Review: MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET at Connecticut Theatre Company

Cozy, cute, and full of Christmas cheer. That’s what you get with Miracle on 34th Street. Whether you’re watching the film or a local production of the play, you know you’re going to get a delightful, light-hearted, heart-warming tale about belief, faith, and honest to goodness empathy. That was abound and aplenty at the Connecticut Theatre Company’s production of the motion picture classic!

Adapted for the stage by the Mountain Community Theatre from the novel by Valentine Davies and inspired by the film, Miracle on 34th Street follows Kris Kringle, a jolly old man, as he gets a job at Macy’s playing himself: Santa Claus! While he’s spreading holiday cheer, he crashes into the realism (and cynicism) of economics and commercialism of New York City during the Holidays. Despite opposing claims that he is a delusional old man, Kris Kringle teams up with Fred Gayley to prove, once and for all, that Santa Claus exists!

Directed by Duane Campbell, CTC’s production of Miracle kept the joy of the season at the heart of this production, right where it belongs. That heart is felt from the whole cast, but it stems from the man of the season, Kris Kringle, played by Fredrick Goff! From his hearty laugh to the way he speaks, Goff had the audience on his side the moment he stepped onstage: This man is Santa Claus! Surrounding him with the trifecta of Doris Walker- the realistic Macy’s Manager played by Lilly Mcintire- Fred Gayley- Doris’s neighbor and up-and-coming lawyer played by Max Dittmar- and Susan- Doris’s equally no-nonsense daughter played by Sophia Mae Abreu- gave Fredrick a lot to work off of to create such an enchanted evening.

The only hitch that broke the immersion on what is a phenomenal production is the fact that the space was too big. I’ve seen productions of a lot of shows at a lot of theaters where I left thinking “they looked so cramped up there,” that it took me by surprise when I had the realization that they had too much space this time. CTC has the blessing of a very deep and wide stage, which they use that to their advantage to create amazing art, but in this case, they may have benefitted from not using the whole space. The court room fit the space perfectly, but when they were in the Macy’s Department Store, it felt like Santa was so far away. When in Doris’s apartment, it was evident that the cast had to walk a very long way to go from the front door to the back door. The amount of horizontal space slowed down the entrances and exits and brought the pace down just enough to break the illusion for a few moments. Luckily, the cast was able to reel me back in again and the magic held.