It's no secret that I love musicals, it's also no secret that I love Christmas, so imagine my joy when I learned that The Keeton Theatre's holiday offering would be Meredith Wilson's musical adaptation of Miracle on 34th Street. The dinner theatre show opened on December 1 and continues with Thursday-Sunday performances December 8-18.
Musical theatre geeks like myself know Miracle's book, music and lyricist, Wilson for having created two Broadway smash-hits, The Music Man and The Unsinkable Molly Brown. Miracle, initially titled Here's Love, debuted on Broadway in 1963. It enjoyed a nine month run, but never garnered the following of notoriety of his previous two musicals.
In spite of the show's unfamiliarity, I arrived opening night confident that director Kate Adams-Johnson and musical director, Ginger Newman wouldn't disappoint, and I was right. While several of the show's musical numbers seem to be retreads of Wilson's more notable tunes, the Keeton cast, lead by a very convincing Terry McLemore as Kris Kringle, himself, more than made up for the show's lackluster soundtrack. Even out of Santa's suit, McLemore's got the jolly one's mannerisms down.
As is often the case when working with young actors, two actresses have been cast in the role of Susan Walker, the young girl who doubts Santa's existence. On opening night, Susan was played by Lilla Galgoczy-Toler. Abigail Ekas plays Susan on alternating nights. Lilla's Susan seems perfectly jaded at such a young age, but not so much that she can deny the truth when presented undesputable facts about Santa's existence.
The scenes between Susan Santa allow Lilla to explore what a young child should be like at Christmas, while scenes with her single-mom, Doris, played by Marisol LaBoy, provide the young actress to explore Susan's struggle to be mature beyond her years.
Speaking of LaBoy, she possesses a simply beautiful voice. When she solos on You Don't Know and Nothing In Common, she commands the stage.
A familiar face to Keeton Theatre, Tony Nappo is cast as Doris' unexpected love interest, Fred Gaily. Nappo, most recently seen in Chicago, boasts a booming baritone voice, the perfect compliment to Doris' honey-laden vocals.
Two of my favorite local actresses, Cary Street and Courtney McClellan are seen throughout the show, playing multiple parts. My personal favorites are Street as obviously Irish law clerk, Tammy O'Halloran and McClellan as the very New York secretary. Both of these women know how to make the most of any part they're given to play.
On the subject of making the most of it, David Shaw, as department store owner, R.H. Macy and Chad Ray as his nebbish sales manager, Marvin Shellhammer, chew so much scenery, I fully expected them to wash it down with a glass of eggnog. Shaw's over-excited delivery plays perfectly as the over-confident Macy. Ray's twitchy Shellhammer reminded me of vintage Don Knotts.
Adult actors weren't the only scene-stealers in Miracle on 34th Street. fraternal triplets, Ashley, Aussie and Mason Greene couldn't be any cuter!
Miracle on 34th Street: The Musical is offering a special show only price of $10. This week's Friday and Saturday dinner shows are sold out, but tickets still remain for Sunday's 2pm performance, as well as all four closing weekend shows.
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