Grand Opera House, York – until 1 December 2019
Reviewed by Katie Goldsbrough
4****
Scrooge the Musical tells the well-known story of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol with added musical numbers.
The story remains the same with miserable Ebenezer Scrooge (played by Mark Hird) caring only for himself and not for others at Christmas. His old business partner Jacob Marley (Tony Froud) comes back from the dead to help him realise the error of his ways. He is then visited by 3 spirits showing him the Christmas’ past, present and future. We’re told the story of how Scrooge learns from his mistakes and tries to earn his redemption.
This adaption is full of great catchy songs that will still be stuck in your head when you get home. A fun filled evening for all the family it is a perfect pre-Christmas show.
This production had a large supporting cast, all of whom were well choreographed by Iain Harvey, particularly the young children. The young actor playing Tiny Tim (Sonny Love) did a brilliant job with a solo song stood on a table.
The ensemble were well rehearsed and all did a good job. The only thing that could have used an extra rehearsal was the attaching of the harnesses as it looked as though there was a bit of difficulty getting them on. The stage was well used, with a simple yet effective set.
Mark Hird portrayed Scrooge fantastically, he did a very good grumpy old man and his transformation to kind and generous at the end was great. Overall this is a great production which has had a lot of hard work put in to it and is a perfect feel good Christmas show for this time of year.