Regional Theatre of the Palouse ready to ‘seize the moment’ with ‘Scrooge: The Musical’

Since the 1843 publication of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” the story of the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge has become a holiday staple. Though not merry and bright from beginning to end, the story shows it’s never too late for redemption.

Although the University of Idaho has led productions of “A Christmas Carol” in the past, the show didn’t make the school’s theater season this year. Having grown up loving the 1970 musical film “Scrooge” and wanting to fill the Scrooge-shaped gap left in the region, Michael Todd, artistic director of the Regional Theatre of the Palouse, and the rest of the theater’s creative team started working on bringing “Scrooge: The Musical” to its stage.

“When the opportunity opened up to make it happen, we jumped at it,” Todd said.

“Scrooge: The Musical” runs through Nov. 17 at the Regional Theatre of the Palouse in Pullman.

The musical features a book, music and lyrics by Leslie Bricusse. The musical’s score and book are adapted from the 1970 film’s music and screenplay, also written by Bricusse, and, of course, “A Christmas Carol.”

As the classic tale goes, penny-pinching Scrooge (Jonathan Fluck) despises Christmas, going so far as to collect the money he’s owed from the business owners of London even though it’s Christmas Eve.

Led in song by soup salesman Tom Jenkins (Todd, who is also the lighting designer), the audience learns just how much the townspeople despise Scrooge.

It’s then that Scrooge is visited by the ghost of his former business partner Jacob Marley (Cody Wednt, who also plays Hugo Harty), who warns Scrooge that he will have an awful afterlife if he doesn’t make the most of the present moment. Marley then informs Scrooge that he will be visited by three spirits.

With the Ghost of Christmas Past (Tina McClure, who is also the music director and costume assistant), Scrooge looks back on Christmases of his youth and to a party hosted by his then-boss Mr. Fezziwig (Jim Sato, who is also the wig/hair and makeup designer).

Audiences learn Scrooge was in a relationship with Fezziwig’s daughter Isabelle (Ally Bouska, who also plays Helen) but that she left him once he started obsessing over money.

The Ghost of Christmas Present (Gavin Hamilton, also the stage manager and choreographer) then takes Scrooge to the home of his clerk Bob Cratchit (Connor Bahr), where the Cratchit family (Sarah Barry, Jude Anderson, Alana Parrish, Ana-Sofia Bello and Jaymes Rodriguez) is preparing for Christmas and listening to a song from Tiny Tim (Anderson).

Scrooge worries about Tiny Tim’s health before being brought to a Christmas party where he learns it’s become a tradition to drink to Scrooge’s health.

Finally, Scrooge is visited by the Ghost of Christmas Future (Devon Felsted), who reveals a scene in which the townspeople are, unbeknownst to Scrooge, celebrating his death. It all clicks for Scrooge when the ghost takes him to a graveyard. But is it too late for Scrooge to change his ways?

“Scrooge” also stars Garrett McClure (nephew Fred and young Ebenezer), Asa Thomson (child Scrooge), Sasha Queen (child Scrooge alternate), Zachary Queen (Mr. Pringle), Samuel Areola (Jocelyn Jollygood and Dick Wilkins), Alison Voigt (Mrs. Dilber), Delilah Schissler (Miss Dilber), Sophie Swanburg (Mary), Mila Thomson (Scrooge’s younger sister and living version of the Ghost of Christmas Past) and Avery Hemingway (ensemble).

Many performers also play ensemble roles. RTOP Executive Director John Rich produced the show and designed the costumes, which play a big part in establishing the different time periods during each ghost’s visit.

In the present-day scenes, for example, actors wear Victorian-era pieces, like crinoline petticoats, while scenes with the Ghost of Christmas Past feature Regency-era styles.

“We established the past through imagery and in the present, it’s larger than life,” Todd said. “The actor who’s playing the ghost is boisterous. He really embodies that presence of the present. It’s here, it’s now, it’s loud, it’s fleeting, it’s gone when it’s done.

“You’ve got to seize the moment and enjoy it while it’s here.”

Scrooge’s inability to enjoy the present moment, and his humbug-ness, center around being broken-hearted over Isabelle. To drive his endless love for her home to audiences, Todd cast McClure and Bouska as young Ebenezer and Isabelle and nephew Fred and his wife Helen.

Todd said this dual casting reiterates that love connection he had with Isabelle while also showing the time that’s passed between his old, loving self and the miser he’s become. His neglect of and resentment toward his nephew is also on display followed by Scrooge trying to redeem himself in the eyes of his nephew.

Other moments in the show, like Jenkins’ song “Thank You Very Much,” illustrate how much power Scrooge has to change the lives of the townspeople and down-on-their-luck families like the Cratchits.

“Forgiving a debt might be minuscule to him, but it means the world to another,” Todd said.

“It establishes that generosity, that kindness and spirit, and the world needs to feel that and now more than ever.”

Even with “Scrooge: The Musical” on deck and productions of “White Christmas” and “A Christmas Story” in previous seasons, Todd can’t say for sure whether the Regional Theatre of the Palouse will make a holiday show an annual event, but he is grateful for the community members who are making the theater part of their holiday celebrations this year.

As a fun added layer to this production, eight family members (three sets of parent and child and one pair of siblings) are making “Scrooge” part of their holiday as they share the stage.

“It’s a real privilege to be a connector that brings families together and the community together,” Todd said.