“Miracle on 34th Street” is the stage version of the classic 1947 holiday film starring Maureen O’Hara, Edmund Gwenn and an 8-year-old Natalie Wood.
It comes to life again beginning tonight in a New Everett Theatre production that runs through Dec. 10 in Everett.
In the story, Kris Kringle, a bearded old gent, is the living image of Santa Claus.
Serving as a last-minute replacement for the drunken Santa who was to have led the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade, Kringle is offered a job as a Macy’s toy-department Santa.
The supervisor, Mrs. Walker, soon begins having second thoughts about hiring Kris because he believes he is the genuine St. Nick.
Meanwhile, Kris is determined to win over Mrs. Walker’s young daughter, who has lost her Christmas spirit.
Complications ensue when Macy’s nasty in-house psychologist arranges to have Kris locked up as a lunatic for believing he is Santa Claus.
The story is resolved in a courtroom sanity hearing in which Kris is proved to be the real Santa Claus.
“Yes, Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus”: The Driftwood Players present this classic Christmas story, which began with a letter to the editor.
“Dear Editor, I am eight years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says if you see it in the Sun, it’s so. Please tell me the truth. Is there a Santa Claus?”
Virginia O’Hanlon’s letter to the editor of the New York Sun inspired the unforgettable response that appeared on the paper’s front page.
More than 100 years later, her story and the story of reporter Frank Church come to the stage in a play for young and old, reaffirming life’s highest beauty and joy – “the eternal light with which childhood fills the world.”
“It’s A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play”: Another classic holiday film comes to the stage as Taproot Theatre presents a live radio adaptation by Joe Landry.
Based on Frank Capra’s 1946 film, the live radio show has all the adored characters and the same heartwarming tale of angel Clarence reminding despondent George Bailey of the important things in life. In the live radio play, actors interact with the audience prior to the beginning of the show, radio jingles that recognize sponsoring organizations are interspersed at appropriate moments, and audience members may submit radio grams read by the actors during the show.
“White Christmas”: Just in time for the holidays comes a delightful new stage adaptation of yet another classic yuletide movie.
“White Christmas” includes all the Irving Berlin songs from the 1954 musical that starred Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen.
The fun begins after World War II when two of the hottest song-and-dance men in show biz team up with a sister act to save their former general’s country inn. The result is a sparkling holiday package filled with splashy dance numbers, treasured songs and enough heartwarming nostalgia to make your days merry and bright.
“The Nutcracker”: Ballet Bellevue, accompanied by a 36-piece orchestra, brings the fantastic dream of a Victorian Christmas to Bothell, featuring Ballet Bellevue’s Viktoria Titova, formerly of the Bolshoi Gregorovich, as Clara.
Clara goes to an exciting party, meets interesting people and receives a wonderful gift. Then we watch as, in her dreams, her imagination weaves together all these recent experiences to take her on a wonderful journey.
“Nutcracker”: Pacific Northwest Ballet opens its magical dream-world of “Nutcracker,” featuring Maurice Sendak’s lush sets and lavish costumes, Kent Stowell’s magical choreography and Tchaikovsky’s beloved music.
Slightly darker and more exotic than traditional “Nutcracker” productions, PNB’s version explores the world through the eyes of a child on the cusp of adulthood and blurs the line between fantasy and reality.
Sendak’s amazing larger-than-life designs call for more than 115 different props, including a 27-foot Mouse King puppet made of 17 moving pieces and an awe-inspiring 950-pound Christmas tree, with more than 1,000 miniature light bulbs, that grows from 14 to 28 feet in height.
The production also features farewell performances of Clara by PNB principal dancer Patricia Barker, who retires at the end of the 2006-2007 season.
Angela Sterling photo
Pacific Northwest Ballet’s “Nutcracker” plays through December.
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