Miracle at 34th Street
adapted by Mountain Community Theater
from the 1947 film
directed by Sandie Cond and Sabrina DeSousa
Thurs.-Sat., Dec. 3-19, 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 19, 2:00 p.m.
The Davies Foundation Auditorium
52 Church St., Kingston, ON
Doris Walker, event co-ordinator for the New York department store Macy's, has a problem. It's Thanksgiving, and the man she hired to play Santa Claus in the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade has been getting into the wrong kind of spirit — he's drunk.
 Left to right: Julia Moore, Amanda Cheung and Damien Schaefer.  Left to right: Robert Bruce, Ellie Helmsteadt, Kim Coffman Dressel, Leonard Irwin, Rowen Picard, Lorna Jodoin, Sarah Henson, Valerie Winslow, Julia Moore and Amanda Cheung. |
Luckily, a man who not only looks like Santa but is named Kris Kringle happens to be at hand. Doris asks him to stand in for the drunken Santa, which he does so well that she hires him to play Santa at the flagship Macy's store (on 34th Street) for the Christmas season.
Kris starts directing some parents to other stores where they can get the gifts their children want for less than Macy's is charging. Management isn't so sure about this, but it generates so much good publicity that the store decides to encourage it, and rival stores adopt the same policy.
However, Doris doesn't like Kris telling her daughter Susan—who she has taught not to believe in fairy tales or Santa Claus—that he is the real Santa. Concerned that he is delusional and could be dangerous, she decides to fire him. By this time, though, he is a hit with management. As a compromise, a psychiatric exam is arranged. It doesn't go well for Kris and he ends up in Bellevue Hospital.
Threatened with permanent commitment, Kris finds himself in a court hearing where he is challenged to prove that he is the one and only Santa Claus. That sounds like a tall order, but a letter of encouragement that Susan sends to Kris indirectly helps him out of the jam he's in.
 Left to right: Damien Schaefer, Madelin Dawson, Amanda Cheung, Phil Perrin and Jessica Pelletier. |
The story for the classic film Miracle on 34th Street was written by Valentine Davies. The film and a novella version were both released in 1947. The movie is widely considered one of the best films of that year, and the American Film Institute placed it ninth on its 100 Years...100 Cheers list of the best American films.
Cast |
|
| Doris | Julia Moore |
| Employee/Parent/Balloon Man | Dale Jones |
| Johnny's Parent/Halloran | Cindy Chappell |
| Shellhammer/Pedestrian 1 | Valerie Winslow |
| Grandparent/Finley | Carol McKay |
| Bag Lady/Foster Mother/Mara | Lorna Jodoin |
| Female 1/Sharon's Parent/Sawyer | Kim Dressel |
| Kris Kringle | Phil Perrin |
| Fred | Damien Schaefer |
| Drunk Santa/Judge | Leonard Irwin |
| Policeman/Postie | Richard Palimaka |
| Duncan/Postie Al/Parent/Pedestrian 2 | Pam Briand |
| Hipster/Macy | Rob Bruce |
| Pierce/Bloomingdale | Terry Wade |
| Elf Z | William Smith-Blyth |
| Elf Q | Jessica Pelletier |
| Elf J | Madelin Dawson |
| Elf W | Taylor Moore |
| Susan | Amanda Cheung |
| Child 1 | Reed Mastorakos |
| Child 2/Johnny | Andrew Cheung |
| Dutch Girl/Elf | Rowen Picard |
| Child 3/Sharon | Tasha Coe |
| Child 4/Megan | Mirren Henson |
| Child 5 | Danica Fennigan |
| Janet Mara/Child 6 | Ellie Helmsteadt |
| Street Vendor/Parent/Employee/Pedestrian 3 | Sarah Henson |
Production Crew |
|
| Producers | Bob Brooks Elizabeth Taylor |
| Director | Sandie Cond/Sabrina DeSousa |
| Stage Manager | Rick Taylor |
| Asst. Stage Manager | Angie Roberts |
| Set Design/Chief Carpenter | Bob Brooks |
| Lighting Design | Peter Cassidy |
| Sound Design & Operation | Michael Gourgon |
| Costume Design | Liz Schell |
| Lighting Operator | Bob Brooks |
| Props | Ali Snider |
| Set Construction | Grant Buckler John Corrigan Michael Gourgon Doug McNichol Liz Schell Cori Schroder Elizabeth Taylor |
| Lobby Photography | Claudia Wade |
| Archival Photography | Grant Buckler |
| Lobby Art Curator | Karen Peperkorn |
| Front of House Co-ordinator | Steve Powell |