog’s broken leg, yet can’t mend the broken ties with the people in her life. To compensate, she is cripplingly generous – allowing her employees to drain her wallet and her sister to run off with the love of her life. Alone in her office on Christmas Eve, Carol is visited by the ghosts of three animals who whisk her on a journey into her past, present and future to convince her to stand up for herself before it’s too late. A Christmas Carol is turned inside-out in this dark comedy with a light heart.
A Krampus Carol by Brent Holland (US)
(Full-Length Play, Comedy / 2w, 5m)
On Christmas Eve, Santa Claus’s oft-forgotten demon partner, Krampus, is visited by the ghost of Jacob Marley, who hopes to get him to see the error of his ways. But the joke’s on Marley: Krampus loves his life! So what if his method for punishing kids who misbehave lost him the respect of his family, friends, and the elves who work for him? He doesn’t have a problem with that, and spying on the past, present, and future isn’t going to change his mind! Hilarious and irreverent, A Krampus Carol pits Dickens’ classic redemption tale against a stubborn holiday fiend who doesn’t think he needs to be saved.
A Seussified Christmas Carol by Peter Bloedel (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Comedy / 6w, 11m, 22 any)
A whimsical reinvention of Dickens’ most beloved Christmas story in wacky rhymed couplets. With zoot fruited juices and binka bird geese, from Bed-Headed Fred to Timmy Loo Hoo, this tale of glorious holiday cheer is similar to something Dr. Seuss might have come up with – if he ever had his way with the story! (A one-act version of this play is also available.)
A Sherlock Carol by
(Full-Length Play, Comedy / 2w, 4m, flexible casting)
Moriarty is dead, to begin with. And Sherlock Holmes is a haunted man. But, when a grown-up Tiny Tim asks Holmes to investigate the death of Ebenezer Scrooge, the Great Detective must use his gifts to solve a Dickens of a Christmas mystery! Six actors take on the beloved characters of Arthur Conan Doyle and Charles Dickens in this heartwarming and highly theatrical holiday treat for all ages.
A Twisted Christmas Carol by Phil Olson (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Comedy / 2w, 3m)
It’s Christmas Eve in a small west Texas town, and cantankerous barbecue joint owner Buford Johnson gets hit by a twister, setting off a Dickensian adventure with a Texas twist.
A Wicked Christmas Carol by Bobby Keniston (US)
(Full-Length Play, Comedy / 14w, 10m, 7 any)
The Wicked Witch of the West wasn’t always that way, and when a ghostly figure whisks her away on a journey through her past, present and future, she may find a second chance on Christmas Eve. Can familiar faces help to melt the Witch’s heart, or is she doomed to melt away herself? A Christmas classic gets a thrilling transformation, set in the magical world of L. Frank Baum’s Oz books.
Eb Scrooge: A Southern Fried Carol by Ian Mairs (US)
(Full-Length Play, Comedy / 20w, 15m)
Cast out your cockneys and leave that stale fruit cake at home – enter a world of grits and gravy, red velvet cake and the occasional glass of sweet tea. This modern spin on a timeless classic captures the sights and sounds of contemporary life in today’s South, while maintaining the spirit of Dickens’ beloved tale of greed and redemption.
Farndale Avenue … Christmas Carol by David McGillivray and Walter Zerlin, Jr. (UK)
(Full-Length Play, Comedy / 4w, 1m)
In a festive mood, the ladies of the Farndale Avenue Housing Estate Townswomen’s Guild Dramatic Society mount another assault on the classics with their stage version of A Christmas Carol.
Humbug by John Wooten (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Drama / 6w, 6m)
A non-musical Christmas Carol with a modern-day twist, Humbug follows the story of Eleanor Scrooge, a ruthlessly ambitious Wall Street executive who has an aversion to Christmas and an insatiable appetite for power.
Our Christmas Carol by Patrick Greene and David Abbinanti (US/UK)
(One-Act Musical, Comedy/ 1w, 1m)
Dickens’ classic story comes to life in this two-character musical adaptation. On Christmas Day, widower and former actor Harold joins his grown daughter, Sylvia, in performing the adaptation of A Christmas Carol that Harold used to perform with his wife. Our Christmas Carol is a moving and faithful adaptation of this beloved holiday treasure.
Scrooge! by Leslie Bricusse (US/UK)
(Full-Length Musical, Dramatic Comedy / 10 any gender +ensemble)
In 1970, renowned writer/composer/lyricist Leslie Bricusse (Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory) adapted A Christmas Carol into the hit screen musical Scrooge! Later adapted into a stage musical, this sure-fire audience pleaser is available in two versions: a full-length two-act and a 55-minute adaptation.
Scrooge In Love! by Duane Poole, Larry Grossman and Kellen Blair (US/UK)
(Full-Length Musical, Comedy / 6w, 9m)
The perfect sequel! A year after the events of A Christmas Carol, the four ghosts (Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future) return with a new goal: to reunite the new and improved Ebenezer Scrooge with his long-lost first love, Belle. All of Dickens’ familiar characters return in this romantic and festive follow-up to the perennial classic.
The Christmas Carol Rag by Norman Allen (US)
(Full-Length Musical, Comedy / 6w, 3m)
In a spunky take on the Dickens classic, the story of Scrooge’s redemption is set in the exciting, ragtime world of New York, circa 1911. Evelyn Scrooge runs her sweatshop with an iron fist but slowly opens her heart as she is visited by a Yiddish-spouting Ghost of Christmas Past and a gospel-wailing Ghost of Christmas Present. The score, which includes work by Victor Herbert and George M. Cohan, brings the age-old Christmas story to life with rousing production numbers set to familiar songs, from “Hello, My Baby” to “The Streets of New York.” Wildly funny and deeply moving, The Christmas Carol Rag brings a new twist to an old chestnut.
The Night Shift Before Christmas by Isaac Gómez (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Dramatic Comedy / 1w)
Meet Margot, a 30-something Tejana who works at a beloved whata-sized Texas burger joint. The Christmas Eve overnight shift is her personal tradition – even if that means spending the holiday dealing with grumpy drive-thru customers and an equally grumpy robotic Santa. But when her dead best friend Jackie Marley drops by to warn her of impending late-night visits by spirits, Margot has no choice but to roll with the punches and confront the very Scrooge she’s become. It’s a Christmas Eve like none other in this brand-new holiday show filled with humor and heart set in H-town by Texan playwright Isaac Gómez.
Times Square Angel by Charles Busch (US)
(Full-Length Play, Dramatic Comedy / 4w, 7m)
Charles Busch’s hilarious and heartwarming spoof of early Hollywood’s brand of holiday fare continues to delight audiences year after year. In New York, 1948, Irish O’Flanagan is the tough-as-nails redheaded headliner of the Club Intimé. A lifetime of hard knocks has left her bitter and with a chip on her shoulder the size of Mount Rushmore. In the spirit of film fantasies like A Christmas Carol, It’s a Wonderful Life and The Bishop’s Wife, an angel in the form of a sexy vaudeville magician named Albert comes down to show Irish the error of her ways.
For more great plays and musicals, visit Broadway Licensing or Concord Theatricals in the US or UK.
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