After years of reviewing theatre (much to my delight!) I have concluded how difficult it must be to stage a Christmas production production that is fresh, intriguing, uncorny and actually kindles that elusive spark we all yearn for. Christmas evokes so much for us that it’s hard to meet everyone’s understandably high expectations. Speaking as a grown adult (?!) I ache for the Christmases of my youth. There are times when I think we adults need Christmas more than children. Relatively speaking.
Richardson Theatre Centre’s Hometown Holiday Radio Show manages this Herculean feat and more. The premise of experiencing Christmas lore (A Christmas Carol, It’s A Wonderful Life) through the lens of the glorious radio shows of the 1950’s, seems to put just the right spin on familiar narratives. Radio shows seem to be all the rage lately, with their ingenuity and zip and sly humor and warmth. Hometown Holiday opens on a small radio station as the actors, singers, foleys, director, writer, director, Master of Ceremonies and Mary the cleaning lady, et al, arrive. A calamity has hit Mary hard, but she doesn’t show it. It’s Christmas Eve and everyone’s dressed in their holiday finery, from dapper suits to opulent dresses to goofy, vivid costumes. Even if it’s only a Santa cap, everyone wears something special. All are light, buoyant and jazzed for the show to start, performing for the studio audience and the one at home.
There are Christmas carols, certainly, and comic sketches, daffy bits, an episode of Fibber McGee and Molly, commercials, spot-on news breaks, interventions by the writer. There’s a spoof on Twelve Days of Christmas that’s silly and marvelous. It’s clear Mary has always wanted to be a part of the show, and her opportunity arises. It may be a mostly secular celebration but the spirit of the birth comes through. We see delight as the men and women step up to do their piece; get glimpses of their lives outside the station. The nuance of radiance in their faces. I don’t always get the point of show-within-a- show shows, but here it makes perfect sense. Molly and Collin and Mary and Jeanette are human beings sharing the earth (with the rest of us). Tonight they are not only actors, they are friends celebrating Christmas with us.
There is something mystical, when we consider why some shows come together, and others not quite. If it’s a Christmas show, the risk increases exponentially. You’ve really got to avoid the temptation to push our buttons. There are many so deeply invested in Christmas. I’m thinking it’s the balance of nostalgia and celebration and graciousness, tempered by the relaxed demeanor of the characters. Enthusiastic but modulated and therefore, perhaps more palpable as real. And we all have permission to play. Hometown Holiday Radio Show isn’t a pageant. It’s not an extravaganza or a spectacle. It’s folks involved in their everyday lives, engaged in the simple act of welcoming the special, promised visitor. Yes?
Richardson Theatre Centre staged Hometown Holiday Radio Show December 2-18th, 2022. 518 W Arapaho Rd, Ste 113, Richardson, TX, 75080. (972) 699-1130. richardsontheatre@gmail.com
My heartfelt gratitude to RTC for letting me attend the last night of the run.