Magic Tree House's Holiday Musical: a GHOST TALE for MR. DICKENS

Magic Tree House’s Holiday Musical: A GHOST TALE FOR MR. DICKENS based on Magic Tree House Merlin Mission # 16: A Ghost Tale for Christmas Time by Mary Pope Osborne SYNOPSIS Act I (30 minutes) Join modern-day siblings, Jack and Annie, as they travel back in time (with the assistance of a magic tree house and two medieval helpers) to solve important problems. It’s Christmas time, and Morgan Le Fay, Magical Librarian of Camelot, and Merlin, the Magician, are in need of Jack’s and Annie’s help once more. This time it’s to inspire Charles Dickens to write his story, A Christmas Carol. Annie doesn’t want to wear traditional Victorian girls’ clothing on this mission, so Merlin says she’ll have to pretend to be a boy when she travels back to help Mr. Dickens. Morgan gives Jack a magic violin and Merlin instructs the duo that when Jack plays the instrument, whatever Annie sings will come true. But, this can only happen once, so they need to save the magic for just the right time. Jack and Annie get in the tree house, it magically spins, and they are transported to Victorian England. Both dressed as boys, they flag down a carriage and ask for a ride to Mr. Dickens’s home. They are treated with special respect from all they meet and quickly realize that they are dressed as wealthy young gentlemen. When they approach Mr. Dickens’s home, Jack and Annie are politely turned away by the housekeeper, Mrs. Tibbs. Dumbfounded, they see two chimney sweeps on their way to clean Mr. Dickens’s chimneys and Annie insists that they trade places so Jack and Annie can sneak in to the house as chimney sweeps themselves. The chimney sweeps can’t believe their luck and saunter away in their new fine clothing. Mrs. Tibbs, dropping her polite manners when she sees what she believes to be poor chimney sweeps, allows Jack and Annie in to the house. Inside, they start to clean the chimney in Mr. Dickens’s study but quickly hide when he enters. He is working on his stories, bringing his characters to life in a mirror. When Jack sneezes, Mr. Dickens is startled and hastily leaves his study. Jack and Annie are on a mission and can’t let Mr. Dickens get away. They run after him but, as they travel through the streets of London, are falsely accused of stealing. A policeman tries to take the two away to Scotland Yard. Fortunately, Mr. Dickens sees them and comes to their rescue. Mr. Dickens offers to take Jack and Annie to a fancy meal at a restaurant and, while walking there, he gets to know them better. Annie even reveals herself as a girl. Intermission (15 minutes) Act II (30 minutes) Mr. and Mrs. Pinch, owners of the restaurant, are delighted to see Mr. Dickens is coming in to dine with them. Mr. Pinch tries to shoo away the dirty chimney sweeps that follow until Mr. Dickens claims them as his guests. The food looks delicious, but before they can eat a poor boy named Tiny Tim and his mother enter the restaurant looking for scraps of food. Again, Mr. Pinch churlishly shoos them away, but Mr. Dickens insists on giving them food. Mr. Pinch says Tiny Tim should go work in a factory to earn money, offending Mr. Dickens who storms off with Jack and Annie on his heels. Mr. Dickens reveals to Jack and Annie that, although his father was a good person, he couldn’t pay their bills and ended up in prison which meant young Charles had to go to work in a factory as a boy. Mr. Dickens is horrified by the way poor people, especially children, are treated and declares that he will stop writing stories because it’s frivolous work. Jack and Annie realize what they need to do. Jack begins playing the magic violin, and Annie, using Mr. Dicken’s yet-unwritten A Christmas Carol as inspiration, sings about three ghosts that visit Mr. Dickens to show him the value in his stories. The White Ghost shows him a scene from his childhood where young Charles stays up reading stories late into the night. The Green Ghost reveals to Mr. Dickens the present, where children in classrooms and Queen Victoria herself are positively influenced by his stories. Finally, the Black Ghost exposes to Mr. Dickens a potential future where he has died and his daughter is mourning not only the loss of her father, but that he refused to write stories that could have helped the world. Mr. Dickens sees the power in his work and decides he won’t give up writing after all, thanks to Jack and Annie. And his next story will feature a greedy man, like Mr. Pinch, called Scrooge! Annie hopes that she, too, can one day “change the world with a gift.” But, Jack shows her how she has already used her goodness to bring about change by helping Mr. Dickens. The other characters join Jack and Annie, singing that all of us must use our gifts to help the world! Notes: This is a musical. Many characters experience strong emotions on stage, including sadness, anger, and hostility. The actors are in the audience at several points throughout the play. The Black Ghost, at the end of the play, could be scary to some patrons. Also, there is thunder when the Black Ghost reveals the future. There are some moving lights onstage when Jack and Annie time travel. .

Load more