As Charles Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol' turns 180, here are three versions to see in OKC

"Marley was dead, to begin with."

With those fateful, now-famous words, Charles Dickens begins his yuletide ghost story "A Christmas Carol," published 180 years ago this holiday season.

Fully titled "A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas," Dickens' now-iconic tale was written in just six weeks and initially published on Dec. 19, 1843. The first edition sold out by Christmas Eve. By 1844, the novella had gone through 13 printings, and it remains a best-seller 180 years after its initial publication.

Michael Baron, producing artistic director of Oklahoma City's Lyric Theatre, considers Dickens’ tale "the greatest holiday story in the modern English language."

"It's popular because it's a ghost story, and people always love ghost stories," Baron said during rehearsals for Lyric's 13th annual "A Christmas Carol," running through Dec. 23 at its Plaza Theatre.

"And Christmas has only grown in popularity as a holiday. Some might think that it's grown in the wrong way as far as commercialism goes. … No matter how big the Santa and commercial stuff gets, people always go to church and to this story as, 'This is the real Christmas,' which, I think, is why people come to 'A Christmas Carol' with their families. They love this story."

How is 'A Christmas Carol' continuing to be adapted to stage and screen?

Undoubtedly, the novella's adaptability on both stage and screen has contributed to its ongoing popularity.

Over the decades, countless theatrical and cinematic versions of the story have been produced, with no signs of stopping. Last year, Netflix debuted the new animated movie "Scrooge: A Christmas Carol," while Britain's BBC Four showed on Christmas Day the acclaimed stage show "A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story," filmed during its run at London's Alexandra Palace Theatre.

Apple Original Films just re-released its 2022 adaptation "Spirited," starring Ryan Reynolds, Will Ferrell and Octavia Spencer and told from the perspective of the ghosts, in theaters over Thanksgiving weekend.

"'A Christmas Carol' is a story that proves everlasting for many reasons. Thematically, it's very exciting; you've got ghostly harbingers, specters and skipping through time. But at its core, it's a story about hope. Dickens posits the notion that no one is past it, and that is an encouraging idea," said Jared Blount, artistic director of Guthrie's Pollard Theatre, which is performing its long-running homegrown version "A Territorial Christmas Carol" through Dec. 23.

"We relate to Scrooge. So, when he ultimately succeeds in overcoming his fears, forgiving his mistakes, and mounting an effort to better himself, we celebrate it as though we've experienced it ourselves. And it leads me to believe that Dickens was sending a message as much as he was telling a story."

Inspired by his own grueling experiences as a child factory worker as well as a harrowing government report on child labor in the United Kingdom, Dickens did have a social message about helping rather than exploiting the poor in mind when he penned "A Christmas Carol."

"Dickens almost lays it out: our goodness is measured in how we treat our fellow man. If, by the end, Scrooge simply says he's more considerate and forgiving, there wouldn't be a story; he changes, and his actions reflect those changes," Blount said in an email. "As referenced in the text, there was a man born 2,000 years ago who taught us how to love one another. And if Scrooge can be better, so can we."

How has the story of 'A Christmas Carol' been retold in different styles and genres?

More than 20 television shows have incorporated aspects of Dickens' story into seasonal episodes, from "Sanford and Son" and "The Six Million Dollar Man" to "Family Ties" and "The Jetsons," according to the National Endowment for the Arts.

Part of the lasting appeal of "A Christmas Carol" is that the narrative has proven resilient and flexible enough to be adapted to many storytelling styles, eras and genres.

"I don't remember a time when 'A Christmas Carol' wasn't in my life: It was one of the things that my parents made me read very early. ... In black and white on a little television, it was just fascinating to me," said Christine Jolly, artistic director of Oklahoma City's 3rd Act Theatre.

"And I've loved every rendition of 'A Christmas Carol' that has ever been made. ... To me, the classics are classics because they're still very relevant to how we work and play and live and love and all of those things."

The OKC community theater is staging the Oklahoma premiere of Mark Shanahan's Dickens of a holiday mystery "A Sherlock Carol," starring local actors Don Taylor as Sherlock Holmes and Peter Fischaber as Ebenezer Scrooge. Performances are Dec. 8-23 at 3rd Act Theatre inside the Shoppes at Northpark.

The show mashes up characters and concepts from two iconic Victorian-era English imports: Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories. In "A Sherlock Carol," Moriarty is dead, to begin with, and Holmes is a haunted man when a grown-up Tiny Tim asks him to investigate the death of Scrooge.

"We've always wanted to ... not necessarily do the classic shows at Christmas that everybody always does. ...  After I had an opportunity to read this, I was just blown away by the fact that it melded the two genres so nicely," Jolly said.

"The stories are generally about 40 years apart, but it works because Scrooge doesn't die at the end of 'A Christmas Carol.' It says ... that he goes on, and he lives a happy life and he gives to others. And then this story follows that."

When and where can people see different versions of 'A Christmas Carol' in the OKC area?

Here are three different versions of "A Christmas Carol" local nonprofit theaters are producing in the OKC area this holiday season:

The classic version: Lyric Theatre's 'A Christmas Carol' 

• When: Through Dec. 24. 

• Where: Plaza Theatre, 1727 NW 16. 

• Information: https://lyrictheatreokc.com.    

After performing the yuletide classic outdoors at the Harn Homestead for the past three years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Lyric is staging its 13th annual production of Charles Dickens' often-adapted "Ghost Story of Christmas" indoors again. Thanks to a $1 million gift from Devon Energy, the new production features a new set, costumes, lights and sound effects, but as always, director Michael Baron’s show stays faithful to Dickens' Victorian London tale.

The Oklahoma version: Guthrie's Pollard Theatre's 'A Territorial Christmas Carol'

• When: Through Dec. 23. 

• Where: Pollard Theatre, 120 W Harrison Ave., Guthrie. 

• Information: https://thepollard.org. 

The nonprofit theater has staged its signature seasonal show — adapted by the late Sooner State playwright Stephen Scott and set in Oklahoma shortly after the Land Run of 1889 — for 1,000 performances and 150,000 patrons over more than 30 years. In 2022, Pollard brought back its beloved yuletide title live and in person for the first time in five years with a new set, cast and staging.

The mash-up version: 3rd Act Theatre Company's 'A Sherlock Carol'  

• When: Dec. 8-23.

• Where: Shoppes at Northpark, 12100 N May Ave.

• Tickets: https://www.facebook.com/3rdActTheatreCo.

The community theater presents the Oklahoma premiere of the heartwarming Christmas mystery, directed by OKC theater mainstay Billie Thrash.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Where to see different versions of 'A Christmas Carol' in the OKC area