#fred vhscc

[awigglycultist]

Fred: Guess what I'm about to get!

Scrooge: On my nerves

[timoothy]

do you guys think they’re married

[inamindfarfaraway]

Fred’s line “Well, my mum liked him and she was cool, so maybe he wasn’t always cruel” suggests that VHSCC Fan died when Fred was old enough to remember her. And isn’t that a thought.

Imagine being a little boy and knowing Scrooge as your uncle. An uncle who becomes increasingly awkward, gruff, curt and distant over the years, but who always melts into Mummy’s touch just like you do, always laughs at her jokes and smiles listening to her stories. He isn’t around much, busy with his career, but he makes the time for family on birthdays and holidays. He brings his friend Belle with him. They love each other very much, like Mummy and Daddy, and sometimes they talk about kids. You’d like cousins.

One Christmas he and Belle stop being friends. You barely see Uncle Scrooge after that. The few occasions you do he’s so sad that not even Mum can cheer him up anymore, sad and then angry all the time. It gets hard to remember him not being angry.

And then Mum gets sick. Really sick. Uncle Scrooge visits her now, quite a lot actually, but he doesn’t want to talk to you or Dad anymore and he’s mean when you try. Dad says he’s just worried. You all are. You and Mum and Dad are all kind of sad and scared every day now. But you’re not being mean about it.

(You think you might have sat in his lap once? Wasn’t that his face? But it was a nice soft lap and he’s all bony. Maybe it wasn’t him.)

And then you’re standing in front of a gravestone with Dad’s arm around your shoulders, face wet and chest heaving, and though you know all Mum’s friends much better Uncle Scrooge is the closest, right up front beside you. He’s sobbing too. You can’t breathe properly for what must be years and years. The three of you stay after everyone else leaves. This is your whole entire family now. Today makes it real. Dad’s exhausted, trembling like he could fall over at any moment, so you don’t want to lean on him too hard. You want - you want. You can’t have what you want. But you have an uncle. At least, in theory. There’s something you can want and have: an uncle who acts like one. Because how are you and Dad meant to go on as only two? How can you go on?

Three of you might have a chance. You need more than this. You need help. You need -

Scrooge’s gaze finally moves from the stone. It lands on you. He looks almost as bad as you feel, weeping like an open wound, bent and creased and smaller than he is with sunken eyes and a messy beard. All the anger’s been crushed out of him. He’s nothing but sad and scared and tired. Just like you. His hand twitches toward you and then falls. Does he want to hold you? He used to hug you. You don’t remember what it felt like and it wouldn’t be as good as a Mum hug, but nothing would, and you’ll absolutely take it. You stare at each other for a silent, heavy moment.

Then his eyes freeze over and he turns and walks away.

He never comes to you again. Never writes a letter or sends a gift. You have to go to him if you want him. And somehow you still do, even once Dad doesn’t and when your friends and wife tell you to leave him alone year upon year. Even when he tells you to go to hell for inviting him to lunch. You keep asking, trying, reaching out, faint echoes of laughter in your ears constantly fading. He’s family. That has to mean something. You’re happy now, truly, deeply happy, but he looks exactly the same. It doesn’t seem fair. Mum loved him and he loved her. Surely he can love you. Surely he can change again.

And then, on Christmas morning while you’re preparing the food for your annual party, there’s a knock at the door.

[lucy-frostblades]

happy vhscc season to all who celebrate have some doodles

taglist: @blueskiesandstarrynights @thedragonemperess @depressedtransguy @disdoorted-crows @joshkiszkashusband @starstruckodysseys @wheelsupin-azarathmetrionzinthos @theiloveyousong

[artchixs]

have a lot of Mila and some other misc doodles

[its-short-for-jackalope]

so like... who do I have to bribe to make digital tickets for the VHS Christmas Carols happen?

[weltato]

I gotta say, I love James Tolbert in VHSCCs. In the first song, when Scrooge mentions keeping his "many pennies away from lazy peasants" James just stops and goes:

He's literally telling him to calm down and AJ just goes "aight, yeah, sorry"

BUT LATER!!

We have to skip AAAAALLLLLL the way to Christmas Electricity and the interlude where they go to the Cratchits.

Scrooge: You've taken me to see some random family-

Christmas Present: Uh huh!

