What inspires a playwright to revisit beloved stories and make them their own? In this exclusive interview, we sit down with Mark Shanahan, the brilliant mind behind A Merry Little Christmas Carol and A Sherlock Carol. Known for his inventive adaptations and sharp storytelling, Shanahan shares his creative process, the joys and challenges of reimagining classics, and what keeps him coming back to the stage. Whether you’re a longtime fan of his work or curious about the art of playwriting, this conversation offers a fascinating insight into the process.
What inspired you to bring these classic stories to the stage, particularly during the holiday season?
It was a joy to adapt A Merry Little Christmas Carol for the stage and then use it as inspiration for its sequel, A Sherlock Carol. And now, I am thrilled to get a chance to see these two shows performed together in rep at VSC!
I was originally commissioned to adapt Dickens’ A Christmas Carol for another theatre, and while I had always admired the story, it wasn’t until I dove into the task of creating a stage adaptation that I truly understood what a work of genius Dickens had created. My goal was to write a play telling the epic tale laid out in the novella, but craft it for a cast of a manageable size and with a strong sense of theatricality.
I wanted the adaptation to celebrate the theatre and the art of playmaking as much as it celebrates Christmas itself. Dickens’ characters are so remarkably real to me and so fully realized, it often felt like they were whispering in my ear, guiding me, telling me how to create the play, encouraging me to add my own spin on it.
Virginia Stage Company’s A Merry Little Christmas Carol, 2023. Mesgana Jackson, Meredith Noël, Adalee Alt, and Sarah Manton, Photo by Matthew Omilianowski of TOC Creative
And then I decided to write a follow-up of sorts in A Sherlock Carol, using my adaptation of A Merry Little Christmas Carol as a map for how to tell this new story. The two plays reference each other in multiple ways. And truly, A Sherlock Carol is a direct sequel to my own version of A Christmas Carol, mixing the wonderful characters of Arthur Conan Doyle with those created by Dickens. Of course, this tale also had to be a classic mystery! It is, after all, a Sherlock Holmes play.
Ever since I was a boy, I’ve always loved the Holmes books, and the idea of weaving Doyle’s only Christmas-themed Holmes story, The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle, into Dickens’ world seemed like a natural fit. It allowed me to imagine a continuation of A Christmas Carol, in which Sherlock Holmes steps into a mystery deeply rooted in the themes of redemption and transformation central to the story of Ebenezer Scrooge.
What is it like to have both plays produced in rep?
It’s an incredible thrill! And it speaks to how remarkably ambitious VSC is - especially in their commitment to newer work.
A Sherlock Carol premiered Off-Broadway in 2021 and I’m glad to say it was enthusiastically received. New York is a tough market, and getting a new play produced is always a risky venture. I had great producers and we revived the show in New York for a second year, and then opened the production in London as well. This year it enters its third year in London, as well as having productions at numerous theatres around the United States and abroad.
But, VSC is doing something really special, presenting A Sherlock Carol in rep with A Merry Little Christmas Carol.
As a writer, to see both plays presented together is a dream come true. Hopefully, these two scripts complement each other as one, giant shared narrative with characters, locations, and details that become even richer when the plays are experienced back-to-back.
I know that coming to see a show this time of year at the Virginia Stage Company is a special tradition for many audience members, and I am really honored to participate in that.
How do you balance the original material with your creative interpretation, and what unique elements have you added to these adaptations?
My goal has always been to honor the source material from the books while working to make something truly unique as a piece of theatre.
Whether our cast is narrating or playing multiple characters with a quick costume change, I want the audience to marvel at how remarkable great actors are, especially when setting out to tell an epic tale. And even if you think you know these stories, I hope the audience will feel like they are meeting these characters for the first time and learning things about them they hadn’t considered before.
In A Merry Little Christmas Carol, I’ve added some humor and character details that feel fun and contemporary to some extent, including a few details that are specific to the Wells Theatre itself. I’m told Norfolk audiences have particularly enjoyed a scene depicting a group of sailors who celebrate the holidays far from home, an aspect found in the novella but not usually dramatized.
Virginia Stage Company’s A Merry Little Christmas Carol, 2023. Beatty Barnes, Meredith Noël, and Company.
At the same time, with A Sherlock Carol, I had the chance to explore how Sherlock Holmes, a character so grounded in logic and reason, would respond to the supernatural world of Scrooge. The blend of these two iconic worlds opened up so many storytelling possibilities, including fun Easter eggs. There are many small lines from A Merry Little Christmas Carol which resonate later in A Sherlock Carol.
For instance, a little lesson Old Fezziwig shares with Scrooge in A Merry Little Christmas Carol becomes a major plot point in a Sherlock Carol! I love that a small detail in one play can provide at the threader an idea from one story to cross into another, spanning generations.
