Branford | Culture & Community | Legacy Theatre | Arts & Culture | Youth Arts Journalism Initiative
Dreamscape Studio Photography.
Chained by the past, Jacob T. Marley looked at his prodigy through a fog of green smoke. Ebenezer Scrooge, once an amateur in the same field, stared back, terrified. This was his last chance to make things right.
“What of old Jacob? We know he was a good man of business, from Scrooge’s corrupted view of life,” came a voice from the nearby staircase. It was right on time for members of the audience, as they reimagined what they knew of one of the most beloved works of the holiday season.
That reimagining is center stage in the world premiere of Keely Baisden Knudsen’s mellifluous Scrooge and Marley, running at the Legacy Theatre in Branford through Dec. 14. Based on R. William Bennett’s book Jacob T. Marley, the two-act adaptation explores the life and legacy of Scrooge’s once-business partner, whose posthumous visit sets Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol into motion.
In that book, it is Marley’s ghost who is Scrooge’s guide to the spirit realm, and that which ultimately spurs him to be a more generous man. In this one, the author is much more interested in how Marley became Marley. Everyone knows the story of Scrooge, the man who hated Christmas. What about the man who made him that way?
The performance stars Christopher Lemieux as Marley and Dan Frye as Scrooge, with a cast of 12 actors that never misses. Shows run through Dec. 14; tickets and more information are available here.
As the premiere opened to a nearly full house this week, a merry ambiance hovered in the air. As a matinee performance neared, background music trailed off as the lights dimmed.
Dreamscape Studio Photography.
Onstage, the curtains opened to a young Jacob Marley (Fitz Pant) and his father, Joseph (also Lemieux), sweeping the audience away to a version of London circa 1780. The two stood near the docks, where Joseph worked. Together, they seemed all but ready for Christmas with green wreaths with sprigs of holly. Music swelled around them, and the lyrics of a song titled “My Son” floated over the theater.
It was here that some of the show’s youngest actors shone most brightly. Pant, an eighth grader at Adams Middle School in Guilford, brought a springy innocence to young Marley that is rarely, if ever, part of his story. Who would have thought this bright-eyed child, who aspired to be just like his father, would become the cheap, miserly villain of Dickens’ acclaimed novella?
Elinor Oliveira, a sixth grader at Baldwin Middle School who played multiple ensemble roles including young Fan (that’s Scrooge’s sister, who in A Christmas Carol provides a window into his humanity, for those not in the know), managed to match that kindness and enthusiasm. Oliveira is a graduate of the inaugural Legacy Conservatory Class of 2025.
Onstage, the London streets became cold once again, years later, but this time, there was no joy. From the wings came carolers dressed in evergreen cloaks lined with fur, breaking the foreboding silence with song. Their shrill voices were too merry and light for this scene, perhaps: Marley thought so as he shouted, “Bah humbug,” at them, sending them back from whence they came.
Dreamscape Studio Photography.
By the start of the second act, Marley had yet to redeem himself, and Lemieux didn't miss a beat as he embodied this grumbling, bumbling, literally ghastly man. Hobbling down the stairs, a very old Scrooge seemed almost ready to pass into the spirit realm himself, pushing the play forward in time.
The thump of his cane was in rhythm of the cracking of his bones. Marley appeared, physically bound down by the weight of his greed (a nod to costume designer Jimmy Johansmeyer), and suddenly he was a cautionary tale not just to Scrooge, but to many in the audience.
Spending his whole life obsessed with money had cost Marley something much greater than he could have known: he had created the chains that bound him as he wandered the spirit realm, ledgers weighing down his thoughts.
Back on stage, a bell began to chime, and with each ring, a different spirit appeared. There was the Ghost of Christmas Past (Allison Miller, a vision in a layered, diaphanous white gown, cloak and tiara), one of Christmas Present (Nate Bloom) and one of what was to come. Unlike the original Christmas Carol, Marley was always there, watching for any chance of redemption for his partner. It made Scrooge’s journey feel more urgent, and the resolution harder-won.
As the curtain fell on Thursday’s matinee performance, the applause was deafening. Then from the stage came the whole cast, walking up the aisle singing together.
“This has been a wonderful year,” said Manager Director Jeff Zeitlin, a little sad that this was the last production of 2025. “It’s bittersweet as we look forward to 2026.”
This article comes from a graduate of the 2024 Cohort of the Youth Arts Journalism Initiative. Ruby Szekeres is a junior at Oak Meadow School.