A Christmas Carol Reader’s Theater

*A reader’s theater made for third grade classrooms and above*

Adapted from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Benefits of Reader’s Theaters:

-Develop fluency
-Increase comprehension
-Develop speaking skills in front of an audience
-Engage students
-Increase reading motivation
-Create confidence
 A Christmas Carol
Characters:

Greeters:
Announcer 1:
Announcer 2:
Narrator 1:
Narrator 2:
Bob Cratchit:
Scrooge:
Jacob Marley:
Fred:
Ghost of Christmas Past (Ghost 1):
Mrs. Fezziwig:
Dancers (including Belle & Young Scrooge):
Ghost of Christmas Present (Ghost 2):
Tiny Tim:
Caroline Cratchit:
Ghost of Christmas Future (Ghost 3):
Passerby 1:
Passerby 2:
Boy:
Ghost Chorus:
Behind the Scenes doing music and lights:

Announcer 1: Welcome to a Christmas Carol.

Announcer 2: Performed by ____________________’s class.

Announcer 3: We have been working very hard on our reading and fluency.

Announcer: We now hope you sit back, relax, and enjoy the show.
SCENE 1:

N1: It’s Christmas Eve in London, 1843. Jacob Marley is as dead as a doornail.
N2: This is not recent news. Marley has been dead for years. But it is important that
you understand this point – that Jacob Marley is dead- or nothing wonderful can
come from this story we are about to tell!
N1: As I was saying, it is Christmas Eve in London. Our story begins in the offices of
Ebenezer Scrooge and his long-dead business partner, Jacob Marley.

Bob Cratchit: Mr. Scrooge, sir, might I add some coal to the fire?
Scrooge: Absolutely not! Coal costs money. Doesn’t your coat keep you warm?
Cratchit: Not really, sir.
Scrooge: Then I suggest you get a new one.
Cratchit: But sir…
Scrooge: That’s enough, Mr. Cratchit. I suppose you’ll want the day off tomorrow too.
Cratchit: (hanging his head) Yes, sir. Christmas comes but once a year, sir.
Scrooge: You want me to pay you for a day when you’re not working? Then you’d
better be here even earlier the next morning.

N2: Scrooge’s nephew, Fred, arrives in hopes of spreading cheer.

Fred: Merry Christmas, Uncle!

Scrooge: Bah! Humbug!
Fred: For Christmas? Humbug? You don’t mean it!
Scrooge: I do! What reason have you to be merry? You’re not wealthy.
Fred: Come, dear Uncle. What reason have you to be so gloomy- you, with all your
riches?
Scrooge: Bah! Humbug! What is Christmas but a time for wasting money on things
you don’t need? If I had my way, everyone who goes about saying, “Merry
Christmas” would be boiled in his own pudding!
Fred: Uncle!
Scrooge: Nephew! You celebrate the holiday in your way. Let me celebrate it in
mine.
Fred: But you don’t celebrate it!
Scrooge: Then let me not celebrate it. What good will Christmas ever do for you?
What good has it ever done?
Fred: Many things do us good without making us rich, Uncle. Though holidays have
never put a scrap of gold in my pocket, I believe I am all the better for having
celebrated them.
Cratchit: Yes, I agree!
Scrooge: Quiet, Mr. Cratchit, or you’ll celebrate Christmas by looking for a new job!
Fred: Don’t be angry, Uncle. Have Christmas diner with us tomorrow.
Scrooge: Humbug.
Fred: But why not?
Scrooge: That’s enough! Good day, Nephew.
Fred: SO be it. But I shall keep my Christmas spirit til the end. Merry Christmas,
Uncle! Merry Christmas, Mr. Cratchit!
Cratchit: Happy New Year, Master Fred.
Scrooge: That’s a funny thought. Mr. Cratchit with barely enough money to feed his
family, and a sick child too, talking about a happy new year. I must be going insane!

SCENE 2:

N1: Later that evening, Scrooge sits alone by his fireplace.

