Show History

History

Inspiration

Scrooge, The Stingiest Man in Town was first produced in 1956 for the small screen.  It was a Christmas special on television, featured as part of The Alcoa Hour.  Starring Basil Rathbone in the titular role, it was a live production that was filmed and received high praise from both viewers and critics.  In 1978, Christmas special juggernauts Rankin and Bass made their own animated version, which drew upon the same music that had been used in the 1956 special.  It featured the voices of Tom Bosley, Walter Matthau, Theodore Bikel and Robert Morse.  After that, Don Wilson brought the television musical to the stage.

Scrooge, The Stingiest Man in Town features book and lyrics by Janice Torre and music by Fred Spielman.  It is a musical adaptation of Charles Dickens' famous novel, A Christmas Carol.  At the time, collaborators Spielman and Torre were known for their movie songwriting, most notably Judy Garland's "Merry Christmas" in the movie In the Good Old Summertime.  The musical follows the original source material beat for beat, though it should be noted that characters such as Mrs. Dilber and Hawkins are given a much bigger role on the stage than they have in the book.

Productions

Scrooge, The Stingiest Man in Town has been performed by a wide variety of theatre venues and companies, including the Sugar Creek Players, BLOC Music Theatre and Porch Light Productions.