What the Dickens! It’s Christmas Carol – the musical

After the high school antics of Grease in its last sellout production, award-winning musical theatre company NETheatre York take on a Charles Dickens musical for their next show at Joseph Rowntree Theatre.

A Christmas Carol can be seen at the venue from 28 November to December 2.

The show has music by Alan Menkin, who wrote music for such Disney musicals as The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast and Newsies. Lyrics are by Lynn Ahrens with book by Mike Ockrent and Ahrens.

The musical is based on the Dickens novella about Ebenezer Scrooge, a mean man with a dislike for mankind.

The show was staged annually at New York City’s Theatre at Madison Square from 1994-2003 with Oscar-winner F. Murray Abraham, Jim Dale, Roger Daltrey and Frank Langella among those playing Scrooge. The show was staged in London in 2020 with Brian Conley as Scrooge.

In the NE Network production Kit Stroud plays miserly Scrooge who, one Christmas Eve, is visited by the ghost of his former partner Jacob Marley (played by Steve Tearle), who died seven years previously. He warns Scrooge that he can expect a visit from three ghosts – the Ghost of Christmas Past (Perri Ann Barley), the Ghost of Christmas Present (Chris Hagyard) and the Ghost of Christmas Yet-To-Be (John Mulholland). They warn that he must mend his ways if he’s to avoid the horrible consequences of treating people badly.

As well as ghostly figures,  the story also features such comedy characters as Mr and Mrs Fizzywig (Ali Butler Hind and (Greg Roberts).

With more than 60 people in the cast, this promises to be a true Christmas spectacular – a heart-warming festive story to kick start your Christmas.

A Christmas Carol is at the Joseph Rowntree Theatre from November 28 to December 2.

Tickets available from josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk or call 01904 501935.