In A Sherlock Carol, I’ve also included the idea that Scrooge helped found St. Bernard’s, the children's hospital at which Dr. Crachit works. We learn that he named the hospital after the miserable school he attended as a boy in A Merry Little Christmas Carol . Though I don't go out of the way to explain it, it's a fun example of how Scrooge became determined to transform something terrible into something beautiful after he went through his own transformation.
Of course, in A Sherlock Carol, it is fun to revisit Scrooge, Tiny Tim, Martha Cratchit, The Fezziwigs, Mrs Dilber and others from the Dickens tale and see how they all turned out after the events of Dickens’ story. But it’s also enjoyable to imagine how Doyle’s characters from the Sherlock Holmes adventures may have always been in the background of A Christmas Carol- and eagle eyed viewers might have a fun time spotting certain Sherlockian details I've hidden in plain sight in A Merry Little Christmas Carol.
It’s a bit of what they call a ret-con, of course, but I've really enjoyed trying to establish how these characters share one established, shared universe.
What has your experience been like working with Virginia Stage Company, and how have they shaped the productions?
Working with Virginia Stage Company has been such a rewarding experience for me over the years. I’ve had the pleasure of directing several shows at the Wells, and it feels like a creative home whenever I’m invited to return.
In fact, my collaboration with VSC’s Jeni Sheafer on another Holmes play, The Hound Of The Baskervilles, led her to recommend my work to VSC’s Artistic Director Tom Quaintance, and I’ve been so happy and proud that Tom has asked me back as both director and writer several times.
The team at VSC has truly embraced these productions with incredible heart and talent. I’ve enjoyed hearing directors Jordan Setzer and Steve Pacek talk about how they are approaching each play as part of a larger tale, and they’d been kind enough to include me in their conversations as they plan these productions together.
How do A Sherlock Carol and A Merry Little Christmas Carol complement each other as two distinct yet interconnected stories?
Presenting A Merry Little Christmas Carol and A Sherlock Carol together is a wonderful and ambitious undertaking. The shared cast, scenery, and costume elements make for a truly immersive experience. I’m especially excited about the continuity in the designs and casting.
It all reminds me of the joy I’ve received from watching something like both parts of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on Broadway or my boyhood experience seeing the landmark two-part Nicholas Nickleby produced by the RSC. Those productions set the bar high!
Each play stands on its own, but when experienced together, they reveal hidden connections and a larger tapestry that hopefully make the stories even more rewarding. In A Merry Little Christmas Carol, we see Scrooge’s redemption and its impact on the world around him. In A Sherlock Carol, that transformation is carried forward, as Scrooge tries to offer Sherlock Holmes the very gift of redemption that he received. The characters each undergo different journeys, but the outcome- a rebirth of spirit- is something they share.
And, the stories echo each other. The famous opening line of A Christmas Carol is “Marley was dead, to begin with.” It’s certainly one of the best opening lines in all of literature, and serves as the inspiration for opening line of A Sherlock Carol: “Moriarty was dead to begin with!”
It’s also an exciting opportunity for the repertory cast to play multiple roles in each play. The actors play some of the same characters- as well as their descendants- in both productions.
We get to see how the Cratchits, Fezziwigs and others have evolved since Scrooge’s redemption. And for those who are familiar with the Sherlock Holmes stories, there’s a bit of joy in watching these two literary worlds collide, as Watson, Lestrade and Irene Adler come into contact with a grown up Tiny Tim and many other supporting characters from Dickens’ work.
What challenges have you faced in reviving these timeless tales with a fresh perspective, especially with such well-known characters?
The biggest challenge is doing justice to these incredibly iconic characters while bringing something fresh to the stage. I’ve often said that writing A Sherlock Carol felt like inviting two sets of friends from different social circles to the same dinner party and hoping like heck they’d get along. I’m pleased to say they do!
Both Sherlock Holmes and Ebenezer Scrooge are so beloved, and audiences have strong expectations about who they are. With A Sherlock Carol, it was particularly intriguing to explore Sherlock’s skepticism of the supernatural. How does a character like Sherlock, who doesn’t believe in ghosts, reconcile with a story that is perhaps the most famous ghost story of all time?
What is your hope for audiences coming to see these plays in rep?
Around the country, I have found that a production of A Christmas Carol or a good old fashioned murder mystery often attracts a different audience than might usually go to the theatre. For some, these plays might be their first experience with live performance.
There’s a responsibility, especially with stories like these, to do them well so that we reach that new audience member and help them fall in love with going to the theatre.
Theatre has the unique power to help us see through the eyes of others, and these stories aim to do just that. Right now, we live in such a divisive world, and going to the theatre allows us a chance to come together for a shared experience on common ground. Now, more than ever, a ticket to the theatre truly feels like a gift.
I hope VSC audiences will love these shows and that these tales will bring tidings of comfort and joy to all this holiday season.
The game is afoot. God bless us everyone!
Happy holidays to all!
Get tickets to A Merry Little Christmas Carol today—the show ends December 23, with only 8 performances!
A Sherlock Carol runs December 4 - December 29, 2024
Get tickets now for this holiday mystery!