A little girl’s letter sparks this hard-hitting Christmas drama of hope rescued from despair. The little girl was an Irish immigrant, Virginia O’Hanlon; and the letter she wrote was to The New York Sun in 1897. It asked a simple question.
The letter read: “Dear Editor — I am eight years old. My little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, ‘If you see it in The Sun, it’s so.’ Tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus?”
“Yes, Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus” sums up the substance but not the beauty of The Sun’s reply. The reply still stands as an example of literary excellence.
“Yes, Virginia …” also titles this account of personalities and circumstances as they might have unfolded to form the letter and the reply. The playwright is James J. Fenady. The account is in itself proof of faith as the substance of things hoped for.
Joblessness and miserable living conditions greeted tens of thousands of immigrants when they passed through Ellis Island at the turn of the 19th century into the 20th. Many settled immediately in New York City, only to find frustration and desperation instead of the opportunities that they expected would be waiting for them. Times were tough; Christmas times, especially. But, even so, some still held fast with only their faith to keep them going. This is their Christmas story.
An absorbing Gregory Magyar leads this very fine cast as Frank P. Church, the down-and-out reporter tortured by the loss of his wife and daughter but having still to write the reply to Virginia’s question. Dialogue is the least of it. The inner turmoil and brooding self-pity of a drunk who lives in the bottle come through powerfully because of Magyar’s pure acting.
Child actor Brianna Underhill shines with a kind of childlike piety as Virginia O’Hanlon.
David Bailey and Laura Kessler, as Virginia’s parents, personify a young, Irish-immigrant couple devoted to one another and their family in times of devastating hardship.
Edward P. Mitchell keeps up story continuity as the narrator and hard-edged managing editor of The Sun.
The ambience of beautifully performed Christmas carols is provided by vocalist Debbie Fetherston, as accompanied by Mark Lotz on mandolin and violin and Eli Lotz on guitar.
Alyson Soma does a marvelous job directing this beacon to steer your holidays by.
Note: The response to Virginia’s letter is printed in the program. I can’t stop thinking about it.
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