Get Into The Holiday Spirit with Miracle On 34th Street

Note 4/23/11

I would llke to apologize for falling so behind in posting my Cabinet articles to this blog I get so overwhelmed sometimes with posting other things that I sometimes forget that the original intention of this blog is which is share my Cabinet articles. I will do better about posting the articles as soon as I write them. My next article is about Riverbend Youth Company's production of Les Miserables so be on the look out for that.. in this blog and in the Cabinet. The article below is about the Riverbend Youth Company/Milford Area Production of Miracle on 34th Street which took place in early December.

Discover the true meaning of Christmas with Miracle on 34th St
By Janine Leffler

Get into the true Christmas spirit with the Milford Area Players/Riverbend Youth Company annual holiday production of the heartwarming holiday classic Miracle on 34th Street. The movie version of Miracle on 34th Street was released in 1947 and rereleased in 1994. The play is based off the original movie in which a man claiming to be Santa is institutionalized and a trial lawyer is assigned to bring him to justice. When it comes to comparing and contrasting the staged and film version Tom Partridge, who plays Al The Postman, Drunk Santa and Mr. Pierce, said “The main contrast is that the movie has sets. We have limited sets so we have to paint the picture for the audiences of the scenes in the movie such as the Macy’s Parade.”
When asked what the meaning behind the play is most cast members said that the true message behind the show is ‘to believe’. Believe in Santa, believe in yourself and fellow man, and believe in the spirit of the holidays.
Cast members have various methods for developing their characters . Dave Atkinson and Dan Pare have found their characters relatively easy to develop. Atkinson plays the judge in the courtroom scene and he said “I don’t do much to get into character. I just rule the scene.” As for playing his character of Kris Kringle Dan Pare, who in real life sports a white beard, said “I don’t do much to get into character. I just look deep inside myself and really believe I am Santa Claus. “Most cast members find it helpful to go over their lines with family and friends as a method of perfecting their line memorization. Dave Atkinson and Karen Ostrowski record their lines and listen to them on a CD while driving to work.
Each production has its share of challenges but equal share of fulfilling qualities. Director Vick Bennison says the biggest fulfillment of directing s show such as this is “Working with those cast members who are relatively new to acting. Some have danced and sung on stage before, but never had to deliver lines. Others have been very active backstage, designing sets, stage managing, etc., but have seldom if ever been on stage. Our Kris Kringle has performed as a Santa for years at Christmas-time, but has never had to memorize lines. He is also an experienced stage painter and set designer. We have a core of experienced actors, but the cast is large. So a number of people have been given their first opportunity to act. That's what community theatre is all about.”For Lucy Stover ,a fourth grader at Wilkins Elementary School in Amherst the biggest challenge is that her character of Susan Walker is her first big role. “Memorizing lines is the hardest thing because in the other shows I’ve been in I’ve been in the ensemble and haven’t had to memorize a lot of lines.” Dan Pare who is a technical theatre teacher at Goffstown High School makes his debut with this production as Kris Kringle. “This is the first show I have acted in. The experience has been a very eye opening one for me. “ While Pare has found memorizing the lines and blocking to be challenging his biggest fulfillment of working on this production has been “Just being in a room with people who are having so much fun and doing something nice.”


You won’t want to miss this delightful holiday show to help ease the stresses of the holiday season. Miracle on 34th Street runs from Dec 10-12 at the Amato Center for the Performing Arts in Milford. Evening performances are at 7:30pm and matinees are at 2pm. Tickets are #12 for adults and $8.00 for students and seniors.