Say goodbye to Bah! Humbug and get into the festive spirit with Pick Me Up’s big winter show of 2019 – Scrooge The Musical.
Based on Charles Dickens’ classic Christmas Carol, Scrooge tells the tale of old miser Ebeneezer on the night he’s visited by the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet To Come.
Can he be turned from sourpuss to saint? What will happen to Tiny Tim? Will everyone have a merry Christmas after all? Come and find out in this all-singing, all-dancing (all-flying!) musical for the whole family.
Bricusse first adapted A Christmas Carol for the 1970 film musical Scrooge! starring Albert Finney. He was nominated for an Academy Award for the score and the song Thank You Very Much.
Mark Hird (whose previous Pick Me Up roles include Captain Mainwaring in Dad’s Army, Colonel Pickering in My Fair Lady and Uncle Fester in The Addams Family) plays Scrooge, Rory Mulvihill (Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady, Sergeant Wilson in Dad’s Army and Captain Teri Dennis in Privates on Parade) is the jolly Ghost of Christmas Present, and Alan Park plays Scrooge’s long-suffering clerk Bob Cratchit.
The show is directed by Robert Readman, choreography is by Iain Harvey, and the musical director is Sam Johnson.
Grand Opera House York November 26-December 1. Matinees on Saturday and Sunday.
Tickets from £16.90 from https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/scrooge/grand-opera-house-york/ or Box Office 0844 8713024
SPECIAL OFFERS:
Opening night £5 off per ticket with code SCROOGE5
Thursday matinee 2-FOR-1 tickets with code SCROOGEMAT
Sunday night 2-FOR-1 tickets with code SCROOGESUN
SONNY LOVE – TINY TIM
What do you like best about your character?
I like that Tiny Tim is really positive even though he’s poorly & his family are poor
Any challenges performing them?
Learning to use a crutch!
And probably the biggest challenge has been singing my solo in front of the whole cast!
It’s my first big role so over the summer, to get my voice louder, I’d go into different rooms in the house and sing my songs to see if my mum could hear me from far away!
If you are a Christmas Carol fan will you like this musical version?
Yes it’s very lively, happy & fun! The music & dancing are brilliant ! You’ll be singing the songs for days after seeing it
Would you recommend this show and why?
Yes I’d definitely recommend you come see the show, oh and bring some tissues !
Personal highlight of the show?
Seeing the world from Alan Parks shoulders !
Any fun/interesting rehearsal stories? Flying?
Yes ! When Robert, the director, pointed to my sister Poppy, who plays an urchin child “you’re quite poor aren’t you Poppy”? meaning her character and Alan Park aka Bob Crachet said, in Poppy’s sweet voice “Robert said the cruelest thing to me in rehearsals today mummy”
I have loved being a part of Scrooge, it’s been challenging but we’ve all had so much fun with. I will really miss it when it’s over
RORY MULVIHILL – GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PRESENT
What do you like best about your character? Any challenges performing them?
What I like most about The Spirit of Christmas Present is his infectious jollity, although hovering metres above the stage might sober him
If you are a Christmas Carol fan will you like this musical version? Is the story the same?
Scrooge the musical is a faithful retelling of the original Dickens story, so any fan of A Christmas Carol will love this show.
Would you recommend this show and why?
This is a show brimful with Christmas cheer (and Christmas Spirits!); the perfect appetiser for the coming festivities.
Personal highlight of the show?
It will be worth the price of a ticket just to see our fabulous Cratchit family in action.
What would you say to people who don’t know this musical – what can they expect?
Everyone knows the story; this show enhances it with lovely characterisation and wonderfully catchy music.
Any fun/interesting rehearsal stories? Flying??
It was at one time suggested that, instead of flying independently alongside The Spirit of Christmas Present, Scrooge should climb into a kind of marsupial pouch at the front of my costume! This conferred the title of ‘Kangaroo Boy’ on Mark Hird for the rest of that rehearsal! F b. I’ll flatten you like a pancake — turn back!
ALAN PARK – BOB CRATCHITT
What do you like best about your character? Any challenges performing them?
I like Bob Cratchitt’s unrelenting positivity in the face of such trying circumstances. No matter what he always sees the positive in a person, including his fairly awful boss Ebeneezer Scrooge.
If you are a Christmas Carol fan will you like this musical version? Is the story the same?
Pretty much. And I think even the songs are done in a way that capture the spirit (no pun intended) of the book. Plus you have to remember the amazing illustrations from the book, and we’re recreating a lot of those images on stage.
Would you recommend this show and why?
Absolutely. It will send you into December and the festive season with a spring in your step and goodwill to all
Personal highlight of the show?
Watching Mark (Scrooge) at work in rehearsal is a real pleasure. He’s a fantastic actor and a joy to watch
What would you say to people who don’t know this musical – what can they expect?
Fun, Fear, Christmas and the odd tear
Any fun/interesting rehearsal stories? Flying?
I hadn’t quite realised how much I had to carry Tiny Tim on my shoulders. I’ve asked him to lay off the puddings between now and the show.
ALEXANDRA MATHER – MRS FEZZIWIG
“I love that my character is such a classic Dickensian caricature! It’s tricky to keep up the energy all the way through scenes.
This is all the best bits of Christmas Carol – it maintains all the spirit of the novel with the longwinded but left out – plus some glorious singing!
Personal highlight – Tiny Tim’s beautiful solo!
If you’ve never seen this show – come! It will get you in the Christmas spirit in the most traditional way, heartwarming without being sickly sweet, and a lot of fun and frights on the way!” Alexandra Mather