The Astonishing Times of Timothy Cratchit
About the show
Workshop Theater revives its musical about the post-'A Christmas Carol' adventures of Tiny Tim, who ventures off in search of who he will become. More…
Twelve years after the close of 'A Christmas Carol,' Timothy Cratchit, now 19, leaves the home of his benefactor, Ebenezer Scrooge, in order to find his place in the world. On his path he encounters many trying, eye-opening, and comical situations. But he discovers his true calling with the magnificent stage clown, Grimaldi, and his troupe of lively performers.
"A delightful musical...The ensemble cast of 11 is superb...It is a little too lengthy to relate what should be the simple story of Timothy’s journey. The book perhaps unnecessarily develops the backstory of Grimaldi and his son, and the opening musical number, while setting the scene for the rest of the play, went on for too long with lyrics that were difficult to understand...'Timothy' provides a great entertainment value—leaving money in your pocket to spend on more holiday cheer!" Full Review
"A lively musical which has memorable music and lyrics...The writer tries to do too much, resulting in the show having an excessive three-hour run time. When the play jumps between the three main plots, much of the momentum is lost...'The Astonishing Times of Timothy Cratchit' has an energetic, charismatic and believable cast; enjoyable music and lyrics; a distracted, disjointed, yet at moments intriguing script; and is about forty-five minutes too long." Full Review
for a previous production "Admirable on many levels. It is an ambitious, boisterous musical...The entire cast is terrific...As good as the show is, it is a tad too long and may suffer from similarities to the now legendary Royal Shakespeare Company’s 'Nicholas Nickleby' adaptation. But 'The Astonishing Times of Timothy Cratchit' compensates with immediacy, energy and the fun of discovering a new—sort of—Dickens tale." Full Review
for a previous production "The book is a little convoluted and overstuffed with songs. There are 23 musical numbers and the show runs over two hours long. There is definitely a show here, but they need to stick to the issues that are most important...Thomas Coté, the director of this piece and I would assume the choreographer, does wonders. He keeps this show moving and fun." Full Review
for a previous production "Suffers from an overstuffed script which forcefully pieces together two completely different worlds...Though 'The Astonishing Times of Timothy Cratchit' isn’t without its flaws, this is a show which has immense promise. Strategic refinement of the storytelling, a good hard look at which songs matter the most, shaving a half hour off the running time would do wonders for this sweet and original coming-of-age tale. " Full Review
See it if Off Broadway musical theater at it's finest. Lengthy (easier to cut than add), great singing, choreography takes full use of small stage.
Don't see it if You only want to see Broadway stage ready productions. This is The Workshop Theater. This is much better than last year's version.
See it if want Christmas/Carnival air using Tim Crachitt's back/front/future story as its base, great cast, better intro number, Joyeux Noel #=delight
Don't see it if you'd rather be shopping, didn't like Nicholas Nickleby, think over 2 hours in the theatre is criminal, prefer to be Scrooge B4 he changes
Also This year's edition is much livelier than last year's with major cuts ... Read more Read less
See it if You appreciate creative staging (stagecraft all around) and a handful of pretty talented actors and live music; (Grimaldi storyline great!).
Don't see it if You can't afford to spend just under THREE hours on show that needs serious editing & needs focus, desperately; you're looking for Dickens.
See it if you are entertaining an intelligent child including yourself. You want a holiday show with more than the typical holiday banalities.
Don't see it if you are afraid of clowns, dancing and having fun. Laughter is out of the question for you. You don't like rummaging in anyone's attic.
See it if you want a peek at something that will make it to Broadway!
Don't see it if You're a Scrooge!
Cast & Creatives (19)
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