Pit & Balcony Adds Seasonal Sparkle With the Magic of MIRACLE on 34th STREET

Over the past several years Pit & Balcony has done an admirable job showcasing numerous regional premiers of newer theatrical works that take audiences off the beaten track into new experiences, as was the case with last year’s holiday production of The Reindeer Monologues; but this year they are shining the seasonal sparkle from the spotlight brightly upon the universal message of magic, hope, spirit, and imagination to be found in the beloved holiday classic A Miracle on 34^th Street, which will run for two weekends from December 13-15 & 20-22^nd.

With an allegorical story line centered around a department store Santa Claus named Kris Kringle who claims to be the “real Santa”, only to end up on trial to prove his authenticity in order to avoid being sent to a mental asylum, coupled with the character of Doris Walker, a cynical single mother and her young daughter Susan, who’s unwavering belief in Kringle’  authenticity plays a key role in his fate, once he gets put on trial to determine his sanity the court case brilliantly becomes a symbol of the eternal battle between cynicism and belief.

A Miracle on 34th Street began as  a best-selling novella by Valentine Davies and is based upon a story he wrote for the 1947 film of the same name, which earned him an Academy Award for Best Story.  After having written the story for the film, Davies did a novelization of it that was published in conjunction with the film release.  The inspiration for the story came when Valentine Davies was standing in line at a big department store during the Christmas season and took his story idea to writer and director George Seaton, who turned it into a screenplay that he titled The Big Heart.

For Pit & Balcony’s theatrical presentation, which was adapted by Mountain Community Theater, director Brady Katshor is quick to point out that while the play is different than the film version, one of its biggest challenges is meeting audience expectations, especially given the fact it is such a familiar and iconic story.

“While there are many different theatrical translations for Miracle, including a musical version, this production was adapted from the movie by a community theatre and is not set in the 1940s, but is updated to a newer more current time period, so one challenge is getting the actors tuned to the idea this story is set not in the same time frame that the movie was filmed,” he explains.

“What I’m also trying to do is bring the joy out of people by showing how these characters pull the joy out of one another,” he continues. “There’s a lot of scenes were we have the mother/daughter characters of Doris and Susan emerging out of their shielded personalities of protecting themselves emotionally to opening themselves to joy and imagination and having fun for once in their lives, so as a director I’m trying to play that up and get the actors to show that dynamic transformation that occurs when people actually open up and usually things get better.”

“The female roles are significant in this production, and in this version in Act One the focus is very centered on Doris, Kris Kringle and Fred, while in Act Two the court case carries us into the crux of the narrative of will or won’t Fred and Doris find love and will Kris Kringle be put into a mental institution,” notes Brady.

When asked what drove him to assume the directorial helm of this particular production of Miracle, Brady points to the joy involved with bringing it to life. “I had so much fun with another Christmas show I did called A Good Old Fashioned Big Family Christmas at Bay City Players that I couldn’t wait to tackle this one.  There’s something about Christmas shows you just can’t get away with in other shows.  Many people find them to be cheesy, but they’ve also got to be realistic and with Christmas shows everybody wants that because it’s fun. You can’t go into a Santa Claus court case and not expect a little bit of cheese, so people are allowed to have a little bit more fun during the holidays, and that really appeals to me as a director.”

With a cast featuring Audreanna Symon in the role of Doris Walker, Bill Alley as Fred Gayley, Brynlee Quellet as daughter Susan Walker, Tim Maughtew as Kris Kringle, Chris Ropp as Doctor Pierce, and Michelle Zoellner as Judge Harper, along with numerous ensemble players, Brady is enthusiastic about the talents of his cast. 

“Tim is doing a great job and has a unique take on Kris Kringle - obviously he’s still Santa, but Tim  makes him look like he’s lived with humans most of his life and is a bit sassy and sarcastic,” reflects Brady. “You never know what you’re going to find having kids talking to you - some are shy, some are wary - so it’s an art talking to different kids in an attempt to get close to them and break down their barriers so they’re open to hope, fun, and expectation.”

“As for the character of Fred, Bill Ailey possesses a lot of natural raw talent,” continues Brady. “It’s difficult finding the middle ground  of being a serious lawyer but also a goofy and fun individual. You don’t want to play him so dopey that people think he’s an idiot or so serious that he’s dull, so that’s a hard balance to find.”

“The character of Doris, as I mentioned earlier, is kind of shielded and is recovering from a divorce. Audrey definitely has a lot of energy and fire behind her and can easily switch back and forth between those moments where she’s trying to stay protected and defensive, and then letting herself enjoy life in a way you can really feel.”

“As for the character of Susan, Brynlee is doing a remarkably good job,” observes Brady. “She’s only 13-years old and I don’t have to do much when she’s on stage because she’s great and very natural with her portrayal.”

Interestingly enough, Brady says the most challenging component in this production is that his own  process in terms of directing is scary even to himself because he doesn’t know what the cast is going to do until they’re actually doing it.

“We have the scenes down, but I’m not sure what to do once we’re in them,” he confesses. “Like with the court room scene, we have the blocking and set schedule of what we’re going to do, but how we’re going to do it is in flux. I know how to start and how to finish the scene, but because the actors bring in everything else, if I were to give direction that an actor might not like or might not feel natural about, I have to feel the chemistry between the actors on the stage before I can do that, so it’s a very collaborative process. My main focus is on making the movement go naturally, so some scenes take five minutes and some a half hour to run through.”

Considering this dilemma, it sounds like Pit & Balcony’s production of A Miracle on 34^th Street promises to be the epitome of precisely what it is that makes this story such a special one:

Faith is believing things when common sense tells you not to.

Pit & Balcony Community Theatre’s production of ‘A Miracle on 34^th Street’ will run from December 13-15 & 20-22^nd.  Performance times are 7:30 PM with 3:00 PM Sunday matinees. Tickets are only $20.00 and available to phoning 989.754.6587 or visiting PitandBalconyTheatre.com. Pit & Balcony is located at 805 N. Hamilton Street in Old Town Saginaw.