Miracle on 34th Street – HOME, Manchester

Book, Music & Lyrics: Meredith Wilson

Director: Sara Joyce

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas at Home Theatre with their stage musical version of the classic story Miracle on 34^th Street. The 1947 Oscar-winning film about Kris Kringle has spawned several remakes over the years and Meredith Wilson (The Music Man and The Unsinkable Molly Brown) adapted the story into a Broadway musical in the early 1960s. Home’s production is an ambitious show offering festive delight this December.

Deeply embedded in the cultural psyche, Miracle on 34^th Street does not require much of a plot explanation. Kris Kringle (aka Santa Claus) steps in at the last minute to play the big man himself at Macy’s department store in New York. Brilliant at ‘playing the part’ and even incidentally introducing a new highly successful marketing method, Kris Kringle’s belief that he really is Santa Claus causes consternation and, ultimately, a court case that has a whole belief system on trial! With the faith of one little girl behind him, Susan Walker, can Christmas be saved, or will Santa be declared unsound of mind and committed on Christmas Eve?

This is a very busy production. Sarah Joyce creates her own miracle by turning a cast of eight actors into seemingly eighteen. Helped by a young company (who do a tremendous job) the main cast double and triple with exceptional talent. The Macy’s parade sequence early in the show especially is a ticker tape of endless characters crossing the stage. Joyce may be accused of trying to pack too much into this show. With a running time of two and a half hours it does feel too long, especially for a recommended audience age of 8+. With most of the second half preoccupied by the court proceedings the trims could be taken off the first.

The production is at its best when it leans into the silly. There are some great comedic performances from Stephanie Hockley as the blundering Macy’s department store assistant Shellhammer. Similarly, Ida Regan has a lot of fun with the psychologist Sawyer (among other characters) who condemns Kris Kringle to a trial to clear his name and sanity. Sara Joyce’s casting of Adam Vaughan as Kris Kringle is perhaps not what many would expect. A young, lean, fit Santa, Vaughan has years to go before morphing into the white bearded older gent. With only hints to the man himself in the costume design also, Joyce’s possible intention is to cast doubt into an audiences’ mind regarding the authenticity of Kringle’s claim. Whilst some may miss the comfort of the typical aesthetic Santa, Vaughan’s towering stature and twinkle (as well as excellent singing voice) is more than enough to win us over.

The role of Susan Walker, the little girl unwavering in her belief of Kris Kringle, is shared by three young actresses. On this performance the role was taken by Karis. With credits including Les Miserables and the young Elphaba in the new Wicked film, it felt like we were in the presence of a future star. First on the lips of audience in the interval and at the end, her performance as Susan Walker steals the show. This is a girl with outstanding talent. She is present, playful, believable, and technically proficient. It is an enormous role that, to a certain extent, carries the show. For such a young actor it is an enormous ask. Quite simply, Karis is tremendous in the role.

The action in 1940s New York is caught within a framing device that keeps transferring the action back to modern day Britain. Although the idea is, presumably, to allow a storytelling scaffold as we delve in and out of narration, it does jar tonally and seems an unnecessary layer, especially when trying to appeal to a younger audience. That said, it does support a fantastical, dream-like feel to the show when desired.

Home’s festive production is joyous and fun. It has a playful, tongue-in-cheek feel especially as we drift in and out of Susan’s imagination but has a little way to go to keep the fun throughout. The score is long and has extraneous songs that would benefit a cut. The performances across the board are excellent and the cast work exceptionally hard throughout. If you believe that man is Santa Claus this is the show for you.

Runs until 31^st December 2024.