Ghost Chorus: Owwwwoooooooh!!!
N2: Scrooge hears a door fly open and the rattling of chains.
Scrooge: What’s that noise?
N1: Passing through the heavy door, a ghost with death-cold eyes enters Scrooge’s
chamber. Its head is wrapped in band aids. Chains are wound around its body.
Scrooge: You don’t scare me! I’m not a man to be frightened by my shadows.
Jacob Marley: You don’t believe in me?
Scrooge: I do not.
N2: The ghost shrieks and shakes its chains. Scrooge drops to his knees and covers
is face.
Scrooge: Mercy, dreadful spirit! What is it you want with me?
Marley: Much! I am the ghost of your partner, Jacob Marley. I must drag this chain
and wander through the world forever. Woe is me!
Scrooge: But why are you chained?
Marley: Each link of this chain is a punishment for some kind deed I failed to do. Oh,
why did I not show kindness?
Scrooge: But Jacob, you were always such a good businessman. You made so much
money!
N1: Again the ghost wails and shakes his chains.
Marley: I should have been kinder! Ebenezer, do you know the weight of the chains
you’re making? Seven Christmas Eves ago, your chain was as heavy and long as mine
as now. And you have been adding to it with each passing year!
Scrooge: Jacob, what can I do?
Marley: Hear me, Scrooge! You will be haunted by three spirits. Listen to what each
tells you! Expect the first when the clock strikes one.
Ghost Chorus: OOOOOOWWWWWWWHHHHHH!!!

SCENE 3:

N2: At 1:00 am, Scrooge awakens to see the first ghost, a gentle spirit in a long, white
gown.
Ghost 1: I am the Ghost of Christmas Past. I will show you your life as it used to be.
Rise, and walk with me.

N1: They pass magically into Scrooge’s past. The ghost and Scrooge are suddenly
standing inside an old warehouse.

Ghost 1: Do you know this place?

Scrooge: Know it! I held my first job here. Why, there’s old Mrs. Fezziwig! She was a
good woman!

N2: Next to Fezziwig, Scrooge sees himself as a cheerful young man.

Fezziwig: It’s Christmas Eve! Yo ho everyone! No more work tonight! Clear the floor
for dancing and fiddling and celebrating!

N1: Food is brought in. (2 students bring in food) The music begins (hit music)
Everyone starts dancing including young Scrooge.

Ghost 1: Look at this waste of money…

Scrooge: Waste of money? Look how happy everyone is! Fezziwig was always
making people happy. It was the little things mostly- the way she looked at you or
patted you on the back.
Ghost 1: With whom are you dancing? You look so happy.
Scrooge: It’s Belle. Ah, young Belle…
Ghost 1: You loved her, but you didn’t marry her.
Scrooge: I needed to seek my fortune first.
Ghost 1: You mean, you could earn no money simply by loving her. You chose wealth
instead of love.
Scrooge: Spirit, why do you torture me? Show me no more. I don’t want to see it!

N2: The spirit disappears. Scrooge finds himself back in his bedroom alone.

SCENE 4:

N1: The clock strikes two.

Ghost Chorus: OOOOOOOOWWWWHHHHHH!

Ghost 2: I am the Ghost of Christmas Present! You have never seen the likes of me
before!

N2: The second spirit is gigantic, and as grand and joyful as the season. Its eyes are
clear and kind, yet they frighten Scrooge.

Scrooge: Spirit, take me where you will. Let me learn from you.
Ghost 2: Look upon me! You and I will go and see things as they are now. Off with us,
then!

N1: The ghost and Scrooge appear in the doorway of a small house. They see a single
table and a small fire burning.

Scrooge: Where are we?

Ghost 2: You don’t know the house of your own clerk, Bob Crachit? Come inside. The
family is sitting down to Christmas dinner.

N2: Crathit’s son, Tiny Tim, hobbles to the table using an old wooden crutch.

Tiny Tim: Mother, there never was such a grand goose as this!
Cratchit: That is splendid, my dear.

Scrooge: So excited over a small goose! You’d think it was a prize turkey.
Ghost 2: It’s all they can afford. They are not a well-off family.
Scrooge: True, but they’re a happy one. Look how please they are – especially that
little Tim.

Cratchit: A toast! To Mr. Scrooge, the founder of our feast!

