Spokane Children’s Theatre celebrates redemption arc of Ebenzer Scrooge

Ebenezer Scrooge isn’t the typical holiday character. For one, he, like the Grinch, hates Christmas. He’s grumpy, uncaring and a general thorn in everyone’s side.

But the way Scrooge’s heart, also like the Grinch, grows three sizes by the end of his story is what makes Scrooge a holiday favorite.

Scrooge’s transformation was first told in Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.” It’s since been adapted for film, television and stage, including “Scrooge: The Musical,” which opens Friday and runs through Dec. 21 at Spokane Children’s Theatre.

No matter the medium, penny-pinching Ebenezer Scrooge (Troy Bise) despises just about everyone and everything. On Christmas Eve, Scrooge and his clerk Bob Cratchit (Jeromey Morton-Burris) are visited by Scrooge’s nephew Harry (Stone Thorne), who is upset that his uncle is working on the holiday.

After work, Cratchit, his son Tiny Tim (Emily Compogno) and daughter Kathy (Hope Galster) shop for the holiday while Scrooge collects the money he’s owed from business people.

Scrooge returns home where he’s visited by the ghost of his former business partner Jacob Marley (David Morton-Burris), who tells Scrooge he has to make the most of the present moment to avoid a terrible afterlife. He also tells Scrooge that he will be visited by three spirits.

The Ghost of Christmas Past (Lyndsey Witmer, who also plays Mary) takes Scrooge to Christmases of his youth as well as a party his then-boss Mr. Fezziwig (Joe Witmer) hosted. It turns out a young Scrooge dated his boss’s daughter Isabelle (Jessica Chaves, who also plays Mrs. Cratchit), but she left him when he became money-hungry.

The Ghost of Christmas Present (Craig Hirt) then takes Scrooge to the Cratchit home where the family, which also includes Belina (Briella Compogno), Martha (Nyah Bischoff) and Peter (Victor Prime), are preparing for Christmas. Scrooge expresses concern for Tiny Tim’s health before being taken to Harry’s Christmas party, where he sees the guests drink to his health.

Finally, Scrooge is visited by the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come (Karina Rushing), who takes Scrooge to a moment in which the townspeople are, unbeknownst to him, celebrating his death. He realizes what’s actually going on when the ghost brings him to a graveyard.

The musical also stars Gabriel Morton, Jared Branden, Rebekah Morton, Rhonda Eirls, Kaya Koch, Grace Perry, Luisa Sheehan, Violet Branden, Lyric Boyd, Shundrel Cage, Esther Collin, Abigail Donnelly, Penelope Donahoe, Lydia Grady, Kylee Koch, Zoe Marquette, Hope McNellis, Emma Perry, Vinnie Rollins and Amelia Prime.

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 “A Christmas Carol.”

The musical is directed by JoAnne Emery. Several years ago, Emery worked on a production of “Scrooge, According to the Gospel,” a church version of “Scrooge.” That adaptation is fairly close to “Scrooge,” but even still, Emery considered this production for Spokane Children’s Theatre a challenge, because she hadn’t yet seen the production before.

Emery makes it a habit to not watch anything she’s preparing to direct, instead relying on the script and her own thought process. She doesn’t want the production to feel like someone else’s show but rather “our show.”

After reviewing the script, Emery knew she wanted to stick close to the story’s Victorian-era setting. The set is a one-piece stage, meaning the main platform doesn’t move. The cast and crew will bring on different set pieces as the Ghosts take Scrooge from one location to the next.

The cast are enjoying the chance to wear period-appropriate clothing.

“They definitely are having fun with that,” Emery said. “You can see when they come out on stage, they’re wearing their costumes proudly.”

While reading the script, the biggest thing in Emery’s mind was making sure audiences saw the transformation Scrooge goes through over the course of the show.

“I wanted to make sure that is so clear and so big for such a big difference between the before him and the redeemed side of him,” she said. “Everybody needs to know that everybody has a chance to change. It’s not just Scrooge.”

When working with Bise, Emery asked him to review the script and see if he could identify what she considered the three or four pivot points of the story. He reviewed the script and noted the changes in Scrooge each time one of the ghosts appeared.

By the end of the show, Emery said, it’s practically like Bise is playing a different character.

“The pivot point started with the Ghosts coming, and then Tiny Tim, and then him realizing that ‘Hey, there’s people out here that really are hurting and they need help, and I’m not helping matters much,’ ” she said. “It was just fun to watch him develop that and get to that point.”

But, like Emery said, redemption isn’t just for fictional characters with ghostly guides.

It’s never too late to be kind to someone you might have snubbed in the past, to recognize the troubles some are going through, to lend a helping hand when you can. Just be prepared for your heart to grow a size or two.