“Miracle on 34th Street” is filled with Broadway-style showmanship. Photo courtesy of Riverside Center for the Performing Arts.
“Miracle on 34th Street,” celebrating as it does Christmas and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade which precedes it, is a perennially popular, holiday film. In the early 1960s, Meredith Willson, composer of Broadway “The Music Man,” turned the Hollywood favorite into a musical. A highly entertaining production of Willson’s musical is currently being performed at Riverside Theatre for the Performing Arts.
…highly entertaining…delights with its memories of Christmases past…
The story involves one Kris Kringle, hired to perform the role of a department store Santa Claus. As it turns out, Kris harbors the belief that he really is Santa Claus. Other characters include soldier-turned lawyer Fred Gaily, cynical Doris Walker (who hired Kringle), and Doris’ young daughter Susan. Affected by her mother’s cynicism, Susan does not believe in Santa Claus. Several magical moments and a brush with imagination encourage Susan to question her lack of belief.
Elizabeth C. Butler sings beautifully as Doris, especially the poignant “You Don’t Know.” Fred Gaily makes for a fine lawyer while maintaining a bright view of the world at Christmas time in “Here’s Love.” Catherine Mayers is wonderful as young Susan Walker, including in her duet with “Santa Claus” entitled “Expect Things to Happen.” The standout performer is undoubtedly Jim Lawson as Kris Kringle. In a debonair accent and jovial mannerisms, he channels perfectly actor Edmund Gwenn who immortalized the part in the film version. In fact, there is much that will remind viewers of the original film in terms of plot and even dialogue. What is special about this production, directed with aplomb by Patrick A’Hearn, is that it does not settle for entertainment based only on nostalgic recollections of the film. It strikes out on its own in developing new musical numbers to accentuate the Broadway side of the work.
Among these were the female trio of the delightful Jingle Belles (Sheri Hayden, Barbara Breen, and Hazel Bennett) who performed the Andrews Sisters’ “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” and the Chordettes’ “Mr. Sandman,” but with altered lyrics to reference Christmas revelries (all in addition to the show’s famous Christmas tune “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas”). Also unique to this production is a “kick line” of dancers recalling the Rockettes, the dancers famed for their Christmas performances at New York’s Radio City Music Hall.
Other changes were two characters usually played by males.The psychiatrist Mr. Sawyer and Judge Group were both played in this version by Kathy Halenda. The take on the judge was particularly memorable, adding the bluntness and acerbic wit of TV reality judges such as Judge Judy.
Another special moment was a recreation of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Live performers were used but also black-and-white, archival footage of actual New York City Thanksgiving Day parades from yesteryear, giving a sense of both reality and magic to the performance.
The rotating central wall was used cleverly both to change sets but also as parts of acts such as when Doris addressed the live orchestra (directed vividly by David Landrum) behind the half-rotated wall. Here she unexpectedly broke the fourth wall (or rather the half-rotated wall) by exclaiming that the scene she was performing required music. The effective but restrained lighting design by Weston Corey added to the performance immensely without the viewer noticing the lights changing and blending seamlessly with the story. The costumes, designed by Erin Welsh, gave the musical a retro flair.
“Miracle on 34th Street” is a holiday offering—especially in this production by the talented team at Riverside—which delights with its memories of Christmases past as well as the displays the timelessness of trust and faith, “even when common sense tells you not to.”
Running Time: Two hours and 45 minutes, including a 20-minute intermission.
“Miracle on 34th Street” runs through December 31, 2023 at at Riverside Center for the Performing Arts, 95 Riverside Parkway Fredericksburg, VA 22406. For more information and tickets, please go online. Masks are not required.