Scrooge: -who I've never seen, but they look pretty poor.

CP: ...That's offensive- ok-

Scrooge: Fred's party was fun but this seems kinda not.

CP:

He's so bewildered by it and so "dude, the fuck??"

I love the reactions from Starkid actors all the time, but James stands out to me so so much in this and I am living for it. He's such a joy to watch.

[iamnotdoinganythingillegal]

My Favourite New Things from VHSCCS 2024 :)

Jaime Lyn in the opening number

Darilyn adding extra riffs during perfect (and That Scrooge as well!!)

The new costume for the Hairdresser

The Christmas tree (so big and green) (silver)

The choreography for cold cold streets, particularly the “I dream of home” section

Having a bigger ensemble for grandmaland, all wearing those amazing silver cloaks

Clark and Meredith looking in different directions on the first beat of every bar in Bah Humbug

Scrooge cleaning his glasses to make sure he’s seeing Marley correctly, then shaking so hard one of his braces fell off

The section of Christmas Electricity choreography when everyone’s facing the back copying Fred except Scrooge and the ghost

Meredith singing more of the narrator lines, “Scrooge and the spirit fly over London Town” in particular, *chefs kiss*

The melodica in priceless (and all the other instruments)

“Call 911”

The way Scrooge looks at his razor when he’s “shaving”

Scrooge actually taking the match he bought

Brian staring dead into the camera in the curtain call

[cinderellaenjoyer]

There's something about Brian playing both Fred and Tim in VHSCCs that I can't quite put my finger on

[rudikawhy]

VHS Christmas Carols Thoughts

I thought this was just like the Chicago version of VHSCC (I'm not complaining)

I knew that Jim sold his watch just like Della sold her hair to buy a present (still wasn't less sad)

The music stage as a VHS tape is brilliant

I LOVE the Joey, Lauren, Brian trio

The songs are absolute FIRE

Poor match girl

Grandma land - I'm crying (literally, I'm crying)

I just know that I'm going to love A.J. as Scrooge

Why did the change "shitty" to "terrible" but kept "dick"?

I like Brian's Fred

It's time again for me to love Meredith's Marley

Her delivery of "Scrooge, don't pretend, I'm Marley, I'm your dead friend" is always perfect

I can't write all my favourite lines of 3 Spirits down, there are too many

Jaime's voice is kind of... different

That Scrooge incoming!!

Janaya Mahealani Jones has a absolutely incredible voice

The overlapping part at the end with Belle, Young Scrooge, and Old Scrooge singing will always be my favourite part of this song (but it's so hard to sing along)

I have never been one of those who absolutely love Christmas Electricity but the more I listen to it the more I like it

Scrooge's reactions during Christmas Electricity are the best

Fred's thing!!

Brian quick change from Fred to Tiny Tim :)))

Curt's face after Lauren's "Peter!"

Lauren's high note will never disappoint me

"Tim may be tiny, but his heart is humongous"🥹🥹

Brian singing into his plushie is too cute

A.J.'s delivery of "'K, that didn't tell me much, but definitely was spooky" was spot on

The Final Ghost is great all around, but the ending starting with "Spirit, don't show me anymore, tell me who was that dead man from before" is my favourite part, and A.J.'s performance did it absolute justice

The new additions to Christmas Day (Match girl and Jim and Della) made this song even better than it was already before

I know from watching A VHS Christmas Carol at least three times and listening to the cast recording too many times to count that I love all these songs, so this wasn't a surprise watching this. I still can't choose a favourite (though in the beginning was Priceless my favourite), but if I had to choose now, I'd probably say 3 Spirits... but then there's also Christmas Day... and That Scrooge... and The Final Ghost... and soon I'm sitting here, having listed all the songs, knowing as much as before. So, I'm happy to say that I love all of them.

Another thing I want to say is, that, when I saw that some roles were recasted, I was a little disappointed. But that was totally unjustified as all of them played the characters at least as well as the original cast. I'm glad that we got more Brian :)

And I'm glad we got more Clark-songs. As I said, I love the VHSCC songs, but those new songs in the first half were not less amazing. We definitely need another cast recording.

