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A little too cold on 34th Street
Miracle on 34th Street New Alexandra Theatre *** THE story of
Miracle on 34th
Street first appeared on film in 1947 and has been adapted several times
since then for the stage and screen, with a notable film production by
John Hughes, of Home Alone fame, in 1994. Billed originally as a Christmas comedy, one
would have thought that the form would have been a great platform for
the creation of a musical that a thousand companies, both pro and
amateur, could wheel out in the Christmas period for years to come. However in seems that the rush to mimic a
Hollywood style musical out of the Gene Kelly era, that writer Meredith
Willson forgot to include any sense of family or genuine warmth or
affection or come to think of it Christmas itself . Instead we have a
fast paced upbeat romp of brash New Yorkers charactering their way all
over this once enchanting and heart-warming tale. It is entertaining but this highly capable cast
whilst energetically singing and dancing their way through an assortment
of jazzy style swing pieces might have all been going on about just
about anything other than the magical existence of Santa Claus. Genevieve Nicole plays Doris, the divorced mother
bringing up her daughter with a stiff dose of bitter reality. Nicole has
a wonderful voice and it is a shame that there is not better material
here for her to use it. Her daughter Susan is played by Susan Carter who
again has a fabulous musical theatre voice but there are only a few
glimpses of what she can really do. James Murphy plays Kris kringle and looks very
much the part of Santa with Daniel Fletcher playing the hapless
neighbour Fred. All of the elements of the original story are
there but throughout there is little sentiment or childlike wonder. Indeed there is one song, ` She Hadda Go Back ‘
that seems to have absolutely no place in the story where by a
group of poker playing GI’s wager with Fred over the arrival time
of his female love interest, Doris . It goes on about all the
female foibles of a woman getting ready to go out and does nothing to
add to the story or sentiment in any kind of way. Elsewhere there are high quality performances
from the entire supporting cast but even they can’t overcome that in the
end something is missing from the way the separate elements have been
produced. As an easy opening to the Christmas holidays it
does the job but ultimately it is a shame that such a great opportunity
has been missed to musically capture this wonderful tale and the true
warmth and magic of the original story. To 07-12-13. Jeff Grant
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