Date: Tue, 8 Sep 2009 08:55:35 -0700
To: puptcrit-AT-puptcrit.org
From: The Independent Eye <eye-AT-independenteye.org>
Subject: Re: [Puptcrit] Questions about "A Christmas Carol"


Robert's notes are very apt.  It's been many many years since I heard 
the Caedmon Records version, with Ralph Richardson, so I don't 
remember the specifics, but in my memory his Scrooge was intensely 
moving, precisely because of the elements Robert notes.  A very thin 
voice, as if he'd been holding his breath all his life to keep back 
the pain.  And when he first laughed, it was almost like a baby's 
first breath - a strange, difficult discovery.

We staged his second Christmas book, "The Chimes," twice.  A very 
powerful story, as popular in his own time as "Carol," but somewhat 
grimmer, and the waking from a dream doesn't have the same impact. 
It's worth comparing the two stories, which have a similar structure; 
I think it helps illuminate his choice of incidents in "Carol."

Cheers-
Conrad B.
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