The mysterious Kris Kringle saves Macy’s thanksgiving parade when their Santa Claus arrives drunk, but his insistence on being the real Santa Claus gets him into serious trouble. When his love for everybody begins to melt even the most sceptical of hearts, the veil of commercialism is lifted from Christmas.
The intermittent score is beautifully rendered by George Francis and his 6 piece band but, despite Francis’s sumptuous orchestrations, Willson’s music struggles to overwhelm. It’s a shame Willson chose to combine the two most memorable songs, It’s Beginning to look a lot like Christmas and Pine Cones and Holly Berries together in counterpoint, as this undersells them.
The cast has some really fine voices, most notably Caitlin Berry and Stuart Reid, who play Macy’s Santa-doubting Doris Walker and Fred Gaily, the ex-marine who sets about making her believe. Tim Parker is a perfect Kris Kringle, who could make almost anyone believe. There are also several fine child actors, especially Emma Kennedy-Rose, debuting as Doris’s stoical daughter Susan (played at alternate performances by Maddison Thew).
Olivia du Monceau’s set is a stack of ribbon-tied gift boxes growing out of Macy’s lobby. Director Gemma Bodinetz unwraps their contents with all the love and magic of Christmas day. It’s an old fashioned piece of writing, short of a bit of pizzazz, but it’s a real winter heartwarmer.
3 Stars – Meredith Willson’s take on a Christmas classic is touching if not entirely tune-filled.
This review was originally written for
and published by The Stage, and is posted here retrospectively in its original
unedited form.
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| The cast of Miracle on 34th Street - all images by Robert Day |
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| Taylor Walker (centre) |
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| Stuart Reid and Caitlin Berry |
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| Tim Parker |
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| Caitlin Berry |
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