Happy 30th Anniversary to Madison Square Garden's A CHRISTMAS CAROL

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

Posted: 12/1/24 at 7:25am

On this day in 1994, A Christmas Carol the Musical opened at the Theatre at Madison Square Garden. Adapted from Charles Dickens’ 1843 classic novella of the same name, this particular iteration featured a score by Lynn Ahrens and Alan Menken, the former of whom also co-wrote the book with director Mike Ockrent, and choreography by Susan Stroman. The original cast included Walter Charles, Nick Corley, Ken Jennings (not the Jeopardy host), Michael Mandell, Theara J. Ward, Jeff Keller, Matthew Mezzacapa, Robert Westenberg, Andrea Frierson Toney, Darcy Pulliam, Michael Christopher Moore, Emily Skinner, Gerry Vichi, Mary Stout, Christopher Sieber, and Joseph Kolinski. The production received a Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Musical and became an annual show at Madison Square Garden, running until December 27th, 2003. It also spawned a 2004 Emmy-winning TV movie adaptation produced by Hallmark that debuted on NBC.
 

 

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 12/1/24 at 11:41am

The best Christmas Carol. “A Place Called Home” is gorgeous.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 12/1/24 at 5:00pm

It's funny--when the show opened I remember the musical Usenet (remember that?) group largely full of complaints about this "tourist cash grab" a sort of cynical attempt to take away from Radio City Music Hall.  But now every reaction I read is a positive (albeit nostalgic) one.  I will admit I like the score even if at least 1/3 of it solidly feels like mid-level Menken (perfectly fine to listen to in context but not at his inspired best especially during this, his peak era--and I say that as a Menken megafan.)  And of course with Ockrent and Stroman it has the production credentials, and they were obviously hired off the strength of the similarly production number heavy Crazy for You.

I have a question that maybe only Alan Menken can answer (well or Lynn Ahrens.)  I know that already by this point Menken was known to be working with several different lyricists, but how did he get involved with Ahrens--was Stephen Flaherty busy?  Did the producers hire Ahrens but then ask that she work with someone who, especially at that point, had a much better track record for writing the music for musicals than Flaherty did?

(That flatly directed Hallmark TV movie adaptation hasn't done much for its legacy one way or another, although I DO prefer the new streamlined opening, A Jolly Good Time which Wiki tells me was written for and incorporated into later seasons of the MSG run, as was You Mean More to Me to introduce Tiny Tim .)

Updated On: 12/1/24 at 05:00 PM

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

Posted: 12/1/24 at 5:24pm

EricMontreal22 said: "I have a question that maybe only Alan Menken can answer (well or Lynn Ahrens.) I know that already by this point Menken was known to be working with several different lyricists, but how did he get involved with Ahrens--was Stephen Flaherty busy? Did the producers hire Ahrens but then ask that she work with someone who, especially at that point, had a much better track record for writing the music for musicals than Flaherty did?"

According to this Playbill article from 2017, Alan Menken got involved first. He knew Lynn Ahrens from his days at the BMI workshop. “I was upstate on a little vacation and the phone rang, and David Michael from MSG asked me if I wanted to do this project and said that Alan Menken had requested me,” Ahrens recalls. “My biggest concern was my partnership with Stephen [Flaherty], I didn’t want to jeopardize that. And I said, ‘I’d really like to do it, but I need to run it by him.’ And of course, Stephen said, ‘That sounds like a wonderful opportunity, do it.’”
https://playbill.com/article/how-alan-menken-and-lynn-ahrens-created-a-christmas-carol

"(That flatly directed Hallmark TV movie adaptation hasn't done much for its legacy one way or another, although I DO prefer the new streamlined opening, A Jolly Good Time which Wiki tells me was written for and incorporated into later seasons of the MSG run, as was You Mean More to Me to introduce Tiny Tim)."

I actually rewatched it a few days ago. The production values look cheap, including some very cheesy visual effects. The musical numbers lack imagination. If you’re going to do a movie musical adaptation of A Christmas Carol, you need a real visionary director at the helm. Something Arthur Allan Seidelman just isn’t.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 12/1/24 at 5:49pm

The director of Hercules in New York isn't a visionary??? 

:P

Thanks a lot for that--it DOES make sense that Menken, given his status at the time, would be who they'd approach first.

Thanks for the article link!  One nitpick with what Ahrens says: " Tony Randall was in his 90s at the time, and they would hold onto either arm in the chorus line and he would jump up and down. "

Considering Tony Randall died at 84 in 2004, I somehow doubt he was in his 90s during his run with the show.  He would have been 76 in 1996 when he played the role.  Still impressive

Updated On: 12/1/24 at 05:49 PM

[George in DC]

Posted: 12/1/24 at 9:44pm

I loved this production. I saw  F Murray Abraham, Jim Dale and Roddy McDowall among others do the lead role. The score is so hummable (compare that to "Death Becomes Her" or anything else that opened in the last two years, I couldn't hum a single song to save my life).

It's fluff, but it's fun fluff, with a truly lovely score. I hope they revive this soon.

Updated On: 12/1/24 at 09:44 PM

[Scarywarhol]

Posted: 12/1/24 at 10:52pm

Wow, I would have loved to have seen Roddy McDowall do this. 

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

Posted: 12/2/24 at 4:53pm

George in DC said: "I hope they revive this soon."

I wonder if Encores would ever be interested in presenting this as a holiday show.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 12/2/24 at 5:17pm

I would love to see it back at the Garden or maybe a smaller venue but still that same environmental staging with the scenery extending out into the auditorium. A Christmas Carol was another “immersive” production way before the resurgent trend we’re seeing now.