By Richard Pacheco
The musical
version of “Miracle on 34th Street”
currently at the Ocean State Theatre is sheer family fun and a nostalgic
delight, sparked by solid performances an fun staging. Based on the ever
popular 1947 film, the book music and lyrics are by Meredith Wilson who also
wrote “The Music Man” and “The Unsinkable Molly Brown.” This was his third
Broadway musical production, directed by Stuart Ostrow and choreographed by Michael
Kidd, opened on October 3, 1963
at the Shubert Theatre, and closed on July
25, 1964 after 334 performances and 2 previews. The cast included Laurence
Naismith, Janis Paige, Craig Stevens, Lisa Kirk, Fred Gwynne, Michael Bennett,
and Baayork Lee. The original director, Norman Jewison, was replaced by Ostrow,
the producer, during rehearsals. Originally the musical was called “Here’s
Love,” not “Miracle on 34th Street.”
It’s not as good as Wilson’s other musicals, but certainly is pleasant and fun
festive entertainment that will prove to be fun for the entire family, full of
holiday sentiments and nostalgia.
Adapting
the film for stage created several problems, but this charming cast makes them
less noticeable.
Susan Walker and her mother, Doris,
live alone in New York in the
1960s. Doris works in an Her Santa Claus ends up
drunk and she encounters Kris Kringle and convinces him to be the store’s
Santa. He is an absolute delight charming everyone he meets and leaving an
impact on store and its employees. Susan meets an ex-marine named Fred Gaily,
who takes it upon himself to rid her of her "realistic" outlook on
life by taking her to see Santa Claus at Macy's. Kris (Santa) manages to win
Susan over while attraction blooms between Fred and Doris. When Kris takes a
mental test, the tester despises him and files for a civil commitment, claiming
to be assaulted. The first act ends with Kris being arrested and taken into
custody. The second act sees Kris appearing in the New York Supreme Court, with
Fred helping him defend his sanity. In the conclusion, Fred uses the Post
Office to prove to the court (and the world) that Santa Claus does exist: Kris
Kringle is he.
Richard Koons is Kris Kringle, yes,
Santa Claus. Santa has lost his faith in the modern world and struggles to
regain it and his place in the world. Koons is sheer fun, robust and jolly in
the role. He charms and enchants with flair and zest. He is pure delight, with
a strong singing voice and terrific stage presence. The song he does with Fred
and the ensemble, “Here’s Love” is delightful fun.
Brigid Fitzgerald is charming as
young Susan, a devout non-believer in Santa Claus or anything she cannot see,
touch, taste, etc. due to her mother’s disenchantment with her father, with
love, life and everything. She is pert and perky, convincing as skeptic and
just as convincing in her transformation into believer at the hands of Kris
Kringle and Fred, who likewise enchants her. Her duet with her mother is a
delight. She also shines in her duet
with Fred, “My Wish” and her duet with Kris, the reprise of “Pie Cones and
Holly Berries.”
Megan Wheeler is Doris, Susan’s
mother a woman disappointed in love and she feels life, making her a skeptic
and somewhat cynical which she passes on to her daughter continually, only
believe what you can see or touch, not in imagination or anything like it.
Wheeler is excellent in the role, full of zest, a woman with power at work and
afraid to be vulnerable in her personal life, to surrender that kind of control
she maintains at work. She is deftly convincing conveying both aspects of her
personality, both in control and vulnerable. She shows her voice off to good effect
in songs like her duet with Susan and “You Don’t Know.” She shines again with
the reprise of “Look Little Girl.”
Jeffery Funaro is recently retired
marine, turned attorney Fred Gaily. He is a man who is sentimental and
nostalgic in many ways. Funaro is
charming in the role, easy going and friendly, very appealing. He is excellent
in his duet with Susan, “My Wish” and later in his solo, “Look Little Girl.”
Matt Dasilva is Doris’
assistant, Shellhammer, a man quick to
try and endear himself to his superiors no matter what it takes. He will alter
course at the slightest provocation, providing that comes from one of his
bosses, he will do it in a flash. Desilva is enjoyable in the role, full of
energy and determination as Shellhammer.
Mark S. Cartier is R. H. Macy, a
savvy and hard headed no nonsense businessman who owns Macy’s and is willing to
do what it takes to put his store on top and keep it there—even if it means
making friends with Gimble’s. He shines with Doris, Shellhammer, Tammany and
Judge Group in “My State.”
Daniel Larson is Judge Group who is
sitting on the controversial hearing about Kris Kringle, caught between a rock
and a hard place, forced to not only judge on whether Kris is sane, but whether
there is a Santa Claus. He is funny when he tries to squirm to get out of his
tight spot and save himself and his future election as judge by deciding on
whether there is a real Santa Claus.
It’s a large and energetic cast,
filled with both children and adults having a merry ole time. There are many
ensemble numbers that are loads of fun like “The Big Ca-lown Balloons” at the
beginning and “That Man Over There” at the end in both the courtroom scene with
Macy and its reprise. The dancing was
effective and fun, but nothing spectacular.
It is ironic that the most
memorable song, “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas,” is not even
listed in the program considering it has become a holiday standard. It is sung
in counterpoint to "Pinecones and Holly Berries." In the second act
there is a song that is a direct steal from the “Music Man’ score “She Hadda Go
Back” which sounds a lot like “Ya Got Trouble” from “Music
Man.”
Director and choreographer Barbara
Hartwig delivers a charming production, full of fun and finesse, loaded with
nostalgia and seasonal cheer. Her choreography is vivid and effective, but not
stunning.
Musical director Esther Zabinski is
right on the mark with her orchestra and what she gets out of her singers,
despite a mostly lack luster not memorable score like Wilson’s other musicals
like “Music Man”.
Set designer Lisa Pegnato delivers
a multifaceted set with some bold, effective touches that work transforming the
stage from the parade route to a courtroom, and some apartments with nice
touches.
While the musical is not as
memorable as Wilson’s others, it is
sheer holiday fun for the whole family, entertaining and pleasant, sure to
evoke warm holiday thoughts and feelings all around, in generous abundance.
