‘A Christmas Carol’ reimagined as a story of redemption in ‘cinematic audio’
Have you ever heard of cinematic audio?
It’s the term creator, director and showrunner Mark Ramsey used to describe his upcoming podcast rendition of “A Christmas Carol” — it’s called “Scrooge.” It’s available on all podcast streaming platforms starting on Thursday.
The podcast is narrated by “Lord of the Rings” actor John Rhys-Davies.
The cast includes:
“The Goonies” and “Lord of Rings” star Sean Astin as Scrooge.
“Avenue 5” star Lucy Punch is Ghost of Christmas Past.
“The Chronicles of Narnia” star Ben Barnes as Ghost of Christmas Present.
“Grey’s Anatomy” star Juliet Mills as Ghost of Christmas Future.
Ryan O’Quinn as Bob Cratchit.
Hallmark Channel star Bethany Joy Lenz as Elizabeth.
Clive Standen as Frederick.
Maxwell Caulfield as Jacob Marley.
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It wasn’t Rhys-Davies’ first go at an “A Christmas Carol” adaptation. He flew in as the Ghost of Christmas Present during a 2013 performance of the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square.
When I interviewed Ramsey and Joe Paulo, president and CEO of Hope Media Group, ahead of the podcast’s release, I wanted to know why, in a sea of “A Christmas Carol” adaptations, theirs should be listened to.
“There are fresh takes every year, but not fresh cinematic audio, full cast dramatic takes,” Ramsey told me. “This alone makes it novel. This alone makes it fresh. The fact that it’s in this medium, done this way, with this level of ambition makes it fresh.”
“It’s first-class. It’s an immersive experience. And that’s counterintuitive to what people would think about listening to a podcast, a dramatic audio presentation of ‘A Christmas Carol,’ but it is immersive in that you get lost in the story,” Paulo said.
How faith and new thematic elements appear in ‘Scrooge’
Listeners can expect new thematic and story elements from the podcasts. “A Christmas Carol” includes new characters, while staying true to the original plot that Dickens wrote. It also provides discussion questions, to dig deeper in the story.
“We have a thread about Scrooge’s father that didn’t exist in the original novella. We have content with his nephew,” Ramsey continued. “The role of the nephew in this adaptation is actually larger than the role of Bob Cratchit, so that’s new.”
Another unique element Paulo pointed out was the way they dealt with faith.
“I think the big overarching theme is a story of redemption because it’s a common story for all of mankind,” Paulo explained. “It’s something that we all face.”
While the story of redemption is central to the podcast, there are other themes related to faith that appear.
“You also see these other beautiful components of forgiveness and compassion and mercy and generosity. And those are brought to life in a way that maybe some of the other presentations don’t do quite as vividly,” Paulo said.
They also departed from other adaptations in that they didn’t have Tiny Tim say his now-famous line “God bless us, everyone.”
“This is, and we were determined, I was determined on one thing and so was the writer, that we would not have Tiny Tim say, ‘God bless us, everyone,’” Ramsey said. “We did have him convey that, but not in those words.”
Was listening to ‘Scrooge’ worth it?
I’ll admit — I was a skeptic going into the podcast. I’ve seen cinematic and theatrical adaptations of “A Christmas Carol” and been enchanted by them, but wasn’t sure if the magic would still be captured in the podcast.
But after just a few minutes of listening to it, I could see what Paulo and Ramsey meant. Rhys-Daniels is the perfect choice of narrator and the variety of sounds I heard allowed me to creatively imagine the scenes in my head.
There are some books that are so good that I wish I could read them again for the first time and remember that experience. “Scrooge” gave me a rare chance to encounter “A Christmas Carol” for the first time again.
What struck me the most was the use of sound effects. It wasn’t just actors’ voices with musical backing, there were crystal-clear noises that corresponded with what was going on in the story.
Listening to it via podcast was a different experience than watching or reading “A Christmas Carol.” This time around, I felt like I was able to absorb more of the message than I had been in my other experiences with adaptations. It also made me want to go back to Charles Dickens’ novella and read it again.
It’ll become part of my rotation alongside Christmas carols this holiday season.
What’s the ideal way to listen to ‘Scrooge’?
While neither Ramsey nor Paulo wanted to prescribe how listeners should take in the podcast, they did have some suggestions.
Ramsey recommended listening to the podcast with your family during the holiday season. “I mean, that is what this is for. It’s to be kind of the soundtrack to your spiritual life at Christmastime.”
Paulo had a different answer. He said he and his family spend a lot of time in car and he’s enjoyed listening to it then “because you can just really soak in the story.”
Both of them said they have been changed for the better by making and listening to this podcast.
“It makes me feel like we’ve done something good,” Ramsey said. “And that’s the essence of the story.”
