‘Scrooge’ opens at Brundage Park on December 4

As a movie and musical fan, Mark Carovale of Mine Hill has seen plenty of adaptations of “A Christmas Carol” over the years. As an actor and director, he has been associated with several different productions.

But for “Scrooge: A Musical Christmas Carol,” which opens tonight at Brundage Park Playhouse, Carovale has taken on a different role: writer.

Carovale crafted “Scrooge” by piecing together favorite scenes from various sources and scripting dialogue that retains the flavor of Victorian England, the setting for the Charles Dickens classic.

Writing an original take on “A Christmas Carol” was born out of frustration with the existing adaptations, according to Carovale.

“No one version had everything that I liked,” says Carovale, who also directs and plays the title character in “Scrooge.” “I’d like the death of Tiny Tim from one (version), and the first meeting between Scrooge and his nephew Fred from another.”

So Carovale compiled all those favorite scenes and wrote the appropriate dialogue.

“The hardest scene was the one with the Ghost of Christmas Future because he does talk,” he says. “I had to verbalize everything that he was showing me.”

Carovale says the film actor whose interpretation of Scrooge that he most enjoys is Alastair Sim, whose performance in the 1951 movie is considered the gold standard.

(Coincidentally, Sim’s film was titled “Scrooge” when it was originally released in the United Kingdom. For its release in the United States, it was retitled “A Christmas Carol.”)

For the music of his “Scrooge,” Carovale turned to traditional carols and holiday songs. But he made sure to include only songs that would have been extant in the 1840s, when Dickens wrote “A Christmas Carol.”

“We have ‘Deck the Halls’ and ‘God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen,’ ” Carovale says. “We have ‘Good King Wenceslas’ and ‘Here We Come A-Carolin’,’ but we use the original title of ‘Here We Come A-Wassailin.’ ”

The music will actually begin before the play starts. Cast members will carol in costume in front of Brundage Park Playhouse before the performance.

Directing the production has been a challenge, particularly given the theater’s intimate size. “What makes it difficult is the fact that Scrooge’s bed is always center stage,” Carovale says.

He adds that he feels fortunate to have a large cast that has meshed well. “The actors all grasp what we’re going for, and they’re growing into their roles,” Carovale says.

The idea of yet another version of “A Christmas Carol” may strike some people as unnecessary. But Carovale says that Dickens’ story is meaningful enough to warrant regular revisiting.

“This story says that someone can change if he wants to,” Carovale says. “It encourages you to care about your fellow man, instead of just looking at the gold in your hand.”

“It’s a big world out there,” he adds. “It’s not all about one person, and this story says that.”

What is more, “A Christmas Carol” ends on a note that is touching enough to melt any miser’s heart, Carovale concludes. “When Tiny Tim says, ‘God bless us, every one,’ that gets to everyone.”

SCROOGE: A MUSICAL

CHRISTMAS CAROL

WHEN: Through Dec. 13: 8 p.m. Fridays,

2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays

WHERE: Brundage Park Playhouse,

2 Bungalow Lane (off Carrell Road), Randolph

TICKETS: $20 ($15 for children under 12 and seniors over 62). Children under 4 are

requested not to attend.

INFO: 973-989-7092 or www.brundageparkplayhouse.org