Miracle on 34th Street at the Firehouse Theatre
Adapted by Mountain Community Theatre from the novel by Valentine Davies. Based upon the Twentieth Century Fox motion picture “Miracle on 34th Street”
Directed by Ashley Puckett Gonzales
Stage Manager Katie Erwin
Scenic Design and Build Logan Uhtenwoldt, Maggie Sproul
Costume Design Dayna Dutton
Props Design Ally Beans
Lighting Design Hank Baldree
Sound Design Dylan Hearn
Music Supervisor Faith Grier
Fight Choreography Blake Henri
Scenic Painting Maggie Sproul
Cast:
Kris Kringle – Randal McCasland
Susan Walker- Eliana Rivera
Doris Walker – Johanna Nchekwube
Fred Gayley – Blake Hametner
Shellhammer - Jenay Puckett
Dr. Pierce /Halloran - Mark Eaglesham
Drunken Santa/Mr. Macy - Dan Servetnick
Sawyer - Levi Skoog
Bloomingdale/Judge Harper - David Moore
Finley - Faith Grier
Mara - Grace Harmon
Elves - Ella Bonneau, Lola Chabot, Faith Grier, Kam Meyerson
Adult Ensemble- Mark Eaglesham, Faith Grier, Grace Harmon, Jenay Puckett, Dan Servetnick, Levi Skoog, Kam Meyerson
Children’s Ensemble - Ella Bonneau, Lola Chabot, Caroline Black, Lakin Black, Noa Sophia Burch, Lily Robinson, Oliver Robinson
My thoughts on Miracle on 34th Street or…you gotta have faith.
Mounting a production based on a film that almost everyone knows and loves is a tough task. There’s so much to live up to. Director Ashley Puckett Gonzales has a take on Miracle that brings a freshness to the story and makes the 1947 Christmas classic a story that resonates today. It gave us much to think about on the way home. More about that later.
Miracle on 34th Street has that welcoming familiarity that pulls you in almost immediately. We all want Macy’s Santa, Kris Kringle from a retirement home, to be the real deal. And here, played by the remarkable Randal McCasland, believing is easy. The white bearded McCasland has the look and demeanor of St. Nick down pat and his steady, calm delivery had me convinced. I would not have been surprised to hear reindeer hooves on the top of the Firehouse.
There’s wonderful acting from everyone in this production, starting with the children’s ensemble that includes Caroline Black, Lakin Black, Noa Sophia Burch, Lily Robinson, and Oliver Robinson. There’s also youngsters Ella Bonneau and Lola Chabot, who are part of the singing elves whose carols add much to the evening.
The adult elves include the angelic voiced Faith Grier, who is also the bailiff, and the amazing Kam Meyerson, a true comic chameleon who made me smile in all of his multiple parts. It was fun to see Firehouse Executive Director David Moore displaying his acting chops as the affable Judge Harper and the incredibly versatile Dan Servetnick, who played three different roles in the first ten minutes of the show and was a terrific Mr. Macy. Mark Eaglesham, who plays both Judge Harper’s campaign manager Halloran and Kringle’s ally Dr. Pierce, makes both characters distinct and has such a great speaking voice that I was hoping he would burst into song. He’s most definitely a leading man in a supporting role. Grace Harmon is hilarious as the frustrated prosecuting attorney Mara and Jenay Puckett as Shellhammer is so good at playing nervous that I wanted to buy her a drink. Levi Skoog as Macy’s vocational guidance counselor Sawyer is a master of comic timing and brings a fun and frenetic high-strung energy to the character.
Eliana Rivera as Susan Walker, the young girl who doubts the existence of Santa Claus and has been raised to be practical by her mother, is a wide-eyed and charming bundle of acting talent who has poise and presence beyond her years. As Susan’s mother Doris is the appealing Johanna Nchekwube. Nchekwube is a pleasure to watch as she subtly transitions from a no nonsense single mother and businesswoman to someone who allows love to come into her life. The audience cheered when Doris finally shared a kiss with Fred Gayley.
Gayley is easily the best written character in the play. He is a lawyer and the neighbor/love interest of Doris, father figure to Susan, and defense attorney for Kris Kringle. It’s a part that calls for a skilled actor who can win over an audience from the get-go. Blake Hametner is that man. Hametner, looking like a leading man straight from Central Casting, has stage charisma off the charts and his performance as good guy Fred Gayley is one of the strongest I’ve seen this year.
Director Gonzales has a gift for casting, getting superior performances from actors, and storytelling that makes Miracle on 34th Street a Christmas gift the whole family will enjoy.
Now about that trip home. We were discussing the anachronisms in the play and how I struggled at first to figure out exactly in what era the play was set. It eventually became clear that it was 1947, the same year as the movie. Then it hit me how wonderful the world would be if the real 1947 had been like the world Gonzales creates. It’s a world where not everyone has a gym body, but more importantly, where no one raises an eyebrow about interracial romance or that people may have children of a different race. It’s a world where everyone is accepted and valued for who they are. Just think what our world would be like now if that had been what 1947 was really like. What a true gift that would be.
