“Scrooge” with Albert Finney
An imaginative, musical retelling of Dickens’ masterpiece. The cast has lots of fun with the Victorian world at Christmastime, as local boys taunt Albert Finney’s sour-faced Scrooge and an exuberant Spirit of Christmas Present shows him the error of his ways over a Christmas drink.
Scrooge’s journey to a merrier Christmas–and life–is stage-managed with the help of rousing songs like “I Like Life” and “December the Twenty-Fifth”. Be warned, though–like any good Christmas Carol, this one may have you reaching for tissues, especially during the courtship sequence or the later scenes with the Cratchits. And I’ve always found the first “Thank You Very Much” number to be a little chilling–but it’s very effective, and Scrooge’s naive reaction provides excellent dark humor.
There’s also one, very well-imagined scene during the Ghost of Christmas Future’s visit that I wouldn’t dare spoil here by telling you! Suffice it to say that no other Carol interpretation I’ve seen has ever explored this aspect of Scrooge’s possible future–and it winds up being a lot of fun!
Merry Christmas–grab the popcorn and enjoy!