CHRISTMASTIME ORIGINS


The Group Rep revisits the golden age of radio in Christmastime Origins, a charming, tuneful companion piece to such holiday favorites as It’s A Wonderful Life: The Radio Play and Miracle On 34th Street: A Live Musical Radio Play.

Adapted from Julio Martinez’s The Eight Plays Of Christmas (and edited for the stage by Doug Haverty), Christmastime Origins recounts the genesis of three classic holiday songs and the most popular Christmas story ever written, performed as audiences might have enjoyed them before television revolutionized home entertainment in the 1950s.

First up is “One Horse Open Sleigh,” which has 1850s Broadway performers George Kimebaly (Mark Stancato) and Fanny Bright (Diane Vincent) recounting an especially eventful sleigh ride to composer James Pierpont (James Lemire) and his wife Eliza (Kaley Stallings), the result of which was “Jingle Bells.” (Fun fact: “Oh what fun it is to ride” was originally “Oh what joy.” Who knew?)

Then comes “Christmas In Tinseltown,” a trip down memory lane to Hollywood circa 1941 when Irving Berlin (Michael Gabiano) wrote the best-selling Christmas song of all time for the movie Holiday Inn.

Sheena Georges (Hilda), Haverty (legendary radio announcer Ken Carpenter), Lemire (Holiday Inn director Mark Sandrich), Stallings (Millie), and Vincent (Martha Meers, who dubbed Marjorie Reynolds’ vocals) complete the cast, and the result of their collaboration (in case you haven’t already guessed) was “White Christmas.”

Post intermission, “All Is Calm, All Is Bright” transports us back to 1818 Austria where church organist Franz Gruber (Gabiano) finds himself dealing with a family of mice who’ve made his beloved organ their home.

Fortunately, no organ was needed for composer Franz and lyricist Father Mohr (Haverty) to come up with “Silent Night,” performed by Franz, Father Mohr, Franz’s wife Maria (Vincent), their daughter Bitta (Stallings), and guitarist Peter (Stancato) in both its original German and the English version that’s become the most sung Christmas carol ever written.

Did you know that A Christmas Carol’s Ebenezer Scrooge was based on a real-life grouch who was wont to grumble “Humbug!” at the drop of a hat?  This and other surprise revelations make the evening’s closer, “Keeping Christmas Well,” a particular treat, sparklingly performed by Gabiano, Georges, Kelley Goode, Haverty, Lemire, Stallings, Stancato, Vincent, and Leslie Young.

Director Kathleen Delaney makes sure that there is plenty to delight the eyes as well as the ears as her multitalented cast deliver one sparkling performance after another, with special snaps to rising star Stallings and musical theater treasure Vincent, who brighten all four plays with their considerable vocal/comedic gifts.

Scenic designers Bert Emmett and Delaney have transformed The Group Rep’s upstairs space into the next best thing to a live radio studio, and though home audiences may have heard only voices in their living rooms, costume designer Cheryl Crosland makes sure that we in the “studio audience” get treated to multiple character-establishing outfits and accessories, vividly lit by John Lucewich.

Most exciting of all are Hollywood Foley master Dan O’Connell’s fascinating array of sound-producing paraphernalia (the “wind machine” is an eye-opener), effects primarily created by Georges, Lemire, and properties designer Young in the Foley booth.

Paul Cady wears two hats to perfection, one shared with Hisato Masuyama as co-musical director (the dueling carols that complete the show deserve an especially enthusiastic round of applause) and the other as keyboardist extraordinaire.

Christmastime Origins is produced for The Group Rep by Stevie Stern. Kristin Stancato is assistant to the director. Sammy Strittmatter is sound consultant. Cathy D. Tomlin is stage manager. John Ledley is technical operator. Nora Feldman is publicist. Matthew Hoffman appears on Saturdays in the roles Gabiano plays on Sundays.

A crowd-pleasing companion piece to The Group Rep’s downstairs production of Ken Ludwig’s The Game’s Afoot, Christmastime Origins is just what the holiday doctor ordered for audiences seeking something fresh and different to boost their yuletide spirits. It definitely boosted mine.

The Group Rep, Lonny Chapman Theatre, 10900 Burbank Boulevard, North Hollywood.
www.thegrouprep.com

–Steven Stanley
December 12, 2021
Photos: Doug Engalla

Covid Policy: All patrons must be vaccinated, show ID and proof of full vaccination required upon entry, and wear a mask while inside the theater complex. Entire Cast and Crew are fully vaccinated.

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