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A new four-episode podcast aims to show how Ebenezer Scrooge became the miserable miser of the Charles Dickens’ classic “A Christmas Carol,” focusing on themes of redemption, mercy, grace and compassion.
“Scrooge: A Christmas Carol,” available free at scroogepodcast.com, offers more about Scrooge’s backstory, including a generous examination of his long-lost lady love, Elizabeth. And Tiny Tim makes only the briefest of appearances (spoiler alert: there’s no “God bless us, everyone” to be heard).
Actors Sean Astin, John Rhys-Davies and Juliet Mills lead the cast. It’s not a word-for-word reading of the Dickens’ story, but one of its producers say it seeks to create an immersive audio presentation of how Scrooge is motivated to turn from selfishness to generosity, and is designed to involve the whole family.
“I think about my own family. Most of our traditions around Christmas are activity-based, and very few are reflective,” said Joe Paulo, president and CEO of Hope Media Group, the podcast’s distributors. “What we’ve really built in this ‘Christmas Carol’ podcast is an opportunity to celebrate the season, to get into the spirit of it, but it also causes us to have [those] moments of reflection.”
Scrooge’s fictional journey is a universal one, he said.
“It’s really the story of mankind,” Mr. Paulo said. “It’s the story of redemption; it’s going from what he was to the current transformation and then we get to hear the climactic ending where he’s this new person.”
Mark Ramsey, a veteran podcast producer who created and directed “Scrooge,” said the program is different from the kinds of podcasts many listeners download.
“Many people today have never heard anything like this,” Mr. Ramsey said. “These kinds of dramatic podcasts are not the things most people are listening to; [they favor] interview programs or true crime or news, or sports. This is immersive in a way that people don’t remember how to appreciate because they’ve never had to before.”
The sounds of Victorian London — at least what the creators imagine were the sounds of that era — form the backdrop for this “faith-forward” retelling.
Another aspect of the dramatized adaptation is the opportunity for parents to share the story with their children, which child psychologist Cynthia Ulrich Tobias said would help younger children learn in an entirely new way.
“Parents appreciate the unique elements that audio media offers to their children,” said Ms. Tobias, the best-selling author of 14 books on learning and meeting challenges. “The vivid descriptions, satisfying sounds and elevated vocabulary serves as a linguistic playground for listeners. This way of audio learning can provoke thought, imagination and inspire family conversation in the midst of the busy holiday season.”
• Mark A. Kellner can be reached at mkellner@washingtontimes.com.
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