Ebenezer Scrooge

Christmas comes but once a year, and the reflections of 2009 have not been pretty for many of us. Like Ebenezer Scrooge, it has been easy to be self-absorbed in our daily survival as our world swirls around us. Like Bob Cratchit, we are equally concerned about keeping our positions as we are about our families' future if those positions are lost. Scrooge's business was lending money to others by taking ownership of their desires, even though many of his clients could not afford Scrooge's financial entanglements, a case not far removed from the folly of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's spending binge that put us all in debt for decades to come.

Adapting an old play is no big deal. But when it comes to a holiday classic such as A Christmas Carol, scriptwriter Michael Wilson and director Matt August knew they had to be a little bit more careful. Consider that the play, which runs through Jan. 2, has been an annual staple at Ford's Theatre in Washington for many years. Some people see it as a tradition. "It's a little daunting," August said. "It just makes the challenge that much greater." While keeping the production in the same time period as before, this new version introduces new costumes, sounds, lighting, set design and a new character: Charles Dickens.

Every night, with Ernest Tubb's immortal "Walking The Floor Over You" creating a mood, a lowly reporter paces the room, wringing hands and losing sleep over the Baltimore Orioles' chances of signing Cal Ripken Jr., the immensely gifted shortstop and finest all-around player in the team's history.The Orioles, most assuredly, should find a way to keep him in their employ until his career is over. But no reason for panic. If it doesn't happen, and Ripken exits, the franchise will not terminate.

A 2009 'Christmas Carol' Christmas comes but once a year, and the reflections of 2009 have not been pretty for many of us. Like Ebenezer Scrooge, it has been easy to be self-absorbed in our daily survival as our world swirls around us. Like Bob Cratchit, we are equally concerned about keeping our positions as we are about our families' future if those positions are lost. Scrooge's business was lending money to others by taking ownership of their desires, even though many of his clients could not afford Scrooge's financial entanglements, a case not far removed from the folly of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's spending binge that put us all in debt for decades to come.

IT WAS 5 a.m. the day after Thanksgiving. The fog was thick, the rain was pouring, and I was driving up Reisterstown Road, headed toward Owings Mills Mall, wondering why I wasn't still in bed.To paraphrase one especially cogent writer, Christmas was at my throat once again. My No. 1 grandson, my beloved Kaine, had seen a commercial for a talking Pokemon doll called "I Choose You Pikachu." His mother, now my formerly beloved daughter Jennifer, passed the news on to my wife, who informed me. I responded with my usual passion regarding Christmas gift-giving.

READING TOO much Dickens lately. Which reminds me of a Greenwich Village bookstore clerk. A young man. College age. I asked for a copy of "David Copperfield.""Who's the author?" he asked. "Dickens," I said. "What's his first name?" he asked. Recalling that exchange, I'll start over:Reading too much Charles Dickens lately --. First though, the dumb book-clerk story reminds me of a waiter story. If Dave Barry will forgive the plagiarism, I am not making this up. It really happened during a lunch in Martinsburg, W. Va., which doesn't matter.

Charles Dickens' sometime literary heir, John Irving, once noted, "Each Christmas, we are assaulted with a new [version of Dickens' "A Christmas Carol"]: indeed, we're fortunate if all we see is the delightful Alastair Sim." Robert Zemeckis' new digital version, starring Jim Carrey, is an assault, a horrible mismatch of technique and story. But the Sim version is a delight - and it's at the Senator for the holidays. Sim starred as Ebenezer Scrooge in a 1951 British production, written by Noel Langley (who co-wrote "The Wizard of Oz" and wrote and directed "The Pickwick Papers")

THE mailbox bulges with appeals in November and December from nonprofit corporations. It's ironic, that in this joyful holiday season these worthy solicitations make me feel like Ebenezer Scrooge -- at least when he was a moneymaker and before he evolved into a distributionist.I get appeals from the homeless, the jobless, the penniless and the artless. I don't like saying "no" but I can't possibly say "yes" to all these requests. I face a weekly ordeal of deciding among these great causes and trying to stifle guilt, confusion and frustration.

Charles Dickens' sometime literary heir, John Irving, once noted, "Each Christmas, we are assaulted with a new [version of Dickens' "A Christmas Carol"]: indeed, we're fortunate if all we see is the delightful Alastair Sim." Robert Zemeckis' new digital version, starring Jim Carrey, is an assault, a horrible mismatch of technique and story. But the Sim version is a delight - and it's at the Senator for the holidays. Sim starred as Ebenezer Scrooge in a 1951 British production, written by Noel Langley (who co-wrote "The Wizard of Oz" and wrote and directed "The Pickwick Papers")

A favorite holiday tradition has come to Toby's Dinner Theater of Columbia for the first time in a musical production of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol. " Toby's has chosen the version by Oscar-winning composer Alan Menken, known for his work in Disney films, with lyrics by Lynn Ahrens of "Ragtime" fame. The show ran for a decade of holiday seasons at New York's Madison Square Garden, where it consistently played to capacity audiences. Menken's music brings an upbeat quality to Dickens' familiar tale of stingy, nasty Ebenezer Scrooge, who is visited by several ghosts on Christmas Eve to bring about his transformation by Christmas Day. More relevant to contemporary tastes, this fast-paced version is suitable for all, from grandparents to children.