[starcanwrecked-confessions]

I would love to see vhsccs switch up which actors play what characters more. Like it's so fun seeing the different takes, like Dylan's vs AJ's Scrooge or Britney's Vs Janaya's and soon Vs Darilyn's Belle. And to be clear I don't mean this in a pinning them against each other and finding the best way. I mean this in just: I love seeing different people's takes on characters! It's just interesting! Like I'd love to see Joey play Scrooge or Meredith play Della or have Corey come back but as Bob or even starkid members that haven't been in any iteration of the show take their shot at some characters like Kendall as Match Girl or Jon as Fred and Spektr

~~~

[awigglycultist]

[paranormaltheatrekid]

john!scrooge anna!marley…. stratford!scrooge benjmain!marley…… margaret!scrooge cyrus/mary kathrine!marley…..

all of this to say a pulp vhscc au would be sick as FUCK

You’ve gotta hear me out on itzal!scrooge kal or margaret!marley and fred!dakkar

[loverlylight]

VHSCC did an especially good job of utilizing Starkid's "many cast members play multiple roles" tendency by having Jim and Young Scrooge, Della and Belle, Fred and Tiny Tim, the Grandma and the Ghost of Christmas Future, and Fezziwig and Bob Cratchit all being duos played by the same actors. Like, any of those dual roles being played by the same person is an awesome creative decision, but all five? That's spectacular.

[languesbians]

Some thoughts on A VHS Christmas Carol, from a big ACC fan

In this post I’ll be referring to three other musical adaptations: Scrooge! (1970), The Muppet Christmas Carol (”MCC”, 1993) and A Christmas Carol: The Musical (”ACCTM”, 2004).

Bah Humbug!

First of all, nice inclusion of the narrator as a main character in the show. Dickens’ narrator has a lot of the best lines in the original book and not many adaptations include him (MCC being the big exception, of course).

BH is a classic “Scrooge is a bad guy” song, similar to MCC’s “Scrooge” and some others that aren’t as good. As this is a sung-through musical, BH also takes on the whole scene of Scrooge in his offices, with Fred’s visit, the charity collectors and Bob asking for the day off. It pretty neatly covers all of those points, has some really nice use of rhyme and metre, and most importantly is an absolute banger.

3 Spirits

Just to get this out of the way straight off: Meredith looks amazing; I really like this version of Marley and their body language and the music give them a great spooky vibe.

Both MCC’s (”Marley and Marley”) and ACCTM’s (”Link By Link”) Marley songs are some of the most fun in their respective musicals, but VHSCC takes a different approach of going for a more toned-down, otherwordly version rather than a big bombastic one.

This song has some great lines, with special mention to some of Marley’s adapted from the original: “My spirit never grew in life, I only grew my wealth” and “These scary chains I wear are also around you”, plus two of Scrooge’s funniest lines from this scene, “You're just indigestion” and “If they all came together it could save some time” which are good examples of how this show manages to include quite a lot of the original in such a short space of time.

I’m the Ghost

SoCPast is notoriously difficult to faithfully adapt to the original novel in a live-action setting, with only Jim Carrey’s (animated) version even trying. Jaime gives her ghost an almost ethereal voice which helps make her seem more... well, ghostly despite having a relatively ordinary appearance. I’d say it compares favourably to Jane Krakowski’s rather lovely performance of “Lights of Long Ago” in ACCTM.

Scrooge’s two big emotional moments - remembering Fred is his sister’s son and comparing Fezziwig to himself as a boss - are nicely handled here:

GOCP: “Everyone's so happy, but why?” ES: “The boss did a lot for us.” GOCP: “This wasn't very much to buy.” ES: “Not just what he bought for us. He gave us much more than that. He made us have a blast. You don't understand it.” GOCP: “Something on your mind?” ES: “Bob Cratchit...”

So many people are familiar with this story now that VHSCC doesn’t need to cover things in too much detail and can afford to be efficient with its lines - and even if you don’t remember this scene, just that one like “Bob Cratchit” says it all, really.

Two last points: the Ghost’s final “I’m the Ghost” just after “I’m Belle” is very funny, and Fezziwig’s party is unusually short compared to most musicals which make a lot out of it having actual music within the narrative, but that just gives us more time for...

That Scrooge

