I am very happy to say that I have completed a new play – a romantic comedy-drama, entitled “A Cricket On the Hearth” – based on Charles Dickens’s similarly named novella.

There are a few reasons why this work is unique for me…

Reason #1 is that I have never actually “adapted” another text before (if you exclude my play “The Beggar of Bethesda” as being an adaptation from the Bible) – although I say my play is “based on” the Dickens novella because I took the storyline and basically reconfigured it, changing many things, including names and locations, and not lifting a single bit of dialogue from Dickens in the process.

Reason #2 is that “Cricket” actually began as an idea for a musical, which I worked on with two great composers based out of the UK (way back in 2021/2022) – although after writing a script for it, with places for songs, the project dissipated and the script lay dormant – until, that is, a few weeks ago, when I thought “I really have to make this into a straight play because I love it so much!” – and voila.

Set in a small village in New York’s Hudson Valley in 1840 (an obvious change from Dickens), “A Cricket on the Hearth” concerns the unlikely couple of John and Dot Plekkenpoel – John well into his 40’s, huge and lumbering, and Dot in her early 20’s, petite and perky – and yet, both happily married. In comes Ernest Tackleton, the finicky, greedy owner of a toy company – well into middle age – who is aiming to sweep up a poor, orphaned 20-year-old as his wife and convince her the age distinction is no true barrier. Hoping John and Dot will set a good example, Tackleton invites them to a luncheon with his betrothed, alongside a strange, cloaked man, who the kind-hearted John Plekkenpoel rescued from a snowstorm – but when Dot shows this stranger an equally strange degree of attention, it soon appears that John and Dot’s marriage is not as sweet as one might think.

At its core, “A Cricket On The Hearth” is a witty, tongue-in-cheek play – intermixed with poignant drama, colorful characters, charming repartee, and a glow of optimism – about the nature of true love and the sacrifices we are willing to make for that love.

While not by far his most popular work, Dickens wrote “Cricket” alongside other Christmas-themed works – the most famous of which is “A Christmas Carol” – and the novella has been adapted a few times for the big screen, starting from the silent movie error (twice – 1909 and 1923 – see the picture above!) and even in the 1960’s in a colorful, musical cartoon version.

What struck me most about the story is the central relationship of the two main characters (John and Dot) – while interestingly, most of the adaptations focus on the subplot of a toymaker and his blind daughter – but for me, “Cricket” makes for a true romantic comedy, being intelligent, subtle, and yet truly romantic, without stereotypical tropes or bland comedy.

You can check out the first 30-odd pages of the play here!