''Mrs. Bob Cratchit's Wild Christmas Binge'' is a musical comedy written by

Christopher Durang Christopher Ferdinand Durang (born January 2, 1949) is an American playwright known for works of outrageous and often absurd comedy. His work was especially popular in the 1980s, though his career seemed to get a second wind in the late 1990s. ...

, a parody of the

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

1843 novel '' A Christmas Carol''. Durang was commissioned by

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

City Theatre Artistic Director Tracy Brigden to write a Christmas comedy. The show premiered November 7, 2002 at the City Theatre with

Kristine Nielsen Kristine E. Nielsen (born May 28, 1955) is an American actress known for her work on Broadway and Off-Broadway. Nielsen was nominated for the 2013 Tony Award for Best Lead Actress in a Play for her performance as Sonia in ''Vanya and Sonia and Ma ...

in the title role.

Plot

The premise of the parody is the question, "What if Dickens' Mrs. Cratchit wasn't so goody-goody, but instead was an angry, stressed-out modern-day American woman who wanted out of this harsh London 1840s life?" The main character in ''Binge'' is the hard-drinking, suicidal Gladys Cratchit, whose harshness to her family surpasses

Mommie Dearest ''Mommie Dearest'' is a memoir and exposé written by Christina Crawford, the adopted daughter of actress Joan Crawford. Published in 1978, it attracted much controversy for its portrayal of Joan Crawford as a cruel, unbalanced, and alcoholic m ...

by a mile. The other two leads are The Ghost and Ebenezer Scrooge. The Ghost, whose character is written to be an African-American woman, plays the narrator role as she escorts Ebenezer Scrooge through the past, present and future of his life. But, as she says, everything keeps going "kaplooey" because she can't get her magic to work properly. In their first journey, the Ghost tries to take Scrooge to his past at the

Fezziwig Mr. Fezziwig is a character from the 1843 novella '' A Christmas Carol'' created by Charles Dickens to provide contrast with Ebenezer Scrooge's attitudes towards business ethics. Scrooge apprenticed under Fezziwig. Despite this, the older Scroog ...

Christmas party, but they end up at the Cratchits' home in the present, where we meet Mrs. Cratchit and her eternally hungry yet eternally sunny children, all 21 of them. The majority of the 21 live in "a bunch in the root cellar." Most of the characters retain their original Dickensian qualities. Ebenezer Scrooge is old and miserly.

Bob Cratchit Bob Cratchit is a fictional character in the Charles Dickens 1843 novel ''A Christmas Carol''. The abused, underpaid clerk of Ebenezer Scrooge (and possibly Jacob Marley, when he was alive), Cratchit has come to symbolize the poor working condi ...

is the gentle family man who is the primary target of Scrooge's cheapness. Tiny Tim is crippled and heart-rending. Equally heart-rending is Little Nell from Dickens' ''

The Old Curiosity Shop ''The Old Curiosity Shop'' is one of two novels (the other being ''Barnaby Rudge'') which Charles Dickens published along with short stories in his weekly serial ''Master Humphrey's Clock'', from 1840 to 1841. It was so popular that New York r ...

'', who appears as one of the Cratchit children. In typical Durang style, these qualities are heightened and shaded dark (not to blackness this time, just to blueness) to give it his brand of comic tone. Durang adds many classic allusions and pop-culture references to the story, including scenes where the Ghost accidentally takes Scrooge to the lives of Oliver Twist and

Leona Helmsley Leona Roberts Helmsley (July 4, 1920 – August 20, 2007) was an American businesswoman. Her flamboyant personality and reputation for tyrannical behavior earned her the nickname Queen of Mean. After allegations of non-payment were made by co ...

. The play also makes stops in ''

It's a Wonderful Life ''It's a Wonderful Life'' is a 1946 American Christmas fantasy drama film produced and directed by Frank Capra, based on the short story and booklet ''The Greatest Gift'', which Philip Van Doren Stern self-published in 1943 and is in turn loos ...

'', the Enron scandal, ''

The Gift of the Magi "The Gift of the Magi" is a short story by O. Henry first published in 1905. The story tells of a young husband and wife and how they deal with the challenge of buying secret Christmas gifts for each other with very little money. As a sentimental ...

'', and ''

Touched by an Angel ''Touched by an Angel'' is an American fantasy drama television series that premiered on CBS on September 21, 1994, and ran for 211 episodes over nine seasons until its conclusion on April 27, 2003. Created by John Masius and executive produced ...

''.

Songs

There are four original songs in ''Binge'', lyrics by Durang and music by Michael Friedman. # "It's Nearly Christmas", Act One, Scene 1 # "Fezziwig Song", Act One, Scene 6 # "Yummy Yum Yum", Act One, Scene 9 # "Finale", Act Two, Scene 13

Original cast

* January Murelli - The

Ghost of Christmas Past The Ghost of Christmas Past is a fictional character in Charles Dickens' 1843 novella ''A Christmas Carol''. The Ghost is one of three spirits which appear to miser Ebenezer Scrooge to offer him a chance of redemption. Following a visit from ...

/ Present/and Future * Douglas Rees - Ebeneezer Scrooge *

- Mrs. Bob Cratchit * Martin Giles - Bob Cratchit * Darren E. Focareta - Tiny Tim * Sheila McKenna - Little Nell Cratchit / Mrs. Fezziwig /The Beadle's Wife * Lauren Rose Gigliotti or Allison Hannon - Cratchit Child 1 / Young Jacob Marley / Zuzu Bailey * Shane Jordan or Matt Lang - Cratchit Child 2 / Young Ebeneezer Scrooge * Jeff Howell, Matthew Gaydos - Gentlemen Collecting for Christmas (Kenneth Lay, Jeffrey Skilling) * Larry John Meyers - Jacob Marley's Ghost / Bartender 1 / Clarence (the angel) * Jeff Howell - Mr. Fezziwig / The Beadle / Bartender 2 * Darren E. Focareta and Elena Passarello - Fezziwig Daughters * Matthew Gaydos - Edvar / George Bailey / Serena the maid * Elena Passarello - Hedwig / Monica (the angel) / The Nice Mrs. Cratchit

Reviews

* ''Talkin' Broadway'' for the 2002 world premiere at City Theatre in Philadelphia. * ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' for a 2012 revival at the New City Stage in Philadelphia. * ''Penn Live'' for a 2012 performance in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. * ''TheaterJones'' for a 2013 run at the Richardson Theatre Centre in Texas. * ''The Column'' for the 2013 run at the Richardson Theatre Centre. * ''Syracuse New Times'' for a 2013 run at the Central New York Playhouse in Syracuse, New York.

External links

''Mrs. Bob Cratchit's Wild Christmas Binge''
author's website

References