Caroline: (angrily) The founder of our feast, indeed! I wish he were here right now.
I’d give him a piece of my mind to feast upon!
Cratchit: My dear! Let’s not be bitter.
Caroline: I’ll toast his health because it’s Christmas, but that’s all. Merry Christmas to
the unfeeling, unkind, miserly founder of this feast, Mr. Scrooge.
All: Merry Christmas!
Tiny Tim: And God bless us, every one!

Scrooge: Tell me, Spirit, will Tiny Tim live?

Ghost 2: I see an empty seat. I see a tiny crutch with no owner.
Scrooge: Oh, no! Say he will be all right!
Ghost 2: If there is no change in his surroundings, the child will die.
Ghost Chorus: OOOOOWWWHHHHH!

N1: Scrooge stands horrified as the ghost vanishes.

SCENE 5:

N2: At 3:00 am another ghost appears. The third spirit is cloaked in a black robe.
Nothing can be seen of him except one outstretched hand.

Scrooge: You are the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come?

N1: The ghost doesn’t answer. It points its long, bony finger into the night.

Scrooge: Ghost of the Future, I fear you more than the others.

N2: The spirit takes Scrooge to a lonely cemetery that is covered in weeds. A coffin is
being lowered into the ground.

Scrooge: Whose funeral is this? Why is no one here to mourn? Tell me, Spirit, is
there anyone in this town who cared for this person.

Passerby 1: When did he die?

Passerby 2: Last week.
Passerby 1: What was the matter with him?
Passerby 2: AN empty heart, I suppose.
Passerby 1: Little good his money did for him.
Passerby 2: Not a single person to mourn him!
Passerby 1: But think of all the money he saved with such a cheap funeral!
Passerby 2: Ha ha ha ha ha ha!

N1: The spirit points toward the gravestone.

Scrooge; Before I look, Spirit, tell me one thing. Can this future be changed?

N2: The spirit gives no reply. Scrooge trembles. He looks upon the gravestone and
reads the words, “Ebenezer Scrooge.”

Ghost Chorus: OOOOOWWWWWHHHHHHH!

Scrooge: No, Spirit! Hear me! Can I still erase the name upon this stone? I am no
longer the person I have been. From this night on, I will be a kind and generous man.
I will honor Christmas with all my heart!

SCENE 6:

N1: When Scrooge awakens the next morning, he is so happy to see daylight that he
laughs out loud. For a man who has been out of practice for so long, it is a splendid
laugh. He opens his window and calls to a boy passing by.

Scrooge: What day is it today, my fine fellow?

Boy: Today? Why, it’s Christmas Day!
Scrooge: I haven’t missed it! Thank goodness! Do you know the prize turkey hanging
in the butcher’s window?
Boy: The one that’s as big as I am?
Scrooge: Yes, that one. I’ll pay you to go buy it and have it brought to Bob Cratchit’s
house.
Boy: Yes, sir! Merry Christmas, sir!
Scrooge: The Cratchits won’t know who sent it! And then I must join my nephew for
dinner. Oh, joy, I haven’t missed Christmas!

SCENE 7:

N2: Scrooge spends the rest of the day spreading Christams cheer, joyfully sharing
his wealth with neighbors and strangers.
N1: The next day, Scrooge arrives at the office early. Cratchit enters, shivering from
the cold.

Scrooge: Mr. Cratchit, you’re 18 and a half minutes late!

Cratchit: It’s only once a year, sir. WE had quite a celebration last night. A kind
stranger sent us a prize turkey, and we made merry long into the night. It won’t
happen again.
Scrooge: I’ll tell you what. I’m not going to stand for this any longer.

N2: Poor Cratchit. He is certain he is about to be fired.

Scrooge: And therefore, Mr. Cratchit…I’m doubling your salary!

N1: Cratchit is stunned!

Scrooge: Merry Christmas, Mr. Cratchit! A merrier Christmas than I’ve ever given
before. And your salary is just a start. I’ll assist your struggling family any way I can.
And Tim- whatever he needs, he’ll have it. Now let’s warm up this place. Put some
more coal on the fir, Mr. Cratchit. Before you dot another i, let’s have more coal!
N2: Scrooge is even better than his word. He becomes as good a man and as good a
friend as the city has ever known. It is said from this point forward that if any man
knows how to celebrate Christmas, it is Ebenezer Scrooge.

N1: May the same be said of all of us.

(All students come up and form a line to bow.)