ira david wood iii's blog

thoughts on a christmas carol

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My musical comedy stage adaptation of A CHRISTMAS CAROL premiered in December, 1974. In thinking back on the show and what it has become over a three decade span, I've had to reflect -- to consider what the world was like when the production was first conceived.

Only five months before the first performance of A CHRISTMAS CAROL, Richard Nixon resigned the presidency. We were, it seemed to me, a wounded nation - and Christmas was just around the corner.

If the 60s seemed to be a big party, the 70s seemed to be its hangover. Gerald Ford was our new President, and he fell down a lot.

The hopes and dreams of millions of young people who thought they could change the world seemed to be crashing down around them. Economic decay was beginning to take root after a long run of post-war prosperity, and inflation and unemployment were rampant.

1974 also saw Wilbur Mills, Democratic Representative and chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee,

resign his chairmanship after several highly publicized incidents that linked him with stripper Fanne Fox. Jack Benny, Amy Vanderbilt and Walter Lippmann died. The Beatles officially (legally) disbanded. The average salary for Americans was $7,564. Charlotte became the nation's 50th largest city, and its 40-story NCNB Plaza was the tallest building in the Carolinas.

Also that year, Peter Benchley published Jaws.

Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward published All The Presidents Men. The BBC aired the final episode of "Monty Python's Flying Circus" only days before we opened. Free agent pitcher Catfish Hunter signed a record $3.75 million 5 year New York Yankee contract.

And finally, most theatres in Raleigh remained "dark" for the holidays.

I had become Executive Director of Theatre In The Park only three years earlier. I was single and living on Blue Ridge Road - which used to be "the sticks" in those years. We were doing a complete season of plays by William Shakespeare. Since the Bard hadn't penned a Christmas play, we decided to move to the next most famous English author. That, of course, would have to be Charles Dickens.

The choice was as simple as that - and as complicated. Many factors combined to form the first gem of the idea.

I had seen my first ballet while a student at The North Carolina School of the Arts. The Nutcracker. It was the school's first production of the work. I was from Halifax County. I doubt I could've spelled "ballet."

When the curtain came down, I couldn't get out of my seat. Couldn't budge. I was stunned. What I had just witnessed seemed impossible. No words! Incredible music and color and movement. A complete story about Christmas!

I was most impressed by the scene when toys were presented to the children. Each child received only ONE toy. What's more, they were estatic to get it! Girls got A doll. Each boy got A drum. Something like that. Can you imagine the reaction from kids today if Santa only left them ONE present?

Also, can you imagine the thought process you'd have to go through if YOU had to select only ONE present for the young person in YOUR life? If you (Santa) could only give ONE gift to your son, daughter, grandchild on Christmas morning, what would it BE?

My gift turned out to be A CHRISTMAS CAROL and I feel gratified that it has been received by so many people - young and old alike for over thirty years. What's more, they seem satisfied with the one present. Being a father (and Santa) was only a dream to me when I first penned the adaptation - so, in a way, I was able to "adopt" a large family before I ever had one of my very own. Once I became a father (and a Santa), I was able to pass the show along to my own kids. And that was a great pleasure.

Once I became a father, the character of Scrooge changed too. Did he mellow? Perhaps. But a matron of the Arts whose opinion I greatly valued said that I touched the kids in the show "differently" once I became a Dad. I hadn't noticed, but became aware of it after her remarks. Perhaps there is a huge difference in touching and in feeling ... placing some new and intrinsic value in WHAT you touch.

If anything, I suppose that was the subtle difference. If it was, it seems that others realized it too. I was suddenly and honestly aware that every child in the show was a miracle. And ALL of us are children at heart. A show full of miracles! How incredible is that? I know that realization gave the character of Scrooge a deeper dimension. He's a hurt child, after all - and the show is all about his healing.

That's another story for another entry.

In the span of 30 years, so many things have gone into the "brew" that has resulted in the current production and my portrayal of Scrooge. The above are just a few of them.