Rooftop Productions at the ARTfactory in Manassas, Virginia, is currently presenting a very special musical version of “Miracle on 34th Street,” directed and produced adroitly by, respectively, Deb Hansen and Kimberly Kamp. This is not the version by “Music Man“ composer Meredith Willson, who brought “Miracle on 34th Street” to Broadway under the title “Here’s Love” in 1963 with Willson-composed Christmas songs such as “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas.“
This production is instead based on the script of the 1940s “Lux Radio Theatre” presentation, which was more directly parallel to the film. The original radio version, of course, would be too short to present on stage, as it would only run fifty minutes or so. Therefore, songs have been added, several of them being Christmas carols such as “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” and jazz versions of Christmas carols such as “Jazzy King Wenceslas,” performed engagingly by the quintet of Talya Conroy, Kimberly Geipel, Chris Maulden, Patrick Mulhern, and Ahryel Tinker (who is also the music director) somewhat in the style of singing groups of the forties such as the Pied Pipers and the Modernaires. Other songs in the show are in the style of commercial radio jingles once ubiquitous on the air. A surprising jingle was one for Miller Toyota, a real Manassas car dealership which is “sponsoring” the Rooftop Productions show!
The performance straddles the difference between a recreation of a live radio broadcast and a stage play with period 1940’s costumes and modest but sincere props and set, such as a dial telephone, retro toys and dolls, vintage Christmas decorations, and classic radio microphones of yesteryear. Audience members (themselves pretending to be members of a 1940’s radio audience) clap and have enormous fun as a flashing applause sign tells them when to applaud! Especially effective is a recreation of a department store setting where children visit Santa in the New York City Macy’s on Herald Square at 34th Street (hence the story’s title).
For those new to the story or who have not seen the classic 1947 holiday film in quite some time, the plot involves an elderly gentleman with a white beard named Kris Kringle who believes himself to be Santa Claus. Or is he, in fact, really Santa Claus? The story swings back-and-forth between two world views: idealism and imagination on the one hand and common sense and practicality on the other. Kris Kringle and a young idealistic lawyer represent the romantic view of life, which allows for mysteries and miracles. In fact, the lawyer Fred Gailey warns that “practicality can become banality.” Doris Walker, a manager at Macy’s, and her daughter Susan represent skepticism and disbelief in miracles.
The play’s idealism vs. cold reality conflict is broadened in the story as Kris Kringle, who thinks he is Santa, is put on trial to defend his sanity. Characters must take sides and choose between the two opposing viewpoints. As for young lawyer Gailey and Doris, the mother of Susan, will one of them sway the other to his or her way of thinking as they fall in love?
In a production marked by infectious Christmas spirit, Savannah Legana as Doris is an earnest mother trying to protect her daughter from the harsh realities of the world. Patrick Mulhern, who plays Macy’s employee Shellhammer, is highly effective in the many comic moments of the show. Chris Beatley as Gailey sings and acts well as he conveys the enthusiasm and idealism of his character. An interesting aspect of the community/family nature of the production is that Noemi Lane, who plays the little girl Susan Walker, is the real-life daughter of Kris Kringle actor Michael Lane. Both perform their roles in fine form.
We would also like to make warm mention of Mitchell Hansen as the Announcer, who introduces the production as “a radio show and live onstage performance” in combination, reminding us that this production offers the best of both of these worlds. He also sounds like an authentic old-time announcer, intoning statements like “we are broadcasting from beautiful downtown Manassas.”
Costume designer Charlynn Mills stands in for high praise in designing 1940s-style clothing for Doris as well as for a group of vintage newsboys hawking “The Rooftop Journal,” with its updates of the Kris Kringle court case. The choreography of Kelly Delaune is also very strong.
The play, which runs two hours plus a fifteen-minute intermission, conveys effectively an important message for this season and perhaps all others: “Faith is believing in something when common sense tells you not to.” For more information on “Miracle on 34th Street,” which runs through December 8, please visit: virginiaartfactory.org/event-directory/actors-theatre/