Recently Betsy Wolfe, Danny Burstein, Lauren Patten and Carolee Carmello joined iHeartRadio Broadway’s SJ Arnegger to talk about being a part of last year’s Estella Scrooge filmed musical that is now streaming on Streamingmusicals.com for an encore airing during the holiday season. The fully-realized production was filmed during the height of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, shortly after the Broadway shutdown and the production utilized a green screen with hundreds of images, animations and digital environments blended in post-production with the footage of the actors to bring the story magically to life. Estella Scroogealso wittily incorporates characters and plot lines from Dickens’ other great novels, Great Expectations, Little Dorritand Bleak House, among others. Estella Scrooge is a 2021 Telly Award Winner, which honor excellence in video and television across all screens. As a special bonus, all iHeartRadio Broadway listeners can receive a 25% discount to watch Estella Scrooge but using the code IHEART25. Enter the Code on BroadwayonDemand.com and StreamingMusicals.com 1. Click RENT or BUY 2. Enter your email 3. Choose a password 4. Click "I have a Promo Code" ENTER: IHEART25 5. Rentals are available for 72 hours as you hit PLAY. Purchases are available forever.
Betsy Wolfe (Waitress) stars as Estella Scrooge, a descendent of her famous great great great great grandfather Ebenezer. Clifton Duncan (The Play That Goes Wrong) stars as Philip ‘Pip’ Nickleby. 2020 Tony Award winner Lauren Patten (Jagged Little Pill) stars as Dawkins. The production also features Tony Award nominees Patrick Page (Hadestown) as Mr. Merdle, Carolee Carmello (Parade) as Marla Havisham and 2020 Tony Award Winner Danny Burstein as Ebenezer Scrooge.
Estella Scrooge (Wolfe) is a young Wall Street tycoon with a penchant for foreclosing. A hotelier in her hometown of Pickwick, Ohio has defaulted on his mortgage and Estella fancies the idea of lowering the boom personally. Arriving at Harthouse on Christmas Eve, Estella discovers that the defaulting party is her childhood sweetheart, Pip Nickleby (Duncan). A good and generous soul, Pip has transformed the property into a refuge for the sick, dispossessed and homeless. A freak snowstorm forces Estella to take refuge. That night, just as it happened to her ancestor Ebenezer, she is haunted by three visitations...and oh, what uninvited houseguests they are!
The cast also includes Megan McGinnis (Little Women) as Betty Cratchit, Adam Halpin (Dear Evan Hansen) as Bob Cratchit, Sarah Litzsinger (Beauty and the Beast) as Sissy Jupe, Tom Nelis (The Visit) as Dedlock, Em Grosland (Emotional Creature) as Smike, Phoenix Best (Dear Evan Hansen) as Charity & Mercy, David Bryant (Original Marius in Broadway’s Les MisérablesT) as Mr. Podsnap, Gabrielle Reid (Beautiful: The Carol King Musical) as Mrs. Pumblechook, Samuel Lee Roberts (Radio City Music Hall’s Christmas Spectacular) as Mr. Flopson, Michael Francis McBride (Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater) as Mr. Dombey, Michele Lee (Nutcracker Rouge) as Mrs. Noggs, Kristen Faith Oei (Diana) as Ms. Skiffins, Meg Gibson (The Gabriels) as Molly, William Youmans (To Kill A Mockingbird) as Magwitch & Bagstock, Kevyn Morrow (Moulin Rouge!) as Jasper Jaggers, Joziyah Jean-Felix (The Lion King) as Young Pip, Brooklyn Shuck (“Evil”) as Young Essy and Willow McCarthy (The Ferryman) as Tiny Tammy.
Estella Scrooge features musical supervision by Brad Haak (Mary Poppins), choreography by Natalie Lomonte (Every Woman Biennial) and casting by Tara Rubin Casting (Dear Evan Hansen). Director of photography and editor is Tyler Milliron (StreamingMusicals’ Pride and Prejudice), production art design is by Zach Wilson (Beauty and the Beast), costume design is by Somie Pak (“Mélange”), hair and makeup design is by Dena Olivieri (Forbidden Steps) and props design is by Katherine White (Streaming Musicals’ Marry Harry).
Estella Scrooge is produced by Michael Jackowitz of Witzend Productions, David Bryant and Michael Alden, in partnership with Streaming Musicals and Broadway on Demand. Executive Producers are Kevin Surace and for StreamingMusicals, Tom Polum and Stacia Fernandez. Co-Executive Producers are Jeffrey Grove, Allan Herzog and Dawn Smalberg/Bev Ragovoy.
Broadway on Demand has streamed over 2,500 events and live productions—from Broadway shows to concert series, performance venues to individual artists, and original content—in 114 countries to 300,000+ subscribers and was honored with an Emmy award® nomination in 2021. Thanks to a unique licensing interface, Showshare, approved middle school, high school, college, community, and professional theatre productions utilize the platform to stream to their audiences.
For over three years, Streaming Musicals has been creating content that is a hybrid between theatre and film, with in-theatre and soundstage captures that provide worldwide access to musicals that would not be as widely seen otherwise. In April, over 160,000 people watched the premiere of StreamingMusicals’ production of Paul Gordon’s musical adaptation of Pride and Prejudice.
Estella Scrooge was developed in part at Rhinebeck Writers Retreat with developmental productions at Rubicon Theatre Company (Karyl Lynn Burns and James O’Neil, Artistic Directors).