Huge props to Clark for making a Scrooge/Belle song which isn’t skippable - there’s a reason MCC cut “When Love Is Gone” from the film. Doing it as a power ballad rather than a wistful sad song was a great choice which turns this scene from usually a drag on the pacing to a strong contender for the best song of the show. Oh, and Janaya is so good in the staged version.

Christmas Electricity

Unlike his predecessor, SoCPres is pretty easy to get right - he’s fun, jolly and loveable, and gets a fun song to match his personality. “It Feels Like Christmas” is one of MCC’s best-loved songs, “I Like Life” from Scrooge has a catchy chorus, and ACCTM’s “Abundance and Charity” is... also there.

“Christmas Electricity” is an absolute bop, it’s impossible to not dance to and this Ghost is great in the hands of Starkid’s most talented dancer. I don’t have much else to say which you don’t already know - this song is very popular among the fandom - except for two other things:

Dylan’s reactions to “I spread it to the wealthy” and “Maybe you’re a greedy dick” are really enjoyable

I like the condensing of the “guessing game” scene into just two lines.

Priceless

This song is so incredibly 80s i refuse to believe it was written last year. Like “That Scrooge” it’s an upgrade from the saccharine rubbish most adaptations give the Cratchits (who, in the songwriters’ defence, are famously pretty boring). Giving the roles to two of Starkid’s longest-running and most-loved cast members probably helped quite a bit as well.

"Priceless” somehow makes them feel more... real. Finally they have some personality, especially Peter “Grateful I don't have what Tim has got” Cratchit. Okay, I’m being unfair - MCC and the 1999 Patrick Stewart version mostly avoid this by casting Kermit/Miss Piggy and Richard E. Grant respectively.

The Final Ghost

Even Bill Murray’s Scrooged, with its New York cab driver and unstable fairy as the first two spirits, didn’t veer from the classic Grim Reaper look for its final visitation. VHSCC does away with that old look and makes SocYtC a normal-looking human... except that they only sing in wordless vowels, which is somehow creepier. Swapping the “oo”s with “Ebenezer Scroooooge” at the gravestone reveal is a really nice effect which just hammers home the shock he’s feeling. Also, special mention to Joey and Lauren’s shaky voices in the Cratchits’ bit of this song.

On a lighter note, Scrooge’s reaction of “Okay spirit, funny joke, but that's not what I meant” to SoCYtC taking “Can anyone express any emotion from this death?” is pretty funny. It’s something which isn’t in the original novel but is very in-character for Dickens’ version of Scrooge.

Christmas Day

In the tradition of Holy Musical B@man, Firebringer and TGWDLM, the finale includes elements from multiple songs earlier in the show, like “Christmas Electricity” and “Priceless”. Of course we have to include the “Scrooge was better than his word” bit, and this version includes the bit about Scrooge ignoring people who laugh at him which doesn’t usually turn up, so clearly Clark has been paying attention to the source material.

We end with the final section of “Bah Humbug”, reinterpreted in a positive light to give the musical a big, heartwarming finish and a great tone to send everyone home on.

Conclusions

All in all, this is not only a good musical, it’s also a good adaption of ACC which manages to incorporate most of the key elements (both plot and character-wise) of the original while adapting well to its unusual setting. Credit to Clark and everyone else involved in making it, well done guys!

[awigglycultist]

Vhsccs fan cast but it's just other starkid members cause I posted this on tiktok and want to post it here too before Christmas is over, also this is just for funsies, obviously I love the original cast, tbis is not say anyone would be better at a role or anything, just a fun idea

Narrator - Matt Dahan

Della - Bryce Charles

Jim - Will Branner

Magi (Bred, Gruelle & Spektr) - Jon Matteson, Angela Giarratana, Jeff Blim

Little Match Girl - Kendall Nicole

Grandma - Mariah Rose Faith Casillas

Ebenezer Scrooge - Darren Criss

Jacob Marley - Jae Hughes

Ghost of Chrismas Past - Angela Giarratana

Ghost of Chrismas Present - Jeff Blim

Ghost Christmas Future - Kim Whalen

Belle - Mariah Rose Faith Casillas

Young Scrooge - Will Branner

Fred/Tiny Tim - Jon Matteson

Bob Cratchit - Sean Persaud*

Emily Cratchit - Rachel Soglin

*I know Sean isn't technically a member of team starkid (and I wanna be clear about that cause I don't like when ppl mix up starkid, tcb and shipwrecked) but I just really liked like idea of him as Bob okay