Ritz Theater's “Scrooge – The Musical” A Humbug?

Theater:  Ritz Theater Company
Show Title:  Scrooge - The Musical
Opened:  December 6, 2007
Closes:  December 22, 2007
Attended:  December 8, 2007
Reviewer: Tom Lamphere
Submitted:  December 9, 2007

Every year, the month of December brings multiple stage productions of classics such as “The Nutcracker” and “A Christmas Carol” and it is a musical version of the latter story that is presented by the Ritz Theater Company in Haddon Township, NJ.  In fact, this is the 14^th year this company’s production has entertained audiences with this holiday classic.

The story follows the traditional Charles Dickens novel telling the story of businessman Ebenezer Scrooge who’s sole purpose in life is to attain as much wealth as possible….no matter what it takes or who it hurts.  This includes his employee Bob Cratchit and his family, his former fiancée Isabel, and his deceased business partner Jacob Marley.  In fact Scrooge pretty much offends everyone in the entire town with the possible exception of his nephew.

The whole idea of Christmas is lost on Scrooge until he is visited by the ghost of Jacob Marley and three other spirits including the Ghost of Christmas Past, the Ghost of Christmas Present and the Ghost of Christmas Future.  Scrooge travels with these spirits and who show him how his miserly ways have affected everyone in his life ultimately leading him to change his ways.

The production is lead by Bruce A. Curless in the role of Ebenezer Scrooge and brings the character completely to life! From the moment he first takes the stage, Mr. Curless commands the stage.  He adds just a touch of humor in various scenes to hint at the ending to come.  His performance helps to elevate a production who’s story is so well known that it risks boredom.

In the role Mr. & Mrs. Bob Cratchit, Ken Funkhouser and Marie Howey provide strong performances. Ms. Howey has one of the larger roles in the production lending her pleasant voice to multiple musical numbers. 

Several other noteworthy performances are also given.  Gene D’Alessandro, Roberta Curless, Charles Gill and W. Kris Clayton each provide wonderful performances as the ghosts of Jacob Marley, Christmas Past, Present and Future, respectively.  Each character sticks mostly to the traditional stereotype of their character while adding a sprinkle of their own interpretation.  I must admit that the sight of Christmas Future dancing along during one of the music numbers was hysterical!

James Scotland IV and Marcus Chaney add strong performances to the production in smaller roles of Scrooge’s nephew and Tom Jenkins.

The remainder of the cast of nearly 30 all help to bring to life the story and everyone is very good.  In fact, this is the first production I’ve seen in some time where I didn’t notice a performer who dropped out of character at some point while on stage.  The entire cast all do a great job of not only staying in character and but adding something to the scene that they’re in. 

Director Ken Funkhouser wisely uses the entire theater as a stage and moves the cast off of the stage into aisles and onto to platforms in the middle of the theater.  This allows the actors to interact with the audience and is generally very effective.

I wish the transformation of the story into a musical works magic, but it does not.  While there are highlights and hints of what could have been such as “I Hate People”, “Father Christmas” and the delightful toe-tapping “Thank You Very Much”.  The remainder of the songs in the show are forgetful and include multiple “standard” Christmas carols such as “God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman”, “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” and others.  While I personally like these carols, I found that they dragged the pacing of the show and didn’t seem to have a purpose other than to showcase the vocal abilities of the talented cast.  However, if you like Christmas carols no matter where or when you hear them, the cast does a great job harmonizing on them!

The music for this production is pre-recorded which, in itself is not a problem.  However, the sound system muffled the sound and the mix of sound between the music and the microphones needs improvement.  Hopefully, the theater has the ability to improve their sound system in the future.The Ritz Theater Company has been giving the Haddon Township area a holiday treat for the past 13 years.  This year, they continue the tradition and offer a wonderful production that is suitable for the whole family.  My 5 year old daughter agrees, “Scrooge – The Musical” is no humbug!