Miracle on 34th Street
adapted by Mountain Community Theater
from the 1947 film
directed by Valerie Winslow
Thurs.-Sat., Dec. 1-16, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 17, 2:00 p.m.
The Davies Foundation Auditorium
52 Church St., Kingston, ON
Left to right: Isabella Searle, Phil Perrin, Jason Bowen and Jennifer Tryon. |
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.
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.
Left to right: Nicole Cannon, Jason Bowen, Jennifer Tryon, Amanda Liebeck, Dale C. Jones, Nick Neokleous |
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.
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 |
|
| Kris Kringle | Phil Perrin |
| Doris Walker | Jennifer Tryon |
| Fred Gayley | Jason Bowen |
| Sawyer | Colin Doyle |
| Judge Harper/Drunken Santa | Craig Godfrey |
| Dr. Pierce | Dayna-Lynn Nevay |
| Mara | John Carney |
| Susan Walker | Isabella Searle |
| Halloran/Rich Person | Penny Tryon |
| Shellhammer | Amanda Liebeck |
| Mr. Bloomingdale/Finley | Dale C. Jones |
| Mr. Macy | Nick Neokleous |
| Bag Lady/Parent/Pedestrian/Postal Worker | Sara Tryon |
| Parent/Pedestrian/Zookeeper/Postal Worker | Anton Gibson |
| Parent/Pedestrian | Nicole Cannon |
| James Mara | Weston Liebeck |
| Sharon | Natalie Shipp |
| Megan | Aislyn Cannon |
| Dutch Girl | Isla Oatway |
| Johnny | Harrison Tryon-Martin |
| Elf Q | Samantha Daly |
| Elf W | William Godkin-Scott |
| Elf J | Lilli McDonald |
| Elf Z | Gabe Keleher |
| Elf R | Skye Sinclair |
Production Crew |
|
| Producers | D.T. McNichol Michelle Freedman |
| Director | Valerie Winslow |
| Stage Manager | Krista Berg |
| Asst. Stage Managers | Linda Hamstra Marlene Buttress |
| Set Design/Chief Carpenter | Grant Buckler |
| Lighting Design | D.T. McNichol |
| Sound Design | Michelle McNichol |
| Costume Design | Whitney Purdy Esme Purdy |
| Set Dressing | Wayne Orr |
| Props | Marlene Buttress |
| Makeup | Nicole Cannon |
| Lighting & Sound Operators | Bill Morrow Kathy Bonsall Hailey Hatfield |
| Set Construction | Bob Brooks James Gow Lorna Jodoin Dave Oliver Wayne Orr Liz Schell John Woollett |
| Set Painting | Bob Brooks Grant Buckler James Gow Wayne Orr Liz Schell Bernd Steglich Jay Steglich John Woollett |
| Lobby Photography | Ian Malcolm |
| Archival Photography | Grant Buckler |
| Poster Design | Katie Flower-Smith |
| Lobby Art Curator | Liz Schell |
| Front of House Co-ordinator | Cindy